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Mike's Memorial Ask a Trainer Thread

81K views 585 replies 74 participants last post by  BigKid 
#1 ·
Hey all,
I just wanted to start a thread about dog training to see if I could help with any GT members families.
My resume is this: I started out working with Palm Beach County K-9 program as a volunteer about 1994. My job was obedience training, protection training and tracking training. All of these dogs were top quality and already started in these disciplines and was very easy to get them to learn new things. I worked with them for about 6 months and moved into full-time in-home dog training one-on-one with the family. This is the best situation for learning how to train a dog bar none!!!! I worked for someone else for 3 years and then started out on my own. Having well over 3,000 dogs trained I have a solution for any problem anybory can came up with. If this thread gets popular maybe we can ask a mod to sticky it. I will cover anything from housebreaking to behavior problems to obedience to choosing the right pup. Basically if you want to know how to change something about your dog ask. I dont know all the answers but I will find out if anybody stumps me.;) So fire away with your questions. I am here to help.
;c
 
#28 ·
Originally posted by Ender
how to stop a dog from jumping?
Hey Ender,
Several methods depending on your dogs personality, If he is jumping on you or your SO, raise a knee up as he jumps to catch him in the chest. Now this doesn't need to be done hard, just catch him off guard. When other people come over (or you are out with him) use the leash. If you correct him eveytime he jumps and he isnt getting any positive reinforcement for jumping (very important) this shouldn't take but maybe a week or two for him to figure out. Again the key is no positve reinforcement for jumping, don't pet him or wrassle with him while he is on his hind legs.
Good luck and hope this helps some.;) ;c
 
#30 ·
thanks G20, will try. i can't be too forceful with her because she hurt her leg and the vet says to take everything easy for a few weeks....

and scowan...its been a while since i actually groaned at a joke....you fixed that...

















beautiful joke btw, just...beautiful!
 
#31 ·
G20man32904
I have a Brittany that is nearly 2 years old. Once he sees a deer, rabbit or other game it is nearly impossible for me to call him back/keep him for chasing the game. I have an orchard behind my house and the deer congrigate there in the winter. Now this concerns me because the orchard is really in a suburban area that is kinda hidden from the streets around. One of the streets that he could very easliy chase the deer onto is very busy. I do not want anyone to hit a deer, get hurt, kill the deer, or run over my little brittany (Sorry for the lengthy background).

Now I ran him down this morning and turned him on his back and yelled at him NO!!! How can I teach him that when I say no come I MEANIT?

When I let him out for any lenght of time I put an e-collar on him but, when I change their water in the morning and feed the rabbit and chukar I let him run around for a little bit. 90% of the time he comes right back when I call him. I do not have the e-collar on him at this time.

Thank you in advance!!

Scott
 
#32 ·
Scott,
2 things, Leave the e collar on whenever you go outside and make sure the correction is strong enough to deter him from running off and yet not too much that it spooks him. Sounds like part of this, is maybe he figured out the e collar and he knows when its not on.
Second, the come command HAS TO BE POSITIVELY REINFORCED MANY TIMES. It also CANNOT be re-inforced with "punishment". An Alpha rollover was good choice but applied to late for the dog to associate it with not coming.
Work the come command with a 30ft lead tied to a tree (so the dog cannot go anywhere BUT to you) and then use the e collar as the correction. Keep in mind that the better the praise, the more the dog will want to do it. Use a good food reward (my guy likes liver/hot dogs) occasionally to spice it up.
If the dog does get outside without the e collar, you have already lost the battle, call him once maybe twice at the most and walk back inside and wait. I know thats a hard answer but its one that works quite often. For the come command to be %100 the dog has to learn that no matter what is happening if he comes when called he will get praised.
Good luck and let me know how its going;)
 
#33 ·
G20Man,
I have two questions for you. I got a full blood yellow lab pup about three months ago, he's 5 months old now. The first question, When I play with him he tends to bite hard. Really hard. Sometimes even drawing blood. I tell him no a give him a little smack on the nose but i guess he thinks I'm playing when I do this because he just keeps biting hard. What do you think I should do to get him to stop biting so damn hard? Second question, He feels the need to chew up absolutely everything in the house. I bought him chew toys but he chews on everything else but them. How can I get him to stop this?

He was very good with everything else. He never whined when I put him in his kennel at night, He went to the bathroom maybe 4 times in the house the whole time I've had him even though he was kept outside by the people I bought him from. Those are about the only two problems I've ever had with him, he's a very good dog. Thanks!
 
#35 ·
Nice looking Lab 8-Ball!!
When I play with him he tends to bite hard.
This is an esy one, don't rough-house with him!!! ;)
Play ball or tug-of-war with a tug toy. There is no reason to rough-house with a dog because in dog language YOU CAN NOT WIN!!
I am pretty sure he will chase a ball until your arm falls off from throwing it for him. Teach him how to bring the ball back to you and this will satisfy his need to run and bite things.
Labs are very mouthy dogs anyway don't encourage him by playing rough for biting you. He will only fear you...
If he bites at your hands when not playing rough stick one of his chew toys in his mouth.
Also if you have water around you where he can swim get him a water kong. The white one in the picture.



p.s.
They are ALL good dogs!!;f
let me know how it goes....
 
