Teaching Your Dog Behavior Techniques Is 'Worthless'

abcnews ^ | May 22, 2009 | EMILY WITHER

[El Sordo]

Yer just an apologist for the radical cat fanatics lobby! Admit it!

[mamelukesabre]

That’s really cute...and really handy for a mastiff. They are MESSY.

[Brad’s Gramma]

That might get you an affectionate dog but not a trained one.

Wanna bet?

[freedumb2003]

>>Wanna bet?

You can convince yourself all you want. Dogs are pack animals and are subject to some very specific behaviors.

Take your dog off-leash and say “heel” and see if your dog stays within a foot of you and looking up at you the the entire time you are walking — on a predetermined side. Say “Place” or some similar word, walk away and see if your dog stays there until released. Have a stranger give your dog food and see if he accepts it and eats it.

Those are the EASY tests for a trained dog.

[Brad’s Gramma]

Dogs are pack animals and are subject to some very specific behaviors.

Yep. Big time. And I am the LEADER of their pack.

Perhaps I misread what you said?

One of my dogs WILL stay next to me off leash...we're still workin' on the stubborn other one. :)

Second one you mentioned? Yeppers again.

The third....I'm kicking myself for NOT doing that.........

[Brad’s Gramma]

And......if I remember right, DieHard is also on the same page as you & I with pack animals...and setting ourselves up from Day One as such. Pinging him so he can smack me up the side of the head if I’m not remembering what he said to me...

[freedumb2003]

I am just pointing out there is a big difference between real training and making your dog do stuff.

[McLynnan]

Long time, no see! My dog has me trained perfectly. She herds me to the leash as soon as I walk in the door, herds me towards her food bowl as soon as we come back from her walk, and every night she lets me sleep in the bed with her.

[Brad’s Gramma]

Yeah....I’m with you....

Here..

http://www.gsroc.org/available_dogs_detail.asp?ID=1224

THIS will break your heart. If I could find someone to help w/dog food costs...I’d take this guy in a heartbeat. What a SAD story!

[freedumb2003]

>>The third....I’m kicking myself for NOT doing that.........

There are very many more tests for a trained dog. Can it ignore a gun firing? Can it work within proximity of a horse? Can it do a complex course off leash? Can it run at full speed and then stop instantly on a verbal command?

Like I said — there is a big difference between a well-behaved dog and a trained one.

[freedumb2003]

>>She herds me to the leash as soon as I walk in the door, herds me towards her food bowl as soon as we come back from her walk, and every night she lets me sleep in the bed with her.

Ae you sure you don’t have a cat?

Cats vs. dogs:

Dogs have owners. Cats have staff.

A dog says “you feed me, you love me, you give me toys and affection! You must be God!”

A cat says “you feed me, you love me, you give me toys and affection! I must be God!”

[McLynnan]

LOL. How about this: I’ve trained her to remind me to take her for a walk and feed her when I get home from work and as a reward I allow her to sleep in my bed.

[freedumb2003]

>>THIS will break your heart. If I could find someone to help w/dog food costs...I’d take this guy in a heartbeat. What a SAD story!

Mrs FD and I donated to a dog that was abused and needing surgery. Last I heard it came out great :)

[Brad’s Gramma]

Good for you...thanks.

We did that as a one-time donation a LONG time ago...and didn’t keep up with the dog’s progress.

Durn.

[Desdemona]

Oh, where to start. My family has two Havanese. Cute and charming, but not piece of cake trainable like our previous dog, a lab, was. We started watching The Dog Whisperer about the time the first of these two came into the house (she was a 4 month old puppy) and without some of his techniques and advice, life would have been much worse, particularly the walk. Things like don't tense when going past a house with a barking dog and keep the leash short, etc.

Dog training is also like raising kids - there's a lot of trial and error. Not all techniques work with all dogs. We bell trained the first puppy to the back door for when she needs to go out and the second one won't do it. He paws humans when he needs to go out. But, he'll fetch and his sister won't. Go figure.

BTW, I read through this thread and when Caesar has a "red-zone" case, he does put the dog on the ground and hold them there until they heave a big sigh. His usual solution, though, is a good walk every day. Even toy breeds. They're not nearly as rambunctious when they're tired.

[freedumb2003]

We probably won’t be able to keep track. But it is good to know this dog will get a good home.

[Brad’s Gramma]

IF you used the organization I linked to.... There is a REMOTE possibility I could find out. Lotta “if’s” involved though...

[BluH2o]

Which one is the dog?

He's the illegal one that found a really great gig here in liberal America where no one gives a sh** if you're illegal.

[kanawa]

Woof!

[Jabba the Nutt]

Yes, I know what you mean. My dog is a watchdog, he'll watch the burglars break in and carry everything off, while wagging his tail and hoping for a treat.

You could record his bark and growl for Hollywood special effects, but he would lick you to death.