Dog Tricks

“I just got a new dog, he was a stray and is part shepard & part kangaroo I think. He is a good dog but very excitable. looking for any training tips. I want to take him on day hikes, weekend backpacking trips, but I dont want him to go chasing after every rabbit we see.
Anyone have suggestions?”

“He'll never catch me!!!”

“Get a training collar and LEARN HOW TO USE IT. Otherwise, it's just a choke chain and will have the opposite effect.

Then, take him out often so he's used to it and used to other people/animals.”

“Tell him "NO!" when he wants to bolt after cats, ducks, squirrels, etc. in walks around town...”

“Rabbityour form Ohio right? Any good not so well traveled trails I can start him out on? Id like to avoid other serious hikers as much as possible untill his trail ettict is a little better.”

“Try to find a local obedience club and become a member. You'll bith befefit greatly from the experience and it is much easier to learn by watching and having somebody to tell you what you're doing wrong.”

“See the "lithium" thread. LOL
just kidding!

Congrats on your new friend. :o)

Rule of thumb is "practice makes perfect." The more exposure to other people, animals, etc, the more desensitized he will be.

VERY important to have poochie leashed at all times until reliably trained...
one slip up will undermine your training significantly(variant conditioning).

Anyhoo...getting involved in a local club is a good idea(as DM said) especially if it will discipline YOU to regularly train. I always like to do stuff myself, but here's some very general stuff-

cut and pasted from a brochure I did(for a local educational animal group) on responsible pet ownership on the trail.
>>>>
Walking along the wilderness path with your trailhound can offer you a new experience of the outdoors. Dogs can see and hear things that most of us miss?

It is important to demonstrate responsible dog ownership, if we want to keep the privelage of dogs being allowed in areas.
*Choose a park that is ?dog-friendly.? When in doubt, it is always better to call ahead.
*Keep the dog leashed (the law in almost all parks in PA)or under voice control at all times. This important, especially in areas of highly populated wildlife. Few things are as tempting to a dog as giving chase to a wild animal! Many dogs are injured or lost due to lack of leash-law compliance by the owner.
*Remember to clean up after your dog on the trail, just as you would on the city sidewalk. This is a law in state parks and forests.
*Always have current identification on your dog?s collar, no matter where you are.

When you head out for the trail, be sure to introduce the dog to all members of your group at the start of your hike. Be prepared with adequate water to maintain proper hydration. Remember that your dog will need roughly twice as much to drink as you will. Practice common courtesy to others on the trail:
*Do not allow your dog to approach other hikers, without invitation. Not everyone likes dogs and some are even afraid of them. Never assume.
*Prepare your dog for trail encounters, by taking short ?trial hikes.? Teach your dog not to bark at other hikers or animals. Don?t overdo it with a dog that is used to laying on the couch all day. You may need to work on conditioning before doing any extensive trekking. Trial runs are also important for conditioning your dog?s foot pads, which will naturally get toughened on rough terrain. Pennsylvania is notorious for rocky trails, so be sure to keep a close watch on foot conditioning. Some dogs may require ?booties? for extra protection. Most outdoor outfitters have canine supplies available to purchase.
*For all day walking, you may want to bring along an energy booster for your dog for lunch. Power bars, granola bars and trail mix are good options that can be shared. Remember that dogs should not have chocolate, however!

With your well-behaved and properly conditioned pooch, it is a wonderful experience to visit places in nature. Going the extra mile, you will see beautiful places that many people never get the opportunity to appreciate. Mountain vistas, scenic landscapes, rivers, lakes, waterfalls?
Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints.
^..^”

“Beatings.
Lots and lots of beatings.”

“bad gojo *whack*
bad gojo *whack*”

“Rather than spend a lot of time yelling "no" at him, teach him that when you say "come" it will be more fun and rewarding (lots of treats, toys etc) than whatever else might be out there. Practice it often, first with little distraction and build up the distractions until he will always come no matter what. Teach him that "look at me" means "stop whatever you are doing and look at me (and make sure that while you are training him there it is always a great thing that happens when he looks at you). Catch him doing something right and say "Good Dog" a lot.

The 3 issues in dog training are distance, distraction and duration. In otherwords, as a dog is learning something (like "stay") they will do best if they are close, there isn't anything else going on, and you don't expect it to last too long. As the dog understands the behavior you can start expect those "D's" to increase.

