Longtime browser of the forums, first time really posting. I recently just ordered the complete Mark Ellis' DVD set, including the DVD on Marker training and boy am I excited about getting back into training. I also ordered two books on Raw Diet (to which I'll be switching), Vita E and Salmon Oil supplements, a quick release prong collar so the wife can put it on easier, the intermediate tug set, a clix dumbell (for eventually when we start retrieving), two clickers (wasn't sure which I'd prefer) and some soft training treats! Oh, I also picked up the no spill dog bowl. The last two years after getting married and before that searching for a job I got pretty lax in "our" training. With that said, onto the introduction.

My name is Jonathan, and my dog's name is Blade - he is a black lab boxer mix, and is about to turn five in January. Here are some pictures from the West Coast here in Washington State. The pictures were taken to put into a wedding proposal book for my wife, her two boys out at the beach. I gave her the book with the photos after I proposed at the beach a month later.

Welcome to the forum! Blade is a handsome guy and looks very laid back. What training have you done with him so far? You will love Marker Training and so will Blade.

Hi Barbara,

Thanks! I originally had ordered the LB Obedience dog training DVD, and had worked with that with some success. I think a part of the reason I didn't have as much success was that Blade is my first dog, my lack of knowledge in regards to dog training, causing a good bit of confusion with Blade and my commands, and not having the cooperation of the other household family members buying into the training (which now with my wife she is all for it). After trying that, I was still having a very difficult time teaching the recall command, as Blade really enjoys running away/playing keep away with toys/etc - an unfortunate side effect of how I played with him since he was little. Anyways, to help with that I purchased the LB E-Collar DVD and a Dogtra 280NCP E-Collar, and had very good sucess working the recall command as well as sit/stays/down at a distance. He also responds well on walks with the e-collar, probably because I still have some issues with lease tension.

That is really where I left off in regards to training - realized upon receiving the last LB catalog that I need to get back into it, mostly for Blade's sake. Hopefully he isn't too old to get back into it, and I know I probably have some back work to make up for but hey it's worth it.

Well, you have come to the right place to increase your knowledge on dog training, so kudos for that, and I know other folks will chime in as well.

Have you done any reading on Marker Training yet? I have an ecollar and love it, but have found that using the marker training for introducing new behaviors is a lot of fun and more exciting to Falcon. We use the ecollar for off leash work on our own property and for fine tuning behaviors taught with markers. As an example, I would have taught the recall on leash (a long line) with positive reinforcers, and once learned, transitioned to the ecollar for tweaking/ensuring I could correct off lead if necessary. This is not said to say anything negative about what you have done - just explaining the difference with using markers. With leash tension issues - I'd only "mark" or reward the moment the dog was in the position you want. The dog takes a mental "photo" of what he was doing when you marked/rewarded, and that helps to cement in his mind what you want. It still takes repetition, but there are NO negative corrections other than a "nope" and trying again for the reward. (Once a mature dog completely undertands the command and deliberately ignores a command - a correction is appropriate.)

If you are feeling you "need to get back into it" - you do. Consistancy is huge in training; the more you train the more you learn and the dog learns, and that builds on his ability to learn the next command.

I have done a little bit of reading/listening to the free content on the website on marker training, but ordered the marker training DVD! The first time I heard about marker training, especially those clickers, I wrote them off. Now of course I got the DVD coming along with two of the clickers, the leerburg and i-clicker! I really do look forward to getting back to training with Blade that won't involve corrections, as that was kind of my technique. It worked, however I can tell that Blade doesn't have as much drive/intensity most likely because of him trying to simply avoid correction.

I've been very impressed with Mike Ellis' approach to training, really makes sense to me! Looking forward to taking it all in I'd be the first to admit I haven't done everything right with Blade, so looking forward to seeing him get back excited about training.

If you don't like the clicker for any reason, just use your voice. I prefer "yes!" because I didn't want to have to deal with treats and a clicker, but you will find what works for you. Best of luck and keep us posted.

Hi Jonathan, great looking boy got there.

It’s funny how life can take us on little journeys and down new paths but we always seem come back to where our highest priorities lie. Sounds like your detour got you a wife and a job, both wonderful resources for dog training.

Welcome!!

A quick question if you don't mind. So if my recall command, or any command for that matter, has been taught through avoidance methods, or for some reason tends to have a more negative response from Blade (ie. only sitting or recalling to avoid pain/correction), would it be practical to teach the same command, ie. recall/sit/down, with a completely different command name? I know some people use German commands, instead of English, etc. So for example, with my sit command... instead of trying to re-work sit, possibly use the Swedish word (my Mom came from Sweden to the US when she was six - always enjoyed the language) for sit and start from scratch.

I apologize if my question doesn't make much sense, I'm just really trying to do my best here. I'm sure some of Blade's commands that we've worked on haven't been black and white, and have been more of him trying to avoid my mis-timed corrections.

Thanks,
Jonathan

p.s. It's reassuring to know that I can admit I've made mistakes with his training, and not feel like I'm getting shunned here on the forums. I know there are some very highly qualified trainers on here, so thanks for making me feel welcomed!

Welcome Jonathan! I love Blade's tongue sticking out in the second picture!

You will definitely learn alot here!

Welcome I'm in NW WA as well. Enjoying our great weather this week? Ugh. Yuck.