Comments on: What dog training mistakes have you made?

By: abbey

abbey — Fri, 23 May 2008 05:18:49 +0000

Have to agree with you on that one Lindsay…if in doubt with Chels (usually in crowds) its on with the leader

abbey’s last blog post..Wind Chill Rocks

By: Lindsay Stordahl

Lindsay Stordahl — Thu, 22 May 2008 03:30:45 +0000

A harness just gives a dog even more power to pull. It’s hooked to the strongest part of the dog, it’s chest and the base of its neck. I highly recommend the Gentle Leader, which fits around the dog’s nose.

By: Mayra Calvani

Mayra Calvani — Wed, 21 May 2008 12:16:19 +0000

We tried those but he ended up hurting his windpipe one day because of the frantic pulling–especially when just going out of the door. We had to switch to a harness instead. This seems a lot better for him, as he was really choking himself.

Mayra Calvani’s last blog post..On the Spotlight: Beverly Stowe McClure

By: Pacco

Pacco — Wed, 21 May 2008 07:48:36 +0000

yeah..inconsistency is the major problem with human…i think no one is perfect on this..

but the biggest problem that really blew me away is i allowed my dog to jump off the agility contacts for a year.

Pacco’s last blog post..Scary Eye

By: castocreations

castocreations — Wed, 21 May 2008 03:52:27 +0000

Oh gosh…I get Tourettes with my dog I swear. “Trooper, Trooper, Trooper, Trooper, Trooper” Sheesh. He knows his name already! lol

I also get impatient and frustrated, but rarely with him. Usually with myself. Almost all the issues we have in Agility are my fault.

And I’m really bad at training when we’re home. We do fairly well at Agility and there are things (like sit stay) that I’m supposed to work on at home and I rarely do. I need to work harder on it.

castocreations’s last blog post..Play with your Dog

By: abbey

abbey — Wed, 21 May 2008 03:33:22 +0000

Oh Lindsay except for the treats in the pocket Im guilty of all the above…I dont move without them, though I only use them every fourth command…One word though, If you get in that habit, the washing machine is your enemy..lol I have to clean out my pockets all the time….

Like others consistancy is my issue, and probably more so if we are not on our own…the Walk challenge was good for me in maintaining that and Im doing it again in june…

Again, great honest reflection on where you are at…

abbey’s last blog post..Mmmmm

By: Lindsay Stordahl

Lindsay Stordahl — Tue, 20 May 2008 19:35:37 +0000

What kind of collar do you use for your golden? If you don’t use a gentle leader or a prong collar, I’d start with that. Lots of dogs still pull even with those, though. I think hiring a personal trainer would be a good idea, too.

By: Mayra Calvani

Mayra Calvani — Tue, 20 May 2008 19:19:15 +0000

It’s interesting that inconsistancy seems to be the most common mistake. That’s the same for me too. My golden is an incredibly quick learner and he knows most commands, but we never managed to teach him not to pull when we take him for walks. The problem was, sometimes I would walk him, other times my husband, other times my kids and we didn’t enforce the same rules. We tried, but for some reason it didn’t work. Then, of course we weren’t consistent every time and let him get away with the pulling. Now that he’s grown (and he’s BIG) we have to have a hand of steel to keep him from pulling. My 10-year old can’t walk him–he’ll send her flying. It’s at the beginning of the walk that he’s so desperate, though. Later he slows down. Anybody who sees him would think we never take him out, but we walk him an hour a day, and often an extra 20 minutes each morning. I have considered hiring a private trainer just to correct the problem. We tried a doggy training school, but it didn’t work. The thing is, when he pulls, he refuses to eat treats, so there’s no way to prompt him with goddies. I don’t know what to do, but I sure would like to correct this problem.

Mayra Calvani’s last blog post..On the Spotlight: CE Bilingual Books

By: Bonnie Story

Bonnie Story — Tue, 20 May 2008 17:00:56 +0000

Hi! I unfortunately am unable to keep myself from screeching “Come!!” at Pepper in circumstances when I know darn well that she won’t come to me. I need to just face it – when she sees a squirrel or a cat, she’s deaf to all input from me. I should just shut up and start running after her, hold the screeching. I also think I’m just too soft on her in general. If I tell her to do something and she does not want to do it, I’m likely to figure out a way to not ask her to do it. Her toenails, for example – it’s so hard to cut them (they are black) and she hates it so much that I actually have her groomed every six weeks or so just so I don’t have to do the toenail trim! Pathetic. I totally puppy-whipped!

By: Lora

Lora — Tue, 20 May 2008 16:54:38 +0000

Inconsistency is my biggest fault. All of my dogs are very quick learners, but I neglect to reinforce and practice what I teach them. I think we are all guilty of this to some degree.

I also regret I didn’t try to do Agility with Hera. I think she would have really liked it and would have been a really good outlet for her energy.

Lora’s last blog post..My name is Lora and I’m a collaraholic