Most important for both of you, keep it fun for both of you. Don't expect too much - these are all foreign concepts to your dog.”

“Let him chase after skunks, porcupines, mountain lions, etc.

He'll soon learn not to leave your side.”

“microwave the bejesus out of sliced up hotdogs, like till they snap! use these as incentives. Walk with one in your left hand especially when you are with the dog! He'll have his nose to your left hand (heeling) in no time. Get him comfortable with the idea that you've got treats (belly rubs, kind words, doggie treat) and you will be happy when he does your bidding. They do want to please. Your Vet or spca may know of group lessons. It gets the dogs acclimated to other pooches.”

“Teach him with kindness. Use psychology instead of force. Use treats, and incentive. Conditioning is the way to create a bond with the animal. Be smarter than he is, instead of acting like an animal as suggested above through the use of torture.”

“Yes flyguy,
Bait does work wonders. That's how I train obedience and how 90% of people who train AKC obedience do to. Just a hint about it. When first learning an excercise, give him a lettle piece no matter if he does it right or not. Once he learns it and is comfortable with the excercise, then only give it to him when he does it right. He'll learn quickly to do it the way you want him to. If you ever get far enough to where you are working off leash, hold the bait in your left hand up against your stomach. It will make him stay up and watch your hand/face.”

“Nothing wrong with joining a club or seeking extra training if you have the time and $.

Is this a german shepard mix or a mix herder bred. Alot of herders can be trained to walk behind you real easily.

I would invest in a harness more than a choker. Chokers suck and if you don't know how to put them on the correct way you will do more harm than good, possible.

Get a lead that is around 6' or less and start walking around the block and yard before heading into the woods.
What is nice about the trails is that they are narrower than streets and sidewalks. When I go walking in the woods with my dog, she is harnessed and on lead till the close is clear. At point of release I make sure she is behind me. I have the lead visible in hand at all times. If she tries to make a move on the inside or outside when on the trail, the lead switches hands and is dangled in front of her in effort to block her passing attempt. Never whipping, just letting her know that she is not to pass.
Just the presents of the lead and harness gets the dog excited for a walk. That is how it should be.

Practice the important voice commands daily, use simple words/sounds and make sure you use the same words/sounds thought out training. Aviod mixing commands and actions, like sit and down. Don't give it to many names either. Anything you can do to lessen the confusion the better. Classes should not be long and laborous and don't forget to reward when it has done right. Get the dog use to being on lead and in harness.
Don't let the dog pull you along. Stop and give the commands. It will need to know who the leader is. Don't necessarilly make it fear you but respect you.

Mine is not the best trail dog, but they do get better with age.

Think about a cage. Mine has been cage trained. She knows the word "cage" and responds accordingly when ordered. Great for when company is over. A covered cage(cavelike) is also their own place of solitude. When she is tired she goes there to lay down. Dogs need some place like that.”

“OBEDIENCE SKOOL!

I can't stress it enough.”

“I like the hot dog idea but use all beef hot dogs. Some dogs react to pork in ways that aren't real pretty - diarrhea, vomiting, etc.
Teaching a dog to come immediately when called is the best training they can have. Always praise positive behavior. Never tolerate bad behavior. If you are not the alpha wolf in your dog's pack, then you're better off without a dog.”

“Uncle Matty!”

“Barbed wire.
High voltage.
Steel traps.
These devices are indispensable tools for the nurturing of a well behaved vegetable-I-mean-dog.”

“My daddy mite be the alpa male,
but I am the KWEEN B!TCH!”

“Thanks for the advice AmyG. All sound and good except the part about doggie booties. If my mut has to wear a shoes hes going to have to get a job to pay for them too.

gojo you should seek professional help.”

“New dogs are so great. Lots of work but sooooo rewarding. Training is such an individualized thing so find what works and be creative. There is a book called "taking your dog backpacking " by Alan & Joann Riley. Great book!

Of all the advice to give I would say two things are the most important. First is fun, make it a pleasure for the dog and you. If you are pissed rover knows it. 10-15min a few times a day is plenty. Second is consistency.

