[Teresa Stanczak]

Hi Chris,

If you haven’t been training with a reward ie food or toy up until now, that is the starting point. For reference please refer to all of the phase 1 training videos in the self help section. This will give you a step by step system for basic training, which is necessary before using any correction.

I had mentioned exercising her before training because you mentioned that she gets very distracted. Restless spirit can play a part in this but it is more likely due to the fact that you are not using any positive motivators to train (other than praise).

If you do exercise her before training I would recommend not wearing her out completely. Just enough to take the edge off. Also try to break up the training into small time frames so that it is easier for her to focus. For example you can use a few minutes before her feeding time to work on obedience by using about half her feeding portion as a reward for things like sit, down, etc. Then feed the rest of her food to her in a bowl.

Let us know how things are progressing 🙂

[Teresa Stanczak]

Hi sue!

This can be partly due to her heat. Their behavior can be a little off during this time. Having said that I would suggest you pull back from her a bit and let Andy be her main care taker. That means all the feeding , petting and walking should come from Andy. If all of her needs are satisfied by you, she has no reason to look to Andy for these things.

He can certainly use treats to reward her for coming to him. He may want to start with no leash present and then practice recalls while holding the leash.

Hope this helps!

~T

[Teresa Stanczak]

Hi Chris,

Welcome to the website!

To answer your questions

You can start training anytime. A few things to take into consideration:

Make sure that you have read through the triangle in the self help section.
If she is distracted inside check what your using to motivate her ( are the treats or toy valuable to her)?
What do you do to exercise her? This is a high energy breed, and if she doesn’t get a outlet for her restless spirit she will not be able to focus on training.

You can use any space to train. The exercises that may require more space is the heelcommahe recal still manage these inside (heel around the dining room table) . Before you practice in the yard make sure she is doing well with no distraction inside. eAlso making sure she is exercised first and is motivated by whatever reward you offer.

In order to be ready to use a correction collar , she must have first completed phase 1 exercises. I would recommend a Starmark collar , which is a plastic version of a pinch collar. This offers mild correction. In order to use the collar properly make sure to watch the phase 2 videos.

I hope this helps!

Best,
Teres

[Teresa Stanczak]

Hi Chris,

Welcome to the website!

To answer your questions

You can start training anytime. A few things to take into consideration:

Make sure that you have read through the triangle in the self help section.
If she is distracted inside check what your using to motivate her ( are the treats or toy valuable to her)?
What do you do to exercise her? This is a high energy breed, and if she doesn’t get a outlet for her restless spirit she will not be able to focus on training.

You can use any space to train. The exercises that may require more space is the heelcommahe recal still manage these inside (heel around the dining room table) . Before you practice in the yard make sure she is doing well with no distraction inside. eAlso making sure she is exercised first and is motivated by whatever reward you offer.

In order to be ready to use a correction collar , she must have first completed phase 1 exercises. I would recommend a Starmark collar , which is a plastic version of a pinch collar. This offers mild correction. In order to use the collar properly make sure to watch the phase 2 videos.

I hope this helps!

Best,
Teres

[Teresa Stanczak]

Hi Jordan.

It would be helpful to know the specifics of the situations where he has showed aggression in the past. Also what was the aggression, growling, biting etc.

How old is this pup?

In the meantime: keep all interaction with your daughter supervised and on a leash. You can always teach the pup to wear a muzzle if necessary.
If you haven’t already, please read through the self help section and work your way up from the bottom of the pyramid.
It is especially important to maintain the proper attitude. Don’t raise your voice, be calm. Never use physical punishment such as hitting, alpha roll overs etc.
Pack.structure and setting up the proper relationship is also extremely important. Follow all the guidelines.
Be especially cautious of resource guarding when your pup s chewing on bones, or eating etc if your daughter is present.
Once you supply the specifics I can guide you further.
Best,
Teresa

[Teresa Stanczak]

I’m so sorry for your loss….

What did the veterinarian find?

[Teresa Stanczak]

Hey Linda,

It’s a correction that can be used but not made known to the dog that you were the source..for instance canned air, a remote citronella collar etc.
The purpose of this is so that the correction appears to be directly linked to the behavior and not dependant on whether or not you are present as the source of the correction. We use this type of correction for behaviors like marking or counter surfing.

[Teresa Stanczak]

Neutering will help, but will not fix the issue.

If you haven’t already read through the self help section, trouble shoot each layer of the triangle including:

Neuter him
Have owners use the proper attitude and use of golden rules
Good pack structure in the home
A proper housebreaking plan
Supervised time out of crate or crated if not able to watch him.

After a few weeks of good structure in housebreaking schedule, you can use an environmental correction or “Dog God” correction for marking.

[Teresa Stanczak]

Flooding and comforting are two different things. Flooding in this case would be to have animals on tv for long periods of time until you no longer get response. I would not recommend it as first choice.

Depending on what you meant by comforting them, very Frequently, “comforting” a dog by petting and talking to them can reinforce their current behavior. so if they are anxious, barking etc and you “comfort” them, you are inadvertently rewarding the exact behaviors you are trying to extinguish.