#36 ·
G20man32904,

I have a question for you about potty training. I have a 18 week old Fila Mastiff that I have had for 8 weeks now. I have tried everything you have posted here to try to train him. My wife and I thought we were making good progress with him when he started to scratch at the door to go out, but now he just stops what he is doing and pees. We will have taken him out less than 5 minutes, no exaggeration, and he will go in the house. This last weekend, he was outside and we brought him in and he went within 30 seconds of coming back into the house. When he does go in the house, we tell him he is bad in a loud voice and take him outside. Then I take him to his crate for a "time-out". Basically, our patience is wearing thin. It is becoming a daily occurrence. We do not want an outside dog, we want an indoor family dog. We have even talked to breeders about this problem and they say he probably has a weak bladder and he will grow out of it. It just does not make sense that he will tell us sometimes he wants to go out and other times he just goes. Any advice? ;g
Thanks,
Steve
 
#37 ·
Iggy is 8 months now and has not outgrown this. Barks constantly (and sometimes pees) when I leave him alone.

He can go all night in the crate, so I know its not a bladder thing. Whenever I leave him alone in the crate he will bark and cry forever! He will bark and pee in the SUV when I leave the truck. Every once in awhile, as a test, I will leave him uncrated when I take the trash out, run to the truck, etc. He will bark and bark, if I hear him stop barking, I know there will be a puddle in the entryway. This has got to stop. I don't know how to correct it since he only does it when I'm not around. Tried the bark collar. That worked for a week or so, now he powers through it.
 
#38 ·
Steve,
First things first, everything you have done this far has taught the dog to go inside. ;L

Housebreaking has 1 main rule: The dog must be on a leash and tied to YOU and only you or he is in his crate. What we want to happen is for him to start going to the bathroom in-front of you so we can correct him while he is going and immediately go outside to finish while being praised for it. So the ideal situation is he sleeps in the crate and the rest of the time he is with you and your wife and take turns. Don’t be dissuaded by the thoughts of “how can I do that?”
Everywhere you go he goes. After the first day or so he won’t be bad.
How much water is he getting a day? I would a say a quart throughout the day should be good depending on activity.
Get him a decent sized water bottle (like for hamsters) if he spends more than 6 hours at a time in the crate.
If he is 100% healthy and that can be a big if….. He can hold it for about 8-10 hours easy.
Start wearing that leash and things will turn around in the first day guaranteed!!
good luck and let me know
 
#39 ·
Alright Scowan your turn,
We need to find out absolutely 100% if Iggy really needs to go or is playing this up.
Is he crying or whining or straight out barking? Does he sleep in-bed with you?? If so that has to end now before this gets really bad.
Some dogs just have this and we have to live with it but you are not to that point by any means. Kind of like a cancer we can medicate it but not solve it.
How big of a puddle are we talking here?
 
#40 ·
sleeps in kennel. Can easily go all night with out peeing. Will pee in kennel about 25% of the time when I leave for 1 to 2 hours (I take him outside before I crate him).

Usually he is tethered to me, or my work area.

Sometimes when I take out the trash, or grab the mail, I will leave him out to see how he behaves (I mean, its been 6 months!).

He barks his "baby bark." the high pitched plaintive bark with the occasional whimper. He doesn't do his "big boy" WOOOOOOOF bark. But its still full blown, lost his little mind, nonstop, gonzo barking. About 2 times in 5 he'll pee right by the front door (that's the only place he does it). He even did this when i visited my dad. I asked dad to watch him while I ran to get something from the truck. i figured as long as someone was with him, he would be ok. Wrong! Its ME he misses, not company in general apparently. I come back to barking and a puddle inside dad's front door and a less than amused dad.
 
#41 ·
Originally posted by scowan007
sleeps in kennel. Can easily go all night with out peeing. Will pee in kennel about 25% of the time when I leave for 1 to 2 hours (I take him outside before I crate him).

Usually he is tethered to me, or my work area.

Sometimes when I take out the trash, or grab the mail, I will leave him out to see how he behaves (I mean, its been 6 months!).

He barks his "baby bark." the high pitched plaintive bark with the occasional whimper. He doesn't do his "big boy" WOOOOOOOF bark. But its still full blown, lost his little mind, nonstop, gonzo barking. About 2 times in 5 he'll pee right by the front door (that's the only place he does it). He even did this when i visited my dad. I asked dad to watch him while I ran to get something from the truck. i figured as long as someone was with him, he would be ok. Wrong! Its ME he misses, not company in general apparently. I come back to barking and a puddle inside dad's front door and a less than amused dad.
Ok let first start with the peeing in the crate, this has to stop.
Make the crate smaller and remove anything that will soak up urine (bedding) and cut way back on water, give him access to the water every 3-4 hours unless excersing. Make sure he is empty before putting him in. Before you leave and immediately upon returning home ignore him for at least 15 minutes. That means everybody in the house and even when he is barking, or peeing. YOU CANNOT CORRECT him at this point for this. Let it go
Its really hard to say without observing you and the family interacting with him.
I've got a plan for you
Start here and either post or pm me in a week or so.
 
