Hey guys,

I found a positive reinforcement trainer in leb but the only way he accepts to train is to keep the dog at his kennel and have me come visit – we re talking 1-2 months time.

My main problem is that he feeds his dogs kibble and i know karly wont touch it (and he s still skinny);
Plus i ve been raw feeding for around a 3 weeks now and m still in the process of getting him used to offal and skin, and upping the quantity..

What do u guys suggest i do? He doesnt mind if i took him karly s raw food and packed it in his freezer but he doesnt know about feeding raw and i m not sure i can trust the hygene there :S

i could take the food every couple of days to make sure all is going well..

Any advice?

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btw m getting him trained cause I ve trained him as much as i can alone (with leerburg vids, reading books etc...) but it s my first time and m sure it d be better to be guided by a professional hands on. (he s a schutzhund trainer too \:\) and i m gonna go there around 4x/week.

I am no raw food expert but if you are concerned about hygiene maybe pack each meal in individual quart sized freezer bags and have him feed it frozen, if Karly will eat it frozen.

You could bring paper plates that can be thrown away after each feeding so you don't have to worry about him sanitizing the bowls.

You could also bring him a box of latex gloves if you are concerned about him handling the food.

1-2 months is a long time! My longest board and train is 3 weeks.

Thanks lisa!

those are really good ideas! i ll definitely do that! karly wont eat frozen .. that s the pbm .. i ll figure something out about that.. maybe let him take out the next meal for defrosting each time he feeds him.

... i have no idea why i d take that much time .. is it bad? i mean would it change our relationship if i visit up to 4x/week? he wanted to stay alone with him for a week – without me visiting so Karly gets used to the kennel and trust him, then i can start coming and working with him ...

What is Karly being trained for? Is it for basic and advanced OB or is he being trained for protection or dog sports?

I guess the latter would be more of a reality for that amount of time,but I am no expert on dog sports.

If my dog was away for that long I would expect him to wash the dishes, do the laundry and drive a car!

loool
well he s going for advanced OB but that s it i guess ...
sit, down, stay, place, crate, walk, heel, fetch, let go, yuck, bark, quiet, up, off, do it; mostly those and i d love him to shake hands cause he simply doesnt do it and to hug on command(jump up on pple)

thats what i can think of so far
he knows all of them but it s a question of doing it right...
should it take around a month or more?

To each their own I guess, but boarding a dog to train the things you mentioned seems a little silly to me.

Do you have any clubs near you? I am part of an all sport dog club so I train all of my dogs in tracking, OBD, Agility, Freestyle, and ScH. Every club member brings experience to the table, plus we host seminars and bring people up from all over western Canada and even the U.S.

Do you have trainer near you that could do private lessons? So you could do 4 hours a week, and have the trainer train you on how to train your dog....I think that made sense And then you can do "homework" to get your dog there.

After reading the story (and even before) of the man who was boarding people's dogs and then turning around and selling them or bringing them to kill shelters, I would NEVER board my dog unless it was my absolute last resort and probably more for a severe agression issue. Even then I would have gone through the above route with as many qualified people as I could find. I'm not trying to scare you, and I know of a board and train that I definitely would trust with my dog (They are the breeders of my dog), but still.

So if your dog does learn everything you would like, if he doesn't see you as his leader will he perform? Will you be able to get that bond back that you have now?

Oh, oops forgot something....

I once had a board and train owner tell me that it takes 7 minutes twice a day to teach basic OBD to a dog. So he doesn't even take basic OBD dogs, only high level sport dogs and the owner is still required to do 4x a week minimum of private lessons at his home with the dog. So when the dog leaves, the owner has already worked the dog.

I completely get what u mean naomi and it s not a question of being lazy about it but i live in lebanon, where most of the trainers train with the force method. I actually chuckled when u said that people give seminars. U really dont know how lucky u guys are. M getting everything from the books, vids and articles, that guy s the ONLY trainer in lebanon that uses positive reinforcement and marker training! (Can you imagine?!? And there are only 2 "good" trainers here that give private lessons (ive already tried one) and he trains by intimidating the dog! What a way to train...
Anyways, i really do have a great bond with karly, can i maintain it by being as present as possible? I just wanna train him right and be as involved as can be, there arent a lot of possiblities for dog training here - where half of the country believes that owning dogs is blasphemous!

Hey Michael,

When I train advanced OB it is all the basic commands, except off leash. So, if the trainer is going to do basic OB, just to make sure the dog clearly understands all the commands, then advanced OB ,then yes,it could take up to 6 weeks.It basically depends on the dog and how quickly he learns.

I really applaud you for not giving in to the fact that everyone around you trains a certain way, therefor you should too. I think it is great you took the time to do your research on the "right" way to train.

Could the gentleman where you would like to board Karly possibly do private lessons for you? So you could go out to him, maybe 4 hours a week, and then bring your dog home with you and do the work at home?

I totally get that you want to do what is best for your dog, but I think that working your dog is a really key component in building/maintaining a bond.