steadiness training

[darren m]

Hi all -- i'm looking for some tips/advice on steadiness training, what do you all do???.

is there a routine i could follow , or is it just a case of the more distractions and situations you put your dog in the better .

Any help welcomed .

thanks

Darren .

[Jeff B]

Hi Darren

 

Is your dog running in, is it unsteady in company with other dogs, is it chasing rabbits or do you just want some exercises to do?

 

Jeff

[darren m]

hi jeff -- yes mate , he is unsteady around in company of other dogs , thinks he can just play around and disobey me .

and yes he is still chasing those bunnies when he spots one out in the field ( but has started to ignore the chickens around the farmers yard).

any tips excercises would be great .

THANKS

Darren .

[new to the flock]

Darren:

 

Continue to work on his obediance. If you can not control him at 3 feet you can not control him at 60 feet. Train his obediance until it is second nature to him. This means training at home with no distractions until he understands the excersises than start adding distractions. Use kids in the park, dogs running around anything that causes him to focus else where. Remember he is young, you are going to have him for a long time. Dont rush his training, take your time and be consistant. He is starting to leave the chickens alone stick with it, he will start to leave the rabbits alone to if you work him on lead, and make sure you run him on a long line when you are out in the field. Continue to set him up by having him under control while your helper releases rabbits from cover in front of you and your dog.

You are correcting behaviour problems, this takes time, patiance, and consistancy. Dont rush, at this time you should not be trying to work him off lead, and not giving him commands when he is off lead, playing with other dogs.

 

Stick with it, you are getting there,however there are no shortcuts and no miricle cures in training. It takes time and dedication.

 

Remember keep it FUN

[darren m]

Thanks NTTF - for your advice, more obediance traing it is .

he's 10 1/2 months old now and progress is slow ,

his biggest problem is that he just does'nt seem like he's listening to me, until i loose my temper and really shout at him, then he,ll listen but not for long.

he's always looking around when i'm trying heal work, never watching me, and he's miles off my left leg ( to the side and in front).

i wish i could hold his attention better , some one suggested an electric collar, but i dont want to go down that route yet!!!!!.

keep the tips and ideas coming please.

Thanks

Darren .

[new to the flock]

Darren:

Your dog is very food motivated, so I will type you up an excercise that will have him look up at you and close the gap to your leg. However you must follow it very closely, dont worry it is not hard.

 

I will also type you an outline on how to correct the older dog, in heeling exercises. The problem you are experiencing comes from not teaching the dog the proper position to heel in at the beginning. Again not hard but timing is critical.

 

Will try to get these up for you sometime today.

[darren m]

NTTF -- brilliant , look forward to reading them .

THANK YOU .

[Jeff B]

Darren

 

The following is a response to a similar question I answered on another forum. you will note I believe virtually all difficulties encountered in training is down to inadequate basic training, not always realised at the time.

 

It depends on how much time you are going to give to addressing the situation. Many people make the mistake [and I’m not saying this applies to you], of purchasing a pup and latch on to two statements they hear from friends or read in some training manuals

1. the pup has to have it’s puppy hood ….true. 2. you don’t need to start training until the dog is 6/7 months old……UNTRUE. This misses the most valuable time in terms of creating a relationship with your dog. You start moulding, training, steering, manipulating, educating and most importantly, bonding with the pup from day one.

 

Now to your situation, you need to go right back to basics, heelwork, sit, stay, recall and simple retrieving. Go out with your dog if possible for a couple of short training sessions each day and repeat and build on what you achieved the previous day. Firstly do the heelwork and the sit, heelwork and sit all on the lead. Get his attention every time and reward him with food if absolutely necessary, you don’t need to go for miles, its not a walk it is a training session. Develop into the stay [always returning to you dog initially] then the recall, this is the most important part and possibly the most testing but you will not succeed unless you have started getting his attention. Above all DON’T give him loads of free running/hunting, in fact don’t give him any for a while except, perhaps very short spells in the garden combined with the recall. When he responds to the recall, praise him, reward him and send him out again and repeat several times so he does not have a reason not to come when called, the reason some folk have trouble with the recall is that they only use it to end his playtime. If he is an enthusiastic retriever you can incorporate this into the recall training by giving him a short retrieve when he responds.

 

Do all this training initially in isolation, without distractions. Keep it pleasant and cheerful with lots of encouragement for your dog keeping him focussed on you, but establish and maintain your own position as being a competent leader, you wont fool your dog he will know if you know what your doing or not. You also have to establish yourself as the centre of his world, all the best things in his life happen around you, be in control. I don’t mean bully the dog, you have to earn his co-operation, his trust and his respect. When he is responding to you, in 3,4,5 weeks or however long it takes, you can then start to introduce little distractions. If thing go wrong it is not necessarily the dog’s fault, always go back a stage and start again.

 

This all takes time but time is on your side, he probably shies away from praise/petting and does not look at you as he regards you at present as unwanted distraction. He doesn’t find you as interesting as the distractions around him.

 

So, be determined, get the basics right this time, do your training in a calm and pleasant atmosphere, don’t lose your rag [that’s fatal], build on your successes, keep it light and always finish on a good note. Copious amounts of praise when he does the right thing, he needs to know. Remember you are working to establish a partnership not two individuals.

 

Something to be going on with...........have fun.

 

Jeff

[crowstopper]

is this any help

 

Are, this is very important, a good way to make a dog steady or to teach it, is to throw dummies around it (don’t let em hit it), then go and pick up the dummies, if the dog attempts to get at the dummies, sort it out and place it back where it was, if the dog gets to the dummies before you can stop it just take the dummy away from it, you can not tell it off 4 bringing u something. Over time throw the dummies closer and closer.

 

Crowstoppers.co.uk

[new to the flock]

Sorry Darren I've been having one of those weeks.

 

 

TEACHING YOUR DOG TO LOOK UP AT YOU FOR HEELING

 

With your dog sitting beside you on the left hand side, and a treat held in your mouth, make a click noise with your tounge. When the dog looks up drop the treat to him from your mouth. He must catch the treat to get it. If he misses the catch do not allow him to pick it up from the floor or ground. Pick it up and repeat the drill. When he does catch praise with " good boy". Repeat until he catches reliably. You can now start to transfer this excercise to his heeling, as you heel along make a click sound and drop a treat. Remember he must catch the treat and you must not break stride. If he misses do not allow him to pick the treat up and eat it. You must pick the treat up and try again. Do not set a routine around when the treats are given, keep it random so the dog does not know when they are coming. As the dog advances use less and less treats.

 

 

CORRECTING THE OLDER DOG DURING HEELING

 

Start your heeling routine as usual. As you step off on your left foot say heel. Proceed forward at a normal pace, as your dog starts to forge ahead of you, piviot 180 degrees on your right foot and pop the lead. (A pop is not a continous pull. It is a sharp snap and release.) This will cause your dog to turn and pull back up beside you in position. Very important praise when the dog gets into position. As soon as the dog forges ahead, again turn 180 degrees and pop the lead, remembering to praise when in position. You may find yourself doing this 20 or 30 times while trying to travel 50 meters, do not get frustrated and do not forget to praise.

Timming is very important, the pop and piviot are excecuted together as soon as the dog forges ahead. The praise is delivered as soon as the dog is in the correct position. This should be done every time you take your dog out.

 

 

 

 

Darren what type of collar are you using as your training collar? Flat , choke, pinch?

[darren m]

Thanks NTTF -- i will follow your advice ,

the collar that i,m using is a normal rope type slip lead, that i bought from a pet store.

is there a better alternative to this ??.

thanks again .

Darren .