Quote: Natalie Rynda

I was under the impression that people with nicely trained dogs have dogs that care only about their owner and playing with him and don't care about dogs or smells.

That's what some advanced trainers with robot dogs like you to see, and you can certainly produce one if you get good enough at training.

I prefer a dog that has good obedience but likes to party... a dog that listens good enough to be trusted or perform a routine, but still likes to be a dog. JMO

My dog is highly reactive and cannot play with other dogs. I give her breaks to sniff and run, but not around other dogs. Her off-leash obedience is good enough that we can be on the club field with other dogs there, but she's not allowed to approach them. Her on-leash OB is good enough that we can work side-by-side with familiar dogs, but I have to be on my tippy toes.

I think these would be more reasonable long term goals for you, at least for now.

can't keep focus for two hours ?

yeah no kidding , i can't keep focus for two hours lol and i'm 55 . . . this kid is just starting out .


when i saw the training video i was disappoint


the dog has no engagement with you , in that location at least .

if for whatever reason the session is not going the way you want it to , look at the whole picture . your dog was distracted by that other dog . that's a bad place to be expecting engagement with a dog you know is easily distracted . so you end the session at the first best opportunity that presents itself . and re-think the session . different location , different time , higher value reward ?

that is a good reason to drive to a particular location . you can crate the dog for a few minutes while you review what you just did , and either change locations or some other part of the plan .

you should be trying for moments of engagement for as little as fifteen seconds , but for as many opportunities as present themselves through the day .

use your surroundings to create rewardable behaviors , don't limit yourself to sit .


when you make reference to ME dogs , you have to remember those dogs are well into their careers , and even the ones that aren't have probably been bred / selected specifically and at the very least are being handled by a master of dog handling .

set your goals appropriately , and as i may have stated , as long as you are moving in the right direction , it's all good . this is dog training , so enjoy it .

what exactly do you do for the two hours ? are you covering ground or are you confined to that parking lot ? what is your access to large tracts of undeveloped land like ?

what does his motivation / focus do food vs toy ?





ps , i presume that was the same boomer that was in the " crate " training vid ? that's not a crate , that's a " gate " .

if your dog isn't crate trained , get one and start using it . it'll only do the relationship good .

 Quote: Tracy Collins

A technique I learned a long time ago: when you're working with your dog (especially a puppy or a young dog), if you don't look and sound like a complete fool, you're probably doing it wrong.

Don't be afraid to really act excited about everything. Effusive praise, high-pitched baby talk, silly clapping--whatever it takes. Dogs do tend to mirror the level (and kind) of energy you're giving out. If you pretend whatever you're doing is THE MOST FUN in the history of the world...and that he is THE VERY BEST DOG EVER at doing it, even the most laid-back character can be hyped up to keep engaging with you and the game at hand.

Thank you so much for this, this will stick))))

I do have a problem acting silly, lol I do get embarrassed. But every day it gets less embarrassing lol

 Quote: Tracy Collins

I don't think many people would agree with letting him play with strange dogs.

But periodic "breaks" between game sessions for self-directed amusement (sniffing, peeing, squirrel-pestering) would be okay in my book. And it gives you an opportunity to re-gain his attention, which is, in itself, a thing to be trained (getting attention.)

OK then I will stop stressing myself over not being interesting enough

 Quote: Duane Hull

My dog is highly reactive and cannot play with other dogs. I give her breaks to sniff and run, but not around other dogs. Her off-leash obedience is good enough that we can be on the club field with other dogs there, but she's not allowed to approach them. Her on-leash OB is good enough that we can work side-by-side with familiar dogs, but I have to be on my tippy toes.

I think these would be more reasonable long term goals for you, at least for now.

Can't play with other dogs why? Because of the way she is or because you don't want her to?

I'm on edge about letting him play with some dogs for a few mins. I started staying away from everyone about a month ago and every day someone comes up and tells me how wrong I am for not letting them play together anymore, and that he needs dog interaction and that his problems will become worse, etc.

I can't help but to start doubting myself, I mean all these people are saying this even though their dogs are untrained.

He's actually good with other dogs, not aggressive, gentle, he plays with a chihuahua. I'm soo paranoid about it but her owner insists, he likes the sight of them too. I do too but I'm very nervous.


Anyway, should I let him?

And which goals are uu talking about?

 Quote: Natalie Rynda

 Quote: Bob Scott

I also agree with Steve that formal OB training and basic house manners are different. I have absolutely no problems scruffing a puppy if it's being a PIA in every day activities around the house.

ok, just wanted to make sure that i was correct for popping him for the cat chasing

no no no. Scruffing has nothing to do with the prong collar!!!
Bob is NOT saying to pop the pup with a prong on for chasing the cat. You really need expert timing to use a prong collar correctly.
You shouldn't be using a prong at this point. At all. Period.
You're causing yourself more problems by having it on.