I taught my pointer to go to the bathroom on command, literally. I would watch her outside, when she was in the act of "bathroomin" I would say "go potty". It works,she learned quick 4 months old. I taught her to sit by watching her. When she sat I would say "sit" and give her a treat. She basically taught herself. Whistle commands work well too. Hell we even taught her to use slides up to 10 ft tall.

Best of luck!”

“Carry dog treats, and when the dog is loose, frequently call him back to you and then reward him with a treat. Soon this'll guarantee he'll come to you when called. Also teach him to heal to your side. This'll come in handy when you encounter people on the trial and need fido to return to your side...you'll see!”

“When in the woods and he's frolicking in the brush...hide from him (ditch behind a tree and don't make a sound) and make him look for you. When he does, reward him with a treat. Soon he'll always keep an eye on you and know where you area at every moment...which means he'll never go to far from your site!”

“Training a dog is a cinch. Try raising kids.”

“Part Kangaroo!!!! LMAO!!! That's funny!”

“Belle spent the day with her "cousin" Rufus. He's a young - but LARGE - bloodhound. I was watching them wrestle when I saw Belle go for the nads! I swear - she deliberately lunged and got a mouthful as Roof was rolling on his back. My brother and I cracked up!”

“I would take BR's advice on a cage. Crate training is great because it gives the dog a secure place to be while you aren't home. It also prevents many "accidents" from being major accidents. A harness is a good idea for hiking, but I think it may get in the way of a pack. I use a training collar and have had great sucess, but I also had proper training. They do make another type of training collar that can be put on any way. They are available mainly at training supply stores or at dog shows, so tey are a little harder to find. Herding dogs are really intelligent and I don't think you'll have to much trouble training him. Just make sure that he sees you as the boss. If he refuses to do an excercise, don't just say oh well and give up. At least make the effort to make him do it. If you let him get away with it once, he'll learn that he can refuse to do something and get away with it. Whatever you do, have fun with it, nd make sure he has fun too.”

“Never let your dog just jump out of the car...train it to only exit the vehicle on command.

An old friend from school told of how his sister and husband had took their parents dog to go for a walk. They parked by a road, and when they opened the door, the dog jumped out and in front of a moving car. Nuff'said!”

“Whenever taking fido for a walk, always stop for a moment at the curb prior to crossing a road. So if/when they ever go to cross the road, they will be more inclined not to just run across.

Buddur knows I'll kick his canine booty if he even goes onto a road surface without being healed beside me.

Which reminds me of why I wrote this... Today when going to take Buddur for a hike, I watched a woman and small child hand in hand walk to a busy intersection and cross the road without looking both ways or anything. "Way to teach your kid to look before crossing the road" is all I could think of...she didn't even stop at the curb, she just kept walking and onto the road. Heck, my dog knows better!”

“If you toss Capn Crunch Berries at my dog...she honestly will do a back flip to catch it. I've gotta find my camera and figure out the video feature!!!!”

“Good deel!

If I walk byside the dore and yell "Hay! some buddy is out side on the porch or what never!" my daddy will open the dore and I can go out and pee and smell stinkys and look at tree rats. Ah ah ah!

I wuld open the dore my self but I am skeerd I mite brake a feenger nale bwt.”

“Ha! mine will catch popcorn tossed at her every time!”

“I can ketch balls and gimmedats perty good I gess.
last edited: 12/29/07 8:39:35 AM”

“But can you catch kitty-kitties with stinky butts purty good?”

“Not verry good no mor sense I got a sergry leg.
)o:3”

“How to get a distractable dog to focus on ME?

In the house she is fine (most of the time) for training unless she needs to get some excess energy out of her systom first LOL. She knows sit, shake paw and is learning down. But outside I can only get her to pay atention a fraction of the time. I would like to make sure I train her right to pay attention to me, to listen to me when needed so how do you suggest I go about this?

