Both dogs, Rocky (9 1/2 years) and Ollie (2 years), passed their AKC Good Citizen test this weekend.
Yeah!!!
Showing posts with label Life with Dogs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Life with Dogs. Show all posts
Monday, November 24, 2008
Thursday, September 25, 2008
WOW
We're on day 3 of the shock collar and have seen notable improvement. It's awesome!
I'm so excited about solving this problem and providing a good life for us and our new dog.
This weekend I join group training which will help even more!
I'm so excited about solving this problem and providing a good life for us and our new dog.
This weekend I join group training which will help even more!
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Shock and Awe
The training with our new dog, Ollie, has been going very well. He is responsive to commands, interested in us, and better behaved around strangers.
He is also still dog aggressive, especially on the leash.
This translates to barking, growling and lunging (with all 60 pounds of his muscular body) at passing dogs. I am barely strong enough to control him and the other day I fell into a neighbor's yard as a result. My head fell just inches from a piece of rebar sticking out of the ground.
My husband's patience is just about used up as this dog is far more work than he imagined, so we had to come up with a plan.
With the guidance and support of our trainer, we got a shock collar. I know it sounds awful, but it is so much more humane than the pronged choke collar we are currenlty using to get his attention. The shock is enough to be uncomfrotable, but not painful. Today, we meet with the trainer on how to use it.
We will then take every opportunity to go into crowded places so that he is exposed to many dogs and learns that showing too much interest causes discomfort. Our trainer rescued a labrador with similar aggression and rehqabilitated the dog, so we have the best teacher, in my opinion.
We have about 8 weeks to make it through the process before we see the results.
He is also still dog aggressive, especially on the leash.
This translates to barking, growling and lunging (with all 60 pounds of his muscular body) at passing dogs. I am barely strong enough to control him and the other day I fell into a neighbor's yard as a result. My head fell just inches from a piece of rebar sticking out of the ground.
My husband's patience is just about used up as this dog is far more work than he imagined, so we had to come up with a plan.
With the guidance and support of our trainer, we got a shock collar. I know it sounds awful, but it is so much more humane than the pronged choke collar we are currenlty using to get his attention. The shock is enough to be uncomfrotable, but not painful. Today, we meet with the trainer on how to use it.
We will then take every opportunity to go into crowded places so that he is exposed to many dogs and learns that showing too much interest causes discomfort. Our trainer rescued a labrador with similar aggression and rehqabilitated the dog, so we have the best teacher, in my opinion.
We have about 8 weeks to make it through the process before we see the results.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
WOW
So after a very frustrating month with our new rescue dog, see Meet Ollie, I went to my first training session with Salem pictured here with the white dog.
Wow, I mean really WOW!
In the past 15 years, I have had private dog training, class training, and read books. Salem respected all that, but listened to my specific concerns, gave me some homework, and in just a couple days, my world has gotten 10 times better. I, of course, still have a lot more to do and a long way to go, but Ollie is acknowledging me and sticking close to me, which is what I need to get to the next step. I see light at the end of the tunnel and my husband finally agreed to let us get his license, his way of agreeing to keep the dog - yay!
Wow, I mean really WOW!
In the past 15 years, I have had private dog training, class training, and read books. Salem respected all that, but listened to my specific concerns, gave me some homework, and in just a couple days, my world has gotten 10 times better. I, of course, still have a lot more to do and a long way to go, but Ollie is acknowledging me and sticking close to me, which is what I need to get to the next step. I see light at the end of the tunnel and my husband finally agreed to let us get his license, his way of agreeing to keep the dog - yay!
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