Dog Training

My partner and I are in the process of adopting our first dog. We're hoping for a sweet and skinny little four year old Brussels Griffon that's in a rescue center north of here. Crumpet, as he is currently being called, (we're going to call him Monster, as he's only been Crumpet for three weeks and probably won't notice the change) seems like a very well behaved dog, and understands "come" and "sit" but not very much else.

I know that there are some passionate dog lovers on here, and I was hoping you would have some advice for a novice. I've been warned against "the dog whisperer" and his physical training, and we're likely to go to a clicker-training session, but I know little beyond the basics of what I've read about online.
Any advice or suggestions are welcome! Thanks.

 

We took our pups to an obedience school offered by the breeder. Was more of traing for the owner rather than the dog. And it worked. I would do the same again.

 

Reward good. Positive reenforcement. Keep a treat/training aid in your pocket - you will find eventualy they will return upon hearing a rustle. We use liver cake.
Puppy classes are probably a good idea - dont go by the dogs age, but by the training it has had. Our mastiff is the biggest baby in class. He has been on holiday whilst awaiting a new influx of pups to take the bronze with. Its not age or size related.
I dont know the circumstances of your monsters past, but I will warn you, people handing dogs in often fib. I suppose they think they are doing the dog a favour, but its not helping anyone. Keep an eye open for an old babygate - they are very handy to have to hand whilst you are getting more aquainted and finding out how much you can trust the dog not to chew etc.
I wouldnt be too hasty to dismiss Caesar out of hand. He does quite often make sense. The dogs he deals with tend to have severe behaviour problems, and thats a bit different (and Cartman of course - in my opinion, his greatest challenge to date.) Enjoy your dog, train it with kindness, explain wrong is wrong, praise it for being good. When you have been working it, have a race around playtime after - you were a kid once, remember. When you meet new dogs, be relaxed with the lead. Please do not feel awkward about telling fellow dog walkers you have a new rescue, you will find they will be most happy to walk a while with you and yours to get yours used to other dogs. Another positive of this is that when one dog comes back for recall, the others tend to follow. I used to have fosters in, and they would run with my own pack, and the strength of the pack is in being a pack, so they come back together.
Should mention. If you see someone coming towards you with a dog on a short leash, ask if its dog friendly, and if not, put yours on a leash for its own safety - do ot forget there is a 'lunging' area to avoid too. Some dogs are not so lucky, and end up scared of dogs. They will bite from fear. I had one that was the same with doc martins and black trousers - he had had the shit kicked out of him on a regular basis. Love your dog for who it is, its not a victim. dont wrap it up too much, let it socialise and play with the other kids. They seem to be big little dogs - I know a farmer with a few - dumped in his lane over time. You wouldnt think they were farmers dogs, but they are a jolly little gang - always looking like they have been through the hedge backwards.

 

Caesar's stuff is more for the dogs who have massive issues. If you're just starting off training, you can do the treat training, but use a clicker with the treats. This way you don't have a dog who only performs actions for treats. After a bit of time, the dog will see the clicker as a reward and after a bit more time you won't even need the clicker because he'll start to understand that just doing the action is a reward. I don't like to do a lot of leash training either. What I mean by that is I don't like to give a lot of basic commands when the dog is leashed and never when it isn't leashed. If you only train a dog to follow certain commands, like "sit, stay, lay, etc" while leashed, the dog will often associate the leash with the wanted behavior and you're screwed when the dog isn't leashed.

I would look into obedience classes but be careful with these. Every "trainer" has different techniques and it doesn't always work with your dog. I'm not downing them, I'm just saying that I wouldn't take a poodle to a class that is run by someone who works mostly with power breeds.

I like to use hand signals as well as auditory signals. I use a variety of things such as clicker, snapping of fingers, grunts, hard commands, soft commands, waving of hand in down or up position, pointing etc etc. Once you get past the basic clicker and auditory training, the hand signals become a great tool to use because if you're on the phone with someone important you don't want to pause to give a command. Just point to where the dog needs to go and push your palm down for lay. :shrug:

I think the most important piece of advice I can give you is to not forcefully give the command. If a dog associates a harsh tone with a command it's seen as a bad activity. There's a difference between a loud command and a harsh command. NO! is allowed to be harsh, but the command needs to be firm yet soothing for the dog.

I'm sure it's all a bit overwhelming when you think about it, but once you get into the routine you find it's not that difficult and it's actually fun for the dog and rewarding for both of you. I'm sure you and the new addition will be great

Best of luck with the rescue!

