Hello All,

My name is Andrea, and my husband and I are potentially adopting a 6-8 old female DS from a local shelter. She is shy, but she's also in a shelter, so I know her behavior is some what a reflection of the situation. By shy, I mean, when she becomes unsure she will lay down, or if I am squating she will hide underneath me. When we introduced her to another dog at the shelter, she immediately dropped down, rolled over, and pottied a little.

Anyway, my question is this; Leerburg IS OVER WHELMING with information, and I have no idea where to start!?!??

I know the basics of pack structure, and obience, but I want to learn the Leerburg way... . I know there are DVD's we can purchase, but I would rather start with the E-books. As I scrolled through them today, I thought I was going to go cross-eyed..

Also, she's not interested in treats, or toys, but loves to be praised, are there any treats know that a dog treat persnickity dog will not turn down?

Thanks in advance for any help
Andrea

It is going to take a while to get through the site.

But start with:

http://leerburg.com/pdf/packstructure.pdf

http://leerburg.com/pdf/markers-clickers.pdf

Then check out the podcasts and streaming video. These two will get you started though.

The dog was likely stressed at the shelter and when dogs are stressed they don't eat - you may find an awesome food drive hidden in there once she is home, bonded and done the groundwork.

6-8 month old I assume?

If praise is enough....the issue your asking about....is?

Randy-I guess I'm not sure. I watch Michael Ellis podcast on trianing position, and it was done with food. So, if she isn't food driven, then what?

Thanks
Andre

You can use toys, praise or food - just depends on what the dog wants most. The dogs' choices may change after she settles in and becomes more sure of herself.

I would get the dog home before doing too much evaluating, and particularly evaluating food drive, as Niomi says.

And I agree with learning marker training. Marker work is very confidence-building (for both of you).

I very much like starting with food, and I'll make the rewards as high-value as I need to, to start marker work with food. I will also do the short upbeat sessions before rather than after dinner. I personally find it daunting to make the first connection in the dog's brain between the marker and the reward when the reward takes some time and, at least for me, can't be out of sight and still produced immediately enough to load the marker.

This doesn't mean that the dog's currency can't be something else, as you get to know each other. Not at all.

It just means that I think that someone new to marker work as well as a dog new to marker training are both going to find it waaaaay easier to make that mark-reward connection that first charges the marker and then carries into the simplest one-action commands (like "look" or "sit").

All JMO.


eta
I'd get video #219 first. It really illuminates just about every other video.
http://leerburg.com/219.htm



Edited by Connie Sutherland (10/21/2010 03:48 PM)
Edit reason: eta

Andrea,
Marker training usually is done with food or a toy....but if....the dog is motivated by praise.
Then there's no reason you can't use praise in the same way you would a physical treat.
For positions you will have to pay particular mind to your own body language.
But from the very beginning the dog will be working for you...something people actually work toward, not from.

eta:
Mind if I ask what your plans are for the dog?
Sport, pet, other?

 Quote: connie sutherland

I would get the dog home before doing too much evaluating, and particularly evaluating food drive, as Niomi says.

Just wanted to emphasize this. Also, when I bring a new dog home, I like to build trust and a bond before starting on any sort of training. One of the ways I accomplish this is to do a lot of on-leash walking or hiking with a new dog. I've found that walking not only builds a bond, but it also can be a stress-reliever for a dog who just changed homes/environments. It's not a free-for-all though, because I certainly establish what the rules of the house are. I've just found that most dogs are more apt to be interested in me, or food, or reward toys if I've allowed for an "adjustment period" first. The length of that adjustment period depends entirely on the dog. JME.

Connie is right on as usual. This dog will not show who she is until she is home with you for at least a couple of weeks.

A friend of mine adopted what we thought was a very shy and withdrawn shelter dog. She would go down immediately when approached by human or dog.

She is a hound mix that no one really knows her past but she had buckshot in her belly (it has since been removed) and an x ray shows about 100 little bb's just under her skin. She also had a liter of pups shortly before arriving at the shelter. nobody knows what became of the litter.

My assumption was that this dog was used for target practice by some idiot kids and luckily survived, found her way into a shelter and very luckily now on my friends couch.

The point is that she is now a very energetic, treat motivated, smart and happy pup. It took a few weeks for her to get used to her new home and now she is completely out of her shell.

Randy-my intention with this pup is to be the begginning of my "official" (if you will) training project, and working dog. I would eventually like to use her for herding, and get her to the point of putting up a nice little show, when new people, particularly strangers stop by our house. We live in the country, 60 acres, and I work from home. Our current dogs, Trigger and Zoey, have NO IDEA what a stranger is.

As with any new dog/pup to our home, they are always leashed, until they earn otherwise. I've only ever taught obiedence though the old style of training, never with a treat or food reward. It's ways been "hold the head up, push the bottom down to teach sit", style. And I really want to get away from that. I've also never thought about "positioning" before either.

**big sigh** I have a lot to learn....and a short amount of time to do it because she is coming home tonight.