:) I can tell I am going to have a lot of fine with this dog as i already am! she is a doll. Plus, she likes wearin' bandanas as much as I do!
last edited: 3/24/08 6:00:49 AM”

“usually it takes lots of alcohol”

“Well, first of all it would help if you understood the mindset of the breed you are attempting to train. The dog you have is a hunting dog, so this is what you have to understand, the dog wants to hunt. Then you need to get the dog on a harness, and a pinch collar. Start going for walks, long walks,. I cut up some of the cheapest hot dogs I can buy in to small pieces. And I have a pouch that I wear on my side as I am walking the dog. Slowly I begin to introduce new commands to the dog. Be sure to reward dog. Never punish at this stage, other than the pull on the pinch collar. At some point you will need to introduce the shock collar, as dog will need to be allowed to go off leash. Remember dog is a hunting dog, so get you a shotgun, hunting license, dog box, truck, and tracking collar. Soon you and dog will work out problems. What it really sounds like is this, you need to be trained to under stand how to train the breed you have. Be kind, be firm. Once you become upset with dog, STOP. Think, don't take the angry feelings out on the dog.”

“take them out on mike, instead”

“no, not upset at the dog at all. Shes good on a leesh for the most part. i just want to make sure that should she ever get off her leesh she will learn to come back when called. :) She has a harness, but no way am I going to use a shock collar.”

“Spirit, There's multiple schools of thought on this one. Most notable and common are: Reward for doing good (treats, clicker, praise) and punishment for doing bad (shock collar, choke collar), or a combination of both.

Forest was extremely distractable and agressive, a good obedience class helped, and I am a firm believer of choke collar training (a slight correction for being distracted and not doing what is asked, a very firm correction for being aggressive, a ton of praise for doing right) Praise is the key here, always praise for doing the right thing, constantly. Hey the dog is heeling just like he's supposed to, "Good dog good dog good dog!!! Ohh good boy" Hey, the dog is laying on the floor quietly, "ohh good dog." Treats can be helpful, but I do see a very strong treat focus if this form of training is used (it is difficult to do proper treat training, only rewarding occasionally so the dog doesn't expect a treat every time, and only perform when you have a treat).

I cannot teach dog obedience over the internet, Books, classes, tv shows and videos.”

“Start inside, with calling the dog coming to you. You should only use the command once, and correct the dog if not done properly. If done correctly use a lot of praise and a treat. Once the dog does this inside without mistakes, start trying it outside, first with a long leash/rope (20 feet or so) then eventually off leash.”

“can anyone tell me why she insists on turning over her food onto the floor before eatting it? lol”

“thanks zac! I shall being working it :)”

“Is the bowl too small? The airdale we had when I was a kid did that, until we got her a much bigger bowl.

Training a hunting dog not to hunt is going to be very tough, SC. Every time she smells something outdoors that she wants to follow, she's going to let you and everyone around you know about it.”

“It is extremely difficult. I have a friend who teaches obedience with the clicker. The best part is a clicker costs $1 and it's positive reinforcement, not pain. Susan teaches all sorts of breeds and had great success with our German shorthair the few times she boarded her for us. I don't know if there is anything that would ever help our beagle mix. He is the most stubborn self centered dog I have ever ever met. But he's still pretty cool.

http://www.clickertrainusa.com/
last edited: 3/24/08 6:51:37 AM”

“The bowl sinks, get another bowl. Like I said, not trying to insult you, but you got to understand the dog. You got a game dog, and its a whole different mindset than what you have been used to. Best thing for you to do is start going to a few coon hunts. Look up on the website, they are listed. See how those dogs are being cared for. It is alot more different than the normal house pet.”

“The more intelligent the breed and the more independent the breed the harder it is to get them to focus on you. Dogs that are set loose to track animals, or herd flocks out of line of sight are very self reliant and often think for themselves. It is a major asset for a Border Collie to be able to self direct, but it is a wicked hard thing to train over because they are bred to do it. A very intelligent dog knows when it is getting bored. If the training des not offer some level of variety and challenge the dog will zone out and find something to itself with. My dog knows the commands. He just don't give a rip unless there is something in it for him.

Show him a biscuit and he'll hit the deck like a soldier hearing "incoming". Tell him to lie down and he looks at you as if to ask why he should. Coon hounds are bred to run off lead. Keep plugging away.

I personally would never use a shock collar. I do use a prong collar when we are on lead. Having used a choke chain for years I find the prong collar much easier to get the dog to obey and there is no gagging or choking or wheezing with it. It took me some time to be convinced to try that draconian looking device. But I would never go back to a chain. He will sit quietly while we put it on because he knows what comes next is a fun trip.
last edited: 3/24/08 7:31:20 AM”