And yes, it is possible to avoid every single dog. How, by paying attention to your surroundings and constantly scanning to make sure you see them before the dog spots them or the other dog spots you. And if your going around a corner go wide....give yourself the space to be able to see whats coming.
And if a dogs there make sure they (the other dog & owner) stay on the opposite side of your dog and keep moving. No stopping, not lagging nothing. I used to actually jog past people just to move Tucker along quickly and get past the other dog with no issues. If you have to be rude to people, so be it. If they try to approach you tell them no. Simple as that. Your dog your rules and your space.

And yes, I know what I speak of. Tucker is a rescue dog that came to me with very high DA (Dog aggression). If he saw a dog 50 feet away he would lunge and act a fool. Now, we can walk past any dog with no reaction. But I know his limits and we stay within them. Another dog tries to get in his space I DEAL WITH THEM...he soon came to realize that he didn't have to be on guard all the time because it wasn't his role any longer. It was my role to take care of him and make sure he wasn't harmed.

There is so much information floating around this thread that I think important issues are being overlooked. You're getting flooded with too much information about things that you shouldn't even be working on yet.

No prong...at all. See another dog..leave! If for some reason one has snuck up on you drive it off. Who cares what the owner thinks...get that dog out of your space!

 Quote: ian bunbury

can't keep focus for two hours ?

yeah no kidding , i can't keep focus for two hours lol and i'm 55 . . . this kid is just starting out .


when i saw the training video i was disappoint


the dog has no engagement with you , in that location at least .

if for whatever reason the session is not going the way you want it to , look at the whole picture . your dog was distracted by that other dog . that's a bad place to be expecting engagement with a dog you know is easily distracted . so you end the session at the first best opportunity that presents itself . and re-think the session . different location , different time , higher value reward ?

that is a good reason to drive to a particular location . you can crate the dog for a few minutes while you review what you just did , and either change locations or some other part of the plan .

you should be trying for moments of engagement for as little as fifteen seconds , but for as many opportunities as present themselves through the day .

use your surroundings to create rewardable behaviors , don't limit yourself to sit .


when you make reference to ME dogs , you have to remember those dogs are well into their careers , and even the ones that aren't have probably been bred / selected specifically and at the very least are being handled by a master of dog handling .

set your goals appropriately , and as i may have stated , as long as you are moving in the right direction , it's all good . this is dog training , so enjoy it .

what exactly do you do for the two hours ? are you covering ground or are you confined to that parking lot ? what is your access to large tracts of undeveloped land like ?

what does his motivation / focus do food vs toy ?





ps , i presume that was the same boomer that was in the " crate " training vid ? that's not a crate , that's a " gate " .

if your dog isn't crate trained , get one and start using it . it'll only do the relationship good .

First of all, this is not a training video, I should've specified that. This is just a video of what happens after we are outside for an hour and we already played with all the toys twice or 3 times.

Yeah, there is no engagement, that's why I posted it. I mistakenly thought I had to try to keep his attention on me nonstop the entire time we are there and was trying to get him interested in the toys.

I'm actually never in the parking lot, there's a huge grass area behind it but it was too dark to video so I moved to the parking lot just to video.


This park is the only place I'm comfortable being at at 12am. Also it's close enough that I can go there every day and I do.
10-11pm-12am is the time when the least number of dogs are there.


It's a very big park, huge.

I can't decide whether he's more driven by food or toy. I don't feed him before we go out so he will always take food. Toys - you saw what happens but he has a good prey drive i'd say. He's obsessed with the cats, for example.


Yeah, it's the same Boomer lol. I thought I put 'crate' in quotes, at least I did when I posted that video.

I know that's not a crate. Also, since then baby gates have been taken down and I got a crate. He's being crate trained at 9 months.
He went right in, there was no training per se.

It was much easier than I thought it'd be based on what happened when I tried it at 3 months (I have up within a day)

 Quote: Wendy Lefebvre

 Quote: Natalie Rynda

 Quote: Bob Scott

I also agree with Steve that formal OB training and basic house manners are different. I have absolutely no problems scruffing a puppy if it's being a PIA in every day activities around the house.

ok, just wanted to make sure that i was correct for popping him for the cat chasing

no no no. Scruffing has nothing to do with the prong collar!!!
Bob is NOT saying to pop the pup with a prong on for chasing the cat. You really need expert timing to use a prong collar correctly.
You shouldn't be using a prong at this point. At all. Period.
You're causing yourself more problems by having it on.

It's too late for that. I have been using it for a month and I can't control him without it. I can't control him with it all the way either but it's much easier.


As far as scruffing that won't work. There was a few times I picked him up by the skin on his neck (his feet were in the air) and shook and it didn't work. We have him for 7 months, we've tried everything.

So it's too late for not using the prong.
Besides, what's the wrong way of using the prong?

Have you ever heard the saying, trying to fit a square peg into a round hole Natalie? Look at your expression at the end of the video. That disappointment isn't going to change if you don't work with what Boomer likes and responds to.

There's different ways to do most everything, even playing tug. Boomer doesn't have the prey drive or the desire for those toys you're wanting him to. You're going to have to look to using them differently.

Everything is all over the map between two threads. What exactly is your goal with him? Obedience trials of some sort? Happy pet? Where do you want to go with this stuff?