ychich Posted January 10, 2007 Report Share Posted January 10, 2007 Hello there. I have the opportunity to take a one year old lab on. Its come from a broken home!! Don't know much about his history - working stock etc , but splendid looking dog. I've been walking him for about a month now, as the couples elderly parents have him. They are far to old to take him out. This is the thing - he is a real handful. Have I missed the chance to train him? I can work with him at the moment on small skills - Sit/Stay, but when he goes back to this old couple - I feel he regresses. (There does'nt seem to be any consistency and I don't feel he is attached to me). If I took him on full time - with concentrated training - do people think I can make this work? Has anybody had any experience of taking on an older dog (1 year - male). Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
new to the flock Posted January 10, 2007 Report Share Posted January 10, 2007 Bring him home and put him through an obediance program....like the one posted on here......or go through classes, and if you put the time in you will have a trained dog. Dogs are never too old to learn. NTTF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ychich Posted January 10, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2007 Thanks NTTF I guess thats what I wanted to hear. One of his immediate problems is jumping up at everyone all the time. Its the most pressing to address. I met a woman on a walk who was using an electric collar thingy!!!!! Is there any mileage in these tools to eradicate negative behaviour quickly. He is almost uncontrollable with the jumping. Cheers YC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiercel Posted January 10, 2007 Report Share Posted January 10, 2007 Thanks NTTF I guess thats what I wanted to hear. One of his immediate problems is jumping up at everyone all the time. Its the most pressing to address. I met a woman on a walk who was using an electric collar thingy!!!!! Is there any mileage in these tools to eradicate negative behaviour quickly. He is almost uncontrollable with the jumping. Cheers YC Try reading this. http://forums.pigeonwatch.co.uk/forums/ind...tric+dog+collar Tiercel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
new to the flock Posted January 10, 2007 Report Share Posted January 10, 2007 Electronic Collars are not a fast easy fix to any part of training. You are better off starting here: First off take him to a place where you know there are going to be no distractions around.....your back garden. While you have him on lead, you are going to work a 360 degree circle exercise for leash control. This means you are going to stand in one place, but in that one place you are going to work a complete circle. With him out in front of you, every time that he gets to the end of the lead give a pop on the lead and a command...in this case fewy. As soon as the lead goes slack again...which it will if you popped correctly....PRAISE with good boy. You will need to repeat this excercise untill he will stand or sit inside your work circle on a loose lead and will not pull forward. You may have to do a dozen sessions or more to accomplish this. You will need to repeat this exercise adding distractions slowley as you go. There are several ways to cure jumping up. One that I dont recommend that you use is kneeing him in the chest. First off to be successful you need several people who can time the correction properly and if delivered with to much force you can not only break the dogs ribs but you run the risk of dislocating his back if he goes over backwards and lands wrong. Second the correction is not to be delivered into the chest but as a brushing off of the dog from the side. What I do recommend is as follows. Place the dog on a slip lead. Approach a guest. As the dog starts his jump, (just as his front feet leave the ground), pop...do not pull... the leash and give a verbal off command. This should take 4 to 6 corrections before he becomes very hesitant about jumping. The next step is to have the guest try to get the dog to jump, they can pat their chest, slap theirs knees, but cannot call his name. If he trys to jump time your correction as before, just as his front feet leave the ground. Again this should take 4 to 6 corrections. Run this exercise for a week to two weeks changing guests as often as possible and he should loose interest in jumping up. This is not to say that he will not need a refresher course somewhere down the road. I would also recommend that you only work the dog in your back garden or a section of park with out others, until you get the basic control on him....sit, heal, leash control, no jumping....you can then start to intergrate him back into other people. Follow the obediance program closely and you should be fine. NTTF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ychich Posted January 10, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2007 Thanks guys. NTTF - Can I just check that 'pop' - is pulling the lead tight - not popping the dog, as in hitting! I guess this term is different either side of the Atlantic!!!! Cheers YC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
new to the flock Posted January 10, 2007 Report Share Posted January 10, 2007 Thanks guys. NTTF - Can I just check that 'pop' - is pulling the lead tight - not popping the dog, as in hitting! I guess this term is different either side of the Atlantic!!!! Cheers YC A pop is the very fast tightening and loosening of the lead....the whole action takes 1/2 a second. A steady pull or a long drawn out pull will only teach the dog to continue to pull on the lead. NTTF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ychich Posted January 10, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2007 Thanks NTTF for your time, much appreciated. Cheers YC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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