I forgot to add we have now added big caribeeners to the latches bungee cords on the posts of the gate as well as a beware of dog sign.

They aren't going to bite anyone but maybe this will help people think about re-latching the gate if they go in the yard.

 Quote: Jennifer Lee

I forgot to add we have now added big caribeeners to the latches bungee cords on the posts of the gate as well as a beware of dog sign.

They aren't going to bite anyone but maybe this will help people think about re-latching the gate if they go in the yard.

I wouldn't rely on this. I would not let the dog outside off a line or leash until he has a reliable recall. Gates that are not 100% under your control are pretty much the same as no gates.

In reply to your earlier question: Yes, sure, I'd change the command when I started over. I'd also be extremely committed to not using it for anything unpleasant for the whole time of teaching it. And I'd think about how to reinforce it all day long, indoors, for everything good.

I'd back up to the last step if I had to reel the dog in, too. (If I had to reel him in at 20 feet, I'd back up to 15 feet, or the last 100% step.)

BTW, I'm definitely not above a tendency to go mad with certain behaviors, and those behaviors need a commitment from me to avoid damaging my bond with the dog over.

But Alyssa and I are very close together on this. In fact, we are next to each other. I would correct if I had to for a reliable recall, too. And I have, of course! And she has not had to correct her dog more than two or three times. But why not start with the intention to set the dog up for success (using all of the points that Alyssa mentions)?

I am not a trainer who thinks that all dogs can be trained in all commands with no corrections. I do know folks who have trained their dogs to high levels of competition with zero corrections, but I'm not that good (yet ).

However, I'm always ready to give it a real try with a lot of reward and repetition, and I have surprised myself in recent years with the hugely reduced number of corrections I administer since I learned training with food and then (even better) marker training with food.

I don't correct in the teaching phase, of course; that's for the distraction/proofing phase, if necessary. So it doesn't come up for some time, since you are starting over.

http://leerburg.com/219.htm
http://leerburg.com/markers.htm

http://www.clickertraining.com/node/309
http://www.clickertraining.com/node/235

I don't correct during the teaching phase either, or well I try really hard not to, but I do make mistakes.

The only truly hard corrections I have given thus far are for putting the cats head/neck in his mouth and for knocking my son down and trying to stand over him. He does self correct when walking but that is rare now that he knows the limits of his leash and how to heel.

With this situation I'm not sure I'm clear whether or not he actually truly knows the command and is blowing me off or if I royally screwed up in my training. Either way we are starting fresh as of now so it doesn't matter.

actually We already have
the new command is "Yote here!" click, treat, and the new hand signal is my fist out to the side.

And like magic, its now a new game and a fun thing, rather then being bogged down in stress for both of us.

After about 10 repetitions he is offering me the behavior by randomly running up to me inside the house. I just watched him run to the end of the hallway sit down for a minute and then run back to me.....lol Such a fast learner... He sure does make me proud when he isn't making me crazy

I had to switch to chicken because all the hot dogs will give him the runs with a quickness!!

First, what everybody else said.

As for the ecollar ... If you want to explore it I suggest you get Ed's DVD first and watch it before you make up your mind. If you decide no, you are only out the cost of the DVD, rather than out the cost of both the DVD and a collar.

We use the ecollar on Hans.

You can put it on him when he goes outside and take it off of him when he comes in, so he isn't always wearing it. But despite what other people have said, we have discovered we can leave the ecollar on Hans for hours at a time with no ill effects. We don't like to, but it has happened.

When you watch Ed's DVD pay close attention to the part about conditioning the dog to the collar. You don't want him to become collar wise. Unfortunately (or not, I'm not sure) my dog is remote wise. If I give him a command and he blows me off I just have to pick up something that looks like a remote control and he suddenly obeys. Honest to God, I've used the Tivo remote for this, even when he isn't wearing the ecollar.

In fact, if I ask him if he wants to go outside and head towards the desk the ecollar sits on to charge, he runs over there and sits down waiting for me to put it on. He has associated the act of putting a collar on with having fun.

We have the Dogtra 1700NCP. The pager function is, to Hans, like a recall command. Push the pager button and he stops whatever he is doing and comes to us. We didn't teach this, he did it on his own.

I think if you work on the recall with the collar, and without it, and don't let him get collar wise, you may be able to improve his recall to the point where you don't need the collar. But don't forget to work under distraction. When a squirrel is in the yard the only way to get Hans attention is to use the collar. Several squirrels owe their lives to that collar

picking up the prong collar causes fits of excitement and happy dances and lots of woo woos.

Even though it corrects him it means he gets to go outside or on a walk which is his most favorite thing in the world!

I think I will order the DVD next week just to have it in my arsenal of knowledge.

My biggest fear is that should he somehow get totally loose again all his training will go out the window.

 Quote: jennifer lee

... My biggest fear is that should he somehow get totally loose again all his training will go out the window.

Can the gates be locked?

I cannot trust my gate because everyone must go through it to get to my door, including delivery people.

I worked with the most recent acquisition for a loooong time on his recall, and he was not off a long line (the LB cotton line) throughout. However, the line was never used as a leash, and the only time it was taut was when he was reeled in.

I spent 5 or 6 weeks on gate work. I think I posted before about how bi-polar I had to be when we did this work. This dog can fit under the gate, slithering on his belly, and my deep "no" voice sometimes had to change mid-syllable to my happy "good" voice as he changed his mind halfway under and worked his way backwards when I said No. All this, of course, was with the long line (loose). Then we worked on "gate left open, don't go through without Connie."

It was a lot of work, with this senior who had a solid "catch me" response when he came.

But when I call him back from a joyful fence-run (barking at passers-by) and HE COMES(!), it was all worth it.

I was thinking of getting a padlock on it but our gas meter is out back and they need to come once a month to read it.... I think.

We also have a guy who mows our lawn since my hubby works such bizarre hours, I could give him a key if need be.

the gate is not my only fear/issue though, he is a Houdini and I have seen him do some really remarkable feats. Like climb a ladder to follow "dad" up to the roof.

The electric wire is working really well on the shoddy other gate, and it is tempting to run it along the entire fenceline.


But we have a 7 yr old and I don't want him to get shocked, though he will at some point even with the gate I realize.

We also have a wire with PVC piping on it along the top of the entire fence that works as a roller to make it nearly impossible to get a foothold when trying to go over.

What we really need is an 8 foot privacy fence with another foot or two buried in the ground..... that would give me some piece of mind.

We taught him to sit automaticly every time the front door opens after a couple of mad dashes out the front door after him and a sprained wrist/re-injured shoulder (again) resulting in the jump/tackle I did down the front steps to catch him.

 Quote: Jennifer Lee

.... We taught him to sit automaticly every time the front door opens after a couple of mad dashes out the front door after him and a sprained wrist/re-injured shoulder (again) resulting in the jump/tackle I did down the front steps to catch him.

A great thing to teach with the gate too! Also with every other point where he could get on the other side of it.

 Quote: Jennifer Lee

... I think I will order the DVD next week just to have it in my arsenal of knowledge.

EXCELLENT decision.

I got that DVD recently.

Check with your gas company. A reader hasn't had to have access to my meter for years. All the meters in my area can be remotely read now.

You can schedule mowing the lawn. I have a service come and fertilize my lawn. They give me advance notice of when they are coming so I can make sure I leave a gate unlocked for them. And have Hans in the house as he thinks they are intruders.

The e-collar DVD is pretty good and Ed had a little tongue in cheek fun with it. I won't be a spoiler, but you'll know what I'm talking about as soon as you see it.

Next time he climbs the ladder up to the roof please get pictures and post them