Question
Snickers
I have been trying to train my dog SNickers for over 3 months now to walk on
a leash. I've been through various trainers, dog whisperers, etc. And nothing
has worked. To be honest, I didn't like their methods either. However, I have
tried the choke collar, training collar, everything. The only thing that's
starting to work is my own idea of talking to him in a happy voice and givin
him his favourite treat for every 1 minute of good walking, and saying the
word heel quite a lot on the walk when he's getting it right. The other big
problem is that he's getting a little better at the start of the walk, but on the
way home, he just stalls and digs his feet in the ground, or even sits down on
the road. He hates the walk home, even though I tired walking him home a
different route from the way we can, and walking him back the same route
from the way we came. Here's some information you might want to know
about SNickers' background:
My brother rescued SNickers and brought him to me about 3 months ago. At
the time, he vet said he was a maximum of 9 months old. When we found
Snickers, he had run away from someplace bad, but still had a big rusted
metal chain and padlock around his neck. As a result he's still a very timid
and scared dog all the time. The tiniest thing or sounds scares him. Luckily,
he isn't aggressive in the least bit. Whenver he's scared of any situation, he
just comes and sticks very close to me for protection, or runs away from the
sound or situation. Snickers is a mix of a few breeds maybe, but mostly
(according to the vet) a mix between a German Spitz and a Labrador. He's a
creamy white with caramel highlights. Medium size. Too skinny. I live alone
with Snickers in the city. However, I'm in the suburbs where I can take him
for daily walks. I live in a shared villa, so although I have just one large studio
to myself, we have a very big courtyard where he can run and play if he feels
like. As I don't drive and dogs are not allowed in taxis in this country, we
have never gone for obedience classes. However, I am trying to train him in
whatever way I can. Mostly I'm the one person he listens to. As I just moved
into this house quite recently (a little over a month ago), as I broke up with
my partner, Snickers forgot all the training I had done on him. I've started
retraining him now. He knows Come, Sit, he almost knows Down, but I still
need a treat to make him get it. I'm working on Wait, but it's a bit hard. Sadly,
I work very long hours so I drop Snickers off at a doggy day camp while I
work. We wake up by 6.20am, he eats around 6.40am. He normally goes to
his play camp around 7 am. However, this isn't a structured enviornment. It's
the home of a lady with 50 cats and 20 dogs. THey all just play, sleep and eat
all day (he has his evening meal there). I pick him back up by 8pm. After that
we have a 10 mins drive home. He comes in, gets hyper active for a while (he
has more energy than any dog I've ever known) then falls asleep for half an
hour to an hour. After that we go for a 45 mins fast walk. On the way home,
he stalls like crazy. Once we're home, he gets hyper active again, despite the
long walk. This can then go on for hours. I find that when we come back, if I
make him do his basic commands for 10 or 15 mins, he gets calm sooner. On
weekends, we wake up same time, he eats same time, then from 7 to8am, we
go for a walk, after which he plays in the yard till 9.30 or 10am. Then it's off
to bed for him till around 2 or 3 in the afternoon. Around 4.30 or 5pm, we go
for another walk. Then dinner by 6.30. At 7pm there's another walk. And one
more walk around 10pm. Despite all this, he's still hyper active at home and
struggling, pulling or stalling on our walks. ALso, on weekends, and whenver
I'm not at work, he's always with me. I never go out and leave him alone in
the room for more than 10 mins, max once a day, if I need to to go to the
kitched (which is shared and outside my room). On the weekend, if I need to
go anywhere, he has a sitter to look after him. He's very destructive and
nervous if left alone. I love this dog with all my life and really really want to
help him be happy. And I feel walking well with me is a big part of that. I've
gone to so many trainers, and none of their methods have worked. Most
seemed cruel almost. I believe in positive reinforcement (which I feel is
beginning to work a little bit on our walks on), but it's still a long hard road.
Do you have any advice for us?
AnswerDear Muby,
Thanks for all the info. Snickers is a very lucky dog to have found you.
The method you have found to work to train him to heel (walk nicely on a loose leash) is precisely the method I teach in my obedience classes. Repeating the command word as you go is crucial, as you seem to already understand. I also incorporate a leg slap with your dog-side hand; this will eventually evolve into your command for "heel" so you don't have to do the verbal command for the rest of your life. I start with a lot more than 1 treat per minute but if you're having success at that rate, keep it there. If he has trouble in more distracting places, don't be afraid to use more happy talk and treats to keep him focused on you. After you have practiced this way in a wide variety of places and distraction levels, and you are happy with his level of accomplishment, that's when you gradually decrease the treats, keeping the happy talk and leg slaps going to keep his attention. If he starts to have trouble you probably have decreased the treat rate too quickly so go back to what worked and keep it there for another week or so.
As far as the stubbornness going home, do your best not to let him win this battle. I assume you don't, since you seem to make it home each time, so keep that up and just have a "no tolerance" for it attitude. I suspect he's not getting as much exercise at day camp as he should/could, and that's why he's got so much energy when he gets home. However, he definitely should keep going there if there aren't any other daycare options for him; he'd probably really be out of control if he didn't get that stimulation. Just make sure the woman taking care of him during the day isn't crating him or confining him for long periods. See if you can "pop in" for a surprise visit in the middle of the day, to check up on this.
You can also use much better treats (tiny pieces of hot dog or other meat) for the walk home, as motivation and reward for not giving you trouble.
Good job on the obedience training. If you want to continue using positive reinforcement methods (which I highly recommend) and are ready to tackle some more or move to the next level, go to http://www.dogdaysUSA.com for lots of training details on a number of different topics. I also have a DVD and accompanying manual (also available as e-book) at that website if you're interested http://www.dogdaysusa.com/positivepuppy.cfm
Thanks for being such a good dog owner, and thanks for writing.
Suzanne Harris, BSc, CPDT
http://www.dogdaysUSA.com
Is this aggression, dominance, or play?
QuestionQUESTION: I have a question regarding doggy beh
uncontrollable beagle
Question
max
My beagle is a year and a half. Ive had hi
Dog light and shadow chasing
Question
Jenni
My 3 year old Cavalier King Charles Span
Post bladder surgery potty training for INDOORS!
QuestionTiki
QUESTION: Dear Dr. Connor,
My 10 ye
Dog in Heat?
QuestionLily and Jorge
QUESTION: Hello,
We have