#42 ·
G20man32904

Thanks for your help.
He is healthy, but I do not know if he can hold it for the 8 to 9 hours we are gone for the day. He has started to pee in his crate. Tonight I am going to make the crate a little smaller, although he is growing fast. At 18 weeks, he is 54lbs already. His dad weighs in at 238lbs right now, so he is going to be a big boy. So I will also get him one of those water containers you suggested for his crate. I told my wife about tying a leash to ourselves and keeping him with us and she was a little curious how we are supposed to do that. We have a baby gate in our computer room where we spend most of our time going to school so he is there all the time with us. Should we have him tied to us even when he plays? Whenever we leave the room, he is right by our side, so having him on a leash will not be a problem there. It will actually help him stay to one side of us instead of cutting us off all the time. Thanks again for your help.

Steve
 
#43 ·
Originally posted by cocor
G20man32904

Thanks for your help.
He is healthy, but I do not know if he can hold it for the 8 to 9 hours we are gone for the day. He has started to pee in his crate. Tonight I am going to make the crate a little smaller, although he is growing fast. At 18 weeks, he is 54lbs already. His dad weighs in at 238lbs right now, so he is going to be a big boy. So I will also get him one of those water containers you suggested for his crate. I told my wife about tying a leash to ourselves and keeping him with us and she was a little curious how we are supposed to do that. We have a baby gate in our computer room where we spend most of our time going to school so he is there all the time with us. Should we have him tied to us even when he plays? Whenever we leave the room, he is right by our side, so having him on a leash will not be a problem there. It will actually help him stay to one side of us instead of cutting us off all the time. Thanks again for your help.

Steve
THe way I leash my pooch to me is with a longer than normal leash (like 8-9) feet. Put a carabiner in the loop of the leash, wrap the leash around your waist and clip the 'biner to the leash
 
#44 ·
Steve, use Scowan's idea (fantastic by the way, thanks scow!)
He should be leashed and tied to you at all times when you are home. Our concern right now is not whether he gets enough play time but getting him housebroken ASAP.
Any chance of being able to come home at lunch for the next 2 weeks? Or maybe a pet walking service, someone you trust to let him pee somewhere around the middle of your day?? It is asking a lot of him because he is a super large breed and therefore develops more slowly. By 20 weeks he is certainly capable of holding it for 10hours during the day....
Also make sure there is NO bedding in the crate to absorb any pee. If you bought the super huge Vari kennel, cut it in half and see how he does.
let me know how its going.
;c ;)
 
#48 ·
Question for G20man32904,

I looking to get a male, Great Dane pup. When I get him, he will be about 10 weeks. If I am gone 3 hours during the day, is that too long? I have one class in may so I don't have much to do. I will just be out of the house from 1-3:50. Just curious what your thoughts were. I will have a crate and use my bathroom as a training room. Thanks, Tyler
 
#49 ·
Tyler,
Here is my schedule for getting a dog.
8-9 weeks old: I am home pretty much the entire time, might take a few short trips to the local store and I will take the dog along but leave him in the car.
10-12 weeks old: I work an 8-9 hour day and come home at luch to let him out. I am home if not at work.
12-14 weeks old: Still come at lunch and maybe go out 1 night for a few hours.
16 weeks old: normal schedule
Danes mature a little slower than most so that might need to be adjusted slightly.
Training room? I'm not real sure what that is? If housebreaking is done correctly there is no "room" needed.
Check out this book for a step-by-step guide on how to housebreak your pup.
 
#50 ·
Originally posted by G20man32904
Tyler,
Here is my schedule for getting a dog.
8-9 weeks old: I am home pretty much the entire time, might take a few short trips to the local store and I will take the dog along but leave him in the car.
10-12 weeks old: I work an 8-9 hour day and come home at luch to let him out. I am home if not at work.
12-14 weeks old: Still come at lunch and maybe go out 1 night for a few hours.
16 weeks old: normal schedule
Danes mature a little slower than most so that might need to be adjusted slightly.
Training room? I'm not real sure what that is? If housebreaking is done correctly there is no "room" needed.
Check out this book for a step-by-step guide on how to housebreak your pup.
What book are you talking about?? Thanks, Tyler

P.S. So my 8-9 week old dane will be ok if i'm out of the house during the day for 3 hours? Other than that I will be home with him. but I have one class, 4 days a week. Thanks.
 
#51 ·
Tyler,
Notice how "this" is in a different color? That shows you its a link. Click on it and it will take you to Amazon.com and book called,
The Art of Raising a Puppy, by the Monks of New Skete. Its the best housebreaking guide in print IMO.

Yes, your Dane should be fine for three hours.
Mike
 
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