Dog Training. Where do I start?

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runningweird

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My family just adopted a 10 month to 1 year old husky mix from a shelter- I think she is either part beagle or border collie but we can never know for sure. See Exhibit A:
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We met the dog through a program run by a friend of ours, Miles and Mutts - a program that takes runners and shelter dogs and pairs them so that once a week the dogs get out and run in the open air. It's based in Shippensburg, PA and I think ours was the second adoption as a result of that program.

She's very gentle with all the kids - even the 3 and 1 year olds that run around causing constant bedlam all day. She eats well and hasn't had any issues with turning our house into a bathroom or destroying anything except the odd clothes pin.

We have had her for a week and she is finally shaking off the shelter zombie dog effect and she is starting to play with us and does fairly well on runs with me.

I grew up with border collies - dad even had some sheep we used to train them. But training a dog on a farm is a lot different than training one in house with only a 1 acre unfenced yard.

I don't know where to start. I want to train her to obey my voice commands, not some clicker thing, and have no desire what so ever to use an internally spiked collar for leash training.

anyone on here point me in a good direction?
 
looks like beagle, but like you said, hard to say for sure.

i would just start out by researching it and reading what you can find online and see if something sticks. i think the general idea is to wear them out with play and then work on obedience with positive reinforcement (treats). i would definitely start with the easy ones and don't be shy about showing them what it is you want them to do (not in a mean way or anything). just be sure to be diligent about it and it should start to reap rewards after a few weeks. most people just get lazy about it and get upset that it didn't work... also, check amazon and search for obedience training books and check out the reviews, there's gotta be a few good ones out there.
 
If you have no experience with dogs it is well worth the money to go to obedience classes. They will train you and the dog. If you cannot find a good kennel near you, Petsmart has classes.
 
I started with a book called "Water Dog" by Richard Wolters when I first started training labs for hunting. It is a retriever training book for hunters but starts with obedience for the house dog as his retrievers are also family pets. I highly recomend the book. Check amazon. Nice looking dog by the way. Good Luck. P.S. If you can find a retriever club nearby any member would be glad to offer some basic obedience tips.
 
Find a good trainer, the pet stores are not usually the best places. Look into puppy classes and if you like the way the trainer works, take some advanced classes too.
Don't write off clickers. The sound is used as a marker to exactly pinpoint the action you want to reward. The sound means that the dog did the right thing and a reward is coming. The dog is not obeying the clicker. It takes a bit of practice but with my dog, the things I've taught him using a clicker seem the most ingrained.
First thing to teach is recall. Always and forever reward the dog for coming to you, no matter what you called him away from.
Glad to hear you've given the dog a good home, and congrats !
 
Quite often a local kennel club will either offer training classes or know of good training facilities in the area. Start with a "puppy kindergarten" to socialize the puppy to be around other dogs and experience new situations.

A prong (spike) collar should never be necessary for a dog of that type, although a choke collar and proper use of it will be appropriate. I'd stay away from any trainer who believes in "time outs" and prefers the use of a harness to a choke collar. BTW, never do training with a flexi-lead, train it with a standard 6' lead. Use the flexi-lead on a run if you want, but you can't train a dog effectively if he doesn't feel a correction on the lead.
 
step by step, do a lot of reading.

Work on the basic commands. Most important being recall (coming to it's name). The clicker helps with this, you teach the dog to learn that the clicker is for good behaviour and means a treat is coming, you then work in voice commands or hand signals along with the clicker, to the point you no longer need the clicker.

It's all about positive reinforcement. Get some training treats, and keep 'training' sessions short 15-20 minutes every day. moving onto a new command once the dog fully understands the previous one.
 
x2 with Barnzy

Short, DAILY sessions keep your dog's desire to train peaked. It's all about keeping him interested in the trainin to maximize effectiveness.

Posiive reinforcement FTW. Punishment is a complete waste of time and hurts your dogs confidence and desire to train/learn.
 
Beyond basic command training, I'd like to mention kennel/crate training.

Now, a lot of people dismiss this as "I don't want to cage my dog, you monster", and I think they're missing the point.

