training 4 at once!

Question
QUESTION: We have a "pack" of relatively well behaved male pups, but there are still some areas that need improvement.  Never intended to have 4, but this is our lot in life!  No children, just my husband, myself and our boys.  Our oldest is an IG who is 15. Our 18 mo old is a Rat Terrior Chihuahua mix, his younger brother by the same parents is 7 mos and our adoption from the shelter is about one we think.  All boys and all get along very well.  They do listen pretty well when you are right there, but not so good when they are away from our sides.  I am thinking of getting electronic collars to help since we don't have a fensible back yard (we are in the woods but still have neighbors and a road nearby) and so I can correct them when they are not within my reach.  I am thinking it is silly to imagine I can use collar training for four at once, but wonder if there is a manufacturer out there who makes a model that can have one remote for 4 collars?  Separation for specialized training time is just so tedious, I can't imagine we could pull it off.  The main behaviors we want to work on are getting quicker response to our commands, especially "come" when they are running up the hillside out of sight! I also want to work with two of them who jump up a lot when company comes over or when I get home from work. Also do you know if there are any training colars which work with a remote and also work with an invisible fence system?

ANSWER: Sure there is a manufacturer that makes a 4-dog remote training system. However, the collars are entirely too large for your dogs, because the multiple-dog systems are designed more for owners of hunting dogs, etc.

Also, I know that it is difficult to create individual time for each dog, but it absolutely must be done that way. You cannot train one dog while the others are running around you, playing and interfering. At this point in time, I do not feel a remote training collar is appropriate. Your dogs need to learn to respect your commmands when they are on a long leash (not a retractable) before you can start proofing them off leash.

What I would suggest would be to fence in an area of your yard if you can, to allow them to be able to run around and play with one another while you are working on their training. Make time each day for each of them, OR, if you prefer, work with one dog one day, another the next, and so on. I will say that doing it this way may be a little easier, but it will take a little longer, since each dog will have 3 days in-between, to 'forget' what he learned.

I mentioned using a long leash earlier. First, you need to have them obeying your recall (come) command immediately (ie: after only one command) on a 6ft leash (again, NOT a retractable). Then, you can start giving them a little more freedom. When you can have them immediately coming back to you after one command, on a 10ft leash, you can start letting them drag a 20ft leash around when they are in the yard, and practice calling them that way. If they ignore your command, you can pick up the end of the 20ft leash and make them obey it.

Whenever you are working with one dog, the others should be inside so they are not a distraction. Keep your training sessions short, between 8 and 10 minutes, but do several a day. There should be at least 30 minutes between sessions, but you can do one dog right after the other if you have the time and inclination. You don't have to wait 30min between dogs.

Until all of the dogs will come to you individually, when they are dragging a 20ft line, do NOT - I repeat, do NOT - allow them to be loose in your yard together. If they are allowed to 'get away with' ignoring you even one time, you're back to square one again.


The simpler solution for you is to have an Invisible Fence system installed around your yard. There will be some training involved to teach them not to cross the boundary, but it isn't going to be nearly as labor intensive as trying to work with all four of them to attain reliable off leash obedience when they are 100 yards away from you, running over the hill. There are systems that also have a remote, but I do not know how they work for more than one dog; I don't know if you have to have a remote for each collar or what.



As for the jumping up, that's an easy problem to fix, and there are several methods that work. The first is to completely ignore the dog (no looking at, talking to, or touching the dog) until he gives up and goes away. Of course, this method requires that EVERYONE who comes through the door do it, and I know how hard it can be to get company to follow the no look, no talk, no touch rule. Another method involves teaching the dog to sit, instead of jump, for attention. Still another method requires that the dog be on a leash and get a correction for jumping. I prefer to ignore the dog until he stops trying to get attention by jumping, and then call him over and ask him to sit. At that time, I will pet him and perhaps give him a small treat, and then release him and walk away. If he breaks the sit and starts jumping when I reach down towards him, I simply turn and walk away.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you so much.  Can you clarify for me what the long leash training system should look like?  Some training I have read about recommends using a choke chain (training collar) but I am worried to do so as especially our littlest boy has such a small neck.  Should we jerk the leash with a regular collar & if so what would make that method the most effective.  We do want to eventually get them trained well enough to be off lead while we hike, so we will be getting everything set up and then carve out the time to work with them all.  Thanks so much for the other advice though.  That all makes sense.

Answer
I do not recommend choke chains, or any other type of slip collar, and especially for small and toy breeds, no matter what kind of leash you are using. The reason is because so much pressure is exerted on the dog's throat when you use a choke chain that it can lead to injury, such as collapsing trachea and muscle damage. A prong/pinch collar is much, much safer and more effective for training purposes. However, I do not recommend using a prong/pinch collar with a long line. A plain flat collar or a martingale (limited slip) collar is what I would use with your guys, on the long line. Before you advance to using the long line, however, while you're still working on their obedience on the 6-10ft leash, I would suggest either a martingale or a prong/pinch collar.

Here are pictures of what a martingale collar looks like:

Slip-on (goes on over the head and then you tighten it to fit the neck): http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41Yj10J-rXL._SS400_.jpg

Snap-around: http://www.pinkpuppydesigns.com/images/Collar-BrownPinkDotsStripes.jpg

Slip-on w/chain: http://www.pawmark.com/prodimages/polyadjmartingale300.png

Snap-around w/chain: http://www.pawmark.com/prodimages/nylonchainmartingalbuckle300.png


I prefer the kind with the chain on them, that snap around, myself.