Try working each dog separately:
Put dog on leash, no sound but animals on tv
Try to redirect behavior to doing basic obedience or at least looking away from tv. Reinforce relaxed behavior. As old behavior of reacting to tv fades away start to turn up volume gradually during each session.

Keep us posted on your progress or with further questions.

Best
Teresa

[Teresa Stanczak]

Hi Linda,

First I will need some more information to be as helpful as possible:

Are we sure he is marking? or just not fully housebroken?
Dogs can lift their leg in either instance.

How often is the behavior occurring through the day or week?

Was the dog housebroken prior to this behavior starting.

Is he given access to relieve himself outside or is he wee wee pad/paper trained?

Thanks
Teresa

[Teresa Stanczak]

Hi Josh,

First thank you for what you do …..

Now About Capitan:

Sounds like you might be on spot about the lack of socialization having an impact on his behavior. Guard breeds can be cautious in New situations but this is also influenced by personality and socialization and other factors.

The first step in improving this behavior is to troubleshoot the triangle. ( read through self help section for more detailed information)

3) have the correct attitude in dealing with him at all times especially in his moments of aggression ( calm confidence, patience, respect etc)
4)make sure the golden rules are in place . Use proper timing, motivate him properly ( high value treats, ball or tug). If the tug tends to get him overly excited you will rely on high value treat rewards. Be consistent with him
5)pack structure- make sure everyone in the household is following the leadership exercises. Pet on your own terms, not allowed on furniture etc.
6)engage him in some type of a activity to take the edge off of him prior to going out for a walk.
9) obedience. Start working on obedience beginning with phase 1 and work your way up through the phases. It’s n
important that you start in low distraction then add distraction as he masters each skill.

Get him started on wearing a muzzle . I would recommend the Baskerville Ultra muzzle.
It will be helpful as you’re increasing distraction to have him use the muzzle for safety.

As he is doing better with obedience around people and dogs , you can start doing some counterconditioning using treats as people or dogs pass by.

This should give you a good start on things, please post updates and any questions that you may have.

Best
Teresa

[Teresa Stanczak]

Hi Maxlee,
Your timing of the.correction is correct. The only difference is that you would repeat the command while you apply the correction.

Example : Spot “sit”–> “no”—> “sit” PLUS correction

The repeated command and correction are happening at the same time.

And yes, you must always complete phase 1&2 before phase 3.

Hope this is more clear.

Best,
Teresa

[Teresa Stanczak]

Kinu is beautiful!

Have you done any on leash work with her outside? I would suggest starting on a 6ft lead, until she is comfortable doing phase 1 obedience out there. Then you can progress to a longer leash.

Using the 6 ft leash just call her name, and back up until she is within arms reach then treat and praise her. If she is off leash for exercise in the yard, I wouldn’t bother calling her unless you think she will respond. You can drop good treats at your feet without reaching for her if she approaches on her own during play.

[Teresa Stanczak]

Hi Maxlee,

In Phase 3 training, we use the “NO” as a conditioned punisher just as we do in Phase 2. This is to remain fair to the dog making it predictable when the correction will come. We never correct on the “No” but always correct when repeating the command after the “No” if the dog does not respond.

If you have followed Phase 2 correctly , you will find that your dog gets very few corrections if any. When you apply the remote to the same commands and structure you will find the same results. If you have to correct your dog each time you give a command you should do some troubleshooting:
1) are you using the proper command structure
2)are you following the command structure quickly- where there is no more than 1/2 second in between
3)Is the dog properly motivated and understanding the correction

In the instance of the second example you gave about chewing the shoe, the remote would be used in a different way. For any command that requires you to be present , ie coming when called, sit, heel etc. you should use the command structure. If you are trying t accomplish a proper correction for housebreaking like preventing the chewing of furniture or shoes, you would not give a command at all.

In this instance we would use the remote as an environmental correction or “Dog God” correction. The correction would come automatically if the dog is engaged with the object or behavior we wish to prevent. No command is given, in fact, not even eye contact or acknowledgement that it has occurred. This is to prevent the dog from associating you with the correction and therefore only making it reliable when you are around.

I hope this helps clarify things for you 🙂

Best,
Teresa

[Teresa Stanczak]

Hi maxlee,

If you have a dog who likes to step forward from the stand, you may want to start this exercise on a Climb table. This will limit the amount of motion. Remember to stick to the new command structure of “name”—>Command(Stand)—->”no”—-> “Stand”+leash pump.

Remember to praise whenever your dog is doing the right thing!

Put your dog in a stand on the climb table- If he steps forward and doesn’t respond to the “no” , repeat “Stand” and use a leash pump correction – but this time direct the leash backward, to counteract the forward motion.

You can also do this for a stand in motion. Where you are walking and require the dog to halt at a Stand.

I hope this explanation was clear
We will try to get videos of this command up soon!

Best,
Teresa