Crate training will give your dog a place to call their very own. It's not just a corner of YOUR house, it's a room that they can always go to when they're upset, frustrated, or afraid, and nothing is ever allowed to happen to them when they're in there. It's a safe zone.

Moreover, it helps you to set boundaries- if what is inside the crate belongs to the dog, what's outside of it belongs to the master. Dogs instinctively understand being dominated by their alpha- a kind "alpha", ie the human master, doesn't even need to show off the power, it's just a quiet confirmation that a stronger being is there to protect them and give them guidance, and in return, they will be the best pack member they can be. The crate allows you to give them something of their own, a den into which they can keep their toys, hide treats, and sleep with confidence that they have done well to deserve their own space.

I suggest crating the dog at night and telling them how happy you are with them- let it shine through in your voice if they don't understand the words "good dog" yet. In time, you can allow the dog free run at any point- first at night while you're home, then during the day when you're gone, after you're sure they're not going to destroy anything or overstep the boundaries you lay down during obedience training. If you have a relapse, that's fine, just go back a step in the crating- if they chew slippers at night, they need more time in their own bed.

Remember never to treat the crate as a punishment, but I believe using it as a time-out/cooling off is appropriate- and when you let the dog back out, you remind them of the boundaries again, and let them know they are loved.


I crated my dog (a chocolate lab, now almost 9 years old), and she thinks of her crate as her home. I recently even had to transport it, and didn't bother to put the door back on when I returned home with her. She's not the best behaved dog in the world, honestly, she gets a little big for her britches now and then, but she is loving and listens to me when it's important.
 
+1 on the crate training, our 8 week old pup was in his crate the first night and it only took a couple nights of the most heart breaking noises before he has never made a peep, now hes almost 2 and the crate is his home. he doesnt sleep on the bed and if we are taking a shower or getting ready in the morning he stays in his crate until he knows we are done in that room. we dont even close the door anymore its a just a simple in and out for him but he feels safe in his house.

also timeouts have been used by us to correct his pawing at the couch and jumping when greeting. Mark the behavior with our no no word haha but we dont take him to his crate but to the hall bathroom and close the door for 2 min or so and then come back and get him. two weeks was constantly back and forth from where we were to the bathroom but he knows now that if he hears our marking word hes doing something we dont like.
 
So I guess clicker training isn't the worst idea, I have seen bad results with it and other owners probably because they lacked persistence.

I need to buy her a crate - we've just had her sleeping on a folded up thrift store blanket in the corner of our bedroom at night. Last night was the first night she slept all night long(as someone with small kids a sleeping dog is one less thing to worry about).

I need to procure some treats, I have some super old beef jerky I made a while back that would probably work.

As far as books go, I will look into Water Dog, thanks Slatkin! The breadth of training books I found is overwhelming. I'm not really a fan of Cesar training - I like the positive method ideas but wading through the crap seems quite daunting.

Guess for now I will work on recall and stay with some beef jerky bits.

Another question: anyone on here feed their dog raw?
 
So I guess clicker training isn't the worst idea, I have seen bad results with it and other owners probably because they lacked persistence.

I need to buy her a crate - we've just had her sleeping on a folded up thrift store blanket in the corner of our bedroom at night. Last night was the first night she slept all night long(as someone with small kids a sleeping dog is one less thing to worry about).

I need to procure some treats, I have some super old beef jerky I made a while back that would probably work.

As far as books go, I will look into Water Dog, thanks Slatkin! The breadth of training books I found is overwhelming. I'm not really a fan of Cesar training - I like the positive method ideas but wading through the crap seems quite daunting.

Guess for now I will work on recall and stay with some beef jerky bits.

Another question: anyone on here feed their dog raw?
I'd stay away from your homemade beef jerky; certain popular ingredients can be toxic to dogs. White onions for one. There are a host of training treats that even Walmart carries now - milk bone has some that are about 3x the size of a tic tac. Or there is also Three Dogs Bakery - dog treats made with all USDA certified human-grade food ingredients.

ABSOLUTELY crate train - and with small kids, it's also important to teach the kids that they cannot under any circumstances bother the dog when he/she is in the crate. This creates a "safe" place the dog knows they can go to get away if they want.