 

Thanks for the advice!

We're lucky with the rescue center that we're dealing with. They take the dogs through all sorts of tests, visiting babies, other dogs, men, women, children, cats, etc. to determine if any common triggers for rescued dogs seem to bother the dog. I know that it doesn't guarantee anything, but it's nice to know that they care about the dogs enough to try to educate their owners as to any problems. He was found running loose in a very low income area of our city, and from what we gathered, he seemed that he was more neglected than abused. He's very bony, but he has his ears and tail and all his claws and foot-pads in good condition. All of the girls at the daycare say he's a sweetheart, and the foster home says that if you have time to cuddle a few times a day, he's a very happy dog. I'll keep you updated on his neuroses!

Our neighborhood has hundreds and hundreds of dogs in it (we're across from the biggest park in the city) so I'm not comfortable letting him off lead except for in the dog park. I plan on keeping our new friend on a lead outside for the first little while as we get used to each other, but for the training indoors he'll be able to practice his knowledge without restraint.
The cute girl that came by yesterday to make sure that our home is dog-appropriate teaches a beginner clicker session, so I'm definitely going to class.

Any ideas for cute or useful tricks or lessons for me to learn?

 

start with the basics..once those are mastered you can move into the opening fridge and grabbing a beer type stuff

 

My boys fave reward - is the Big Butt song. He likes to spin around and dance to it - and he doesnt care that my singing sounds like a cat having its nads off, and that the words are not quite right - I try to dance a bit with him - although I aint too good at that either. Wide open arms and love on my face, and he races back to me as fast as he can. Left and right - use the word and your arm to point. Mine may hope for treats every time, but I have been a tad lax in the kitchen of late - feeling loved seems to be more important - unless you have a lab of course.
Our trainer has GSD herself, but they do cover all sizes and breeds - although Shitzus are refered to as 'the little shitz'. Ask your vet for a recommendation. On the other hand, although they have big dogs themselves, they are a tad cautious over the Mastiff, and if not sure, obviously do the sensible thing and put themselves between him and other dogs who may be showing a bit of attitude.
Handy tip. If your dog ever attacks, or gets attacked - throw a coat over their heads, take away sight and their instinct is to let go. I have heard people say pull their tails - lifelong back injury, or even someone told me they were advised to shove their finger up the dogs arse and the shock would let it go. Anyone advising this is of questionable mind. Might work on muggers though?

 

Grabbing a beer?

Ireally need to get a dog.

 

In the old days, you could send them down to the shop with a basket and a purse and a list, and they would go buy you the beer Craven. Cant do it these days as they are likely to get mugged.

 

I'm another voice for know your dog.

My dog had separation anxiety strong enough that overrode any ability on his part to focus on my commands. I had to spend a good 6 months working on addressing that before he could obey any commands with confidence.

Also, know your breed. My dogs are cocker spaniels, born and bred for bird hunting. It shouldn't be a shock when they are instantly alerted and honed in on the animals! By realizing this is part of what he was originally bred to do, I've had to learn to work around it instead of constantly just punishing him for what his genes are telling him to do.

 

I find smaller dogs are alot harder to train than larger dogs. Growing up we had alot of dogs and the larger breeds always trained very easy and the smaller ones were tougher. It might of been the breeds of dogs of dogs. The small dogs were all miniature pinschers. And the big dogs were elkhounds and labs.

 

Its like marriage. You are going to be together for a lifetime, so set out your expectations early on - and like with children, routine is important. I wish you many happy anniversarys.
I dont have a pronged collar for the mastiff. If he wants to pull, I stop, and either turn him or say - 'oi, idiot brain, no pulling', we also threaten him 'pack that in or its back to the vets and he will chop your willy off' (definate threat as the vet had his testicles away whilst he was napping) - that sort of severe threat is not for pulling. He walks happily to heel without a lead. Tuesday, we went to the woods and the foresters were working. Being aware that Kingstons greatest treasure is brown and sticky, I put my hand on his collar (heavy machinery). As we were walking by, the chaps stopped, and Kingston went over to the man stacking brown sticky things - I explained the dog thought he was incredibly rich to have all those logs and sticks - and Kingston was presented with his own log, and told he could take it home with him. Happy as Larry. He was throwing it down and rolling on it - its in the garden now. The foresters enjoyed a few minutes break in such fine company.
Cello - you will find more smiles greet you in life when you have a dog.