And I'll second the Richard Wolters books. I used "Gun Dog", since I'm not a waterfowl hunter. I like it because it not only teaches how to train, but the philosophy and psychology of why you're doing each step.
 
Watch Cesar Milan's show the Dog Whisperer. It helped me with the basic obedience issues. Once you have that, everything else gets easier.

Emphasize calm-assertive energy. Exert dominance without being crude. Use common sense. Be consistent. Stick with one method and don't falter. Patience is key.

Dogs respond to "touch" and "auditory" corrections when done simultaneously. So when your voice gets deep/assertive/serious you should quickly & firmly touch them on their side (without hurting them) to show you mean business. You're looking for respect and loyalty from your dog. Don't treat them like a slave by withholding a reward when they do something good. And don't reward them for being bad by not asserting your dominance. All energy should be positive; no negativity. You need to communicate that they did something bad without hurting them or forgiving them immediately for it. They're not so stupid-- they respond to being ignored when they're being unruly more than they would if you slapped them on the head and lectured them about being a "bad dog".

It's all about having the right energy at the right time. Being steadfast & consistent with your actions + having the right energy is more powerful than traditional disciplinary measures. Dogs can smell fear, but they can also smell about 50 of your other emotions. There are rarely bad/stupid dogs... only bad/stupid human owners.
 
Consistency is best and everyday is even better even if for just short times 10-15 minutes is more than enough. I have brittanys and they are a stubborn high energy dog but I don't see myself every having a different breed. Anyways, I have a barely two year old now that used to be a pain in the ass. I got a divorce and moved into a smaller house a non-fenced in yard. I take him to the park for at least fifteen minutes a day. He has never listened better, slept better or looked better. He just needed exercise and while exercising we reinforced the voice commands. Now hopefully he will hold to wing on some pheasants this year... It was a trial last season.

I'm also a big supporter of the crate. I've forgotten to latch the crate when I leave for work because as soon as I put my work pants on he is in his crate. I came home for lunch and he was still in his crate. If he sees me with the nail trimmers he runs to his crate...

Also pinch collars are a great training aid. Unless you have a stupid dog like the brittany the wife got in the divorce... we had to get her a gentle leader... Anyways, most dogs learn that when they hear the chain links move and feel the lightest pressure to back off. Dogs are resilient and come from hearty stock. As anyone who while romping with a dog got their nose hit by a canine skull will tell you, they have hard heads!!!

Also remember, if you lock your exwife in a trunk of a car and your dog in the trunk of another car and let both out an hour after they've been in said car trunks, who will be happier to see you?! :)
 
I am also going to second the 'Watch Cesar Milan' comment...I've had dogs my whole life and never really fully comprehended dog psychology until watching this show for a while. All of my dogs were poorly behaved prior to understanding his methods. We are a four Boxer family and I can control all of these 90-100# bundles of energy at one time: walking, obedience, etc. I can truthfully say that I never had this amount of control prior to understanding what was going on inside their heads.

I am not a big fan of paying anyone to do my dog training for me--I've tried that a few times and it just left me poorer and in less control of my dogs. My sister paid those idiots at Bark Busters about $600 to come over and throw a chain at the floor and yell 'BAH!' when they did something wrong: one ignored this, the other cowers in fear when she hears jingling to this day. A year later I got my dogs and discovered Cesar. Training is a bonding experience and brings the dogs closer to me during the process; as a result I can give them non-verbal commands or they do things based on facial expressions. Understanding how my dog's mind operates even allowed me to teach him to fetch a beer from the fridge. They'll do anything to please you when they trust you and know that you are the one in charge.

Congrats on the new dog, she's a beautiful beast--and much karma for adopting a dog!
 
Find a good trainer that gives dog training classes. If you do as instructed you will be trained to train your dog. Training your dog is never ending, more like continuing education. My husky-sheperd still makes "mistakes" but she is my protector from people she feels that are a threat to me. She has never been wrong. Spending time with your pup will make them easy to train and you will have good reason to trust each other.
 
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