Thanks everyone!Hopefully i can get back on track,i love my animals so much and it sucks i screwed up so bad thinking i was doing good.I'm going to read the links and look in to all advice given so far and see what i come up with.

Jason.

 Quote: Jason Dwyer

... it sucks i screwed up so bad thinking i was doing good. ...

Look forward, Jason. Looking back once you have acknowledged mistakes is not productive. Feeling sad about your dog isn't productive, either.

Focus on a terrific life with a dog who trusts you and loves training.

 Quote: Jason Dwyer

... I'm going to read the links and look in to all advice given so far and see what i come up with. ...

There ya go. We'll help, believe me.

Check out one of the free video clips from Michael Ellis and see what marker training is really about.

Welcome to the board, and kudos to you for seeing where you were going in the wrong direction and being willing to go back to square one.

Marker training... trust us on this one. It is so non-confrontational, so instant gratification/reward. To me, it is an incentive vs a bribe. An incentive makes me want to work harder to be rewarded, vs a bribe which is trying to coerce me to do something I would not normally do.

This week I taught my GSD "back" without ever touching him, without a single correction, using marker training. At first, when he didn't get it and tried to jump up on me, a simple "nope" told him that wasn't going to get him the pieces of raw stew beef in my hand. I walked toward him, he backed up, I said "YES!" and he got goodies. Within three days, and only two 3 - 4 minute sessions per day, he is backing up before I even say "back" and now we are working on adding a hand signal instead of the word.

Post a pic of your big guy when you can. We all love dog pics.

Ok,I'm going to dig deeper in to marker training.It's what i first tried with him and it did work but the results were far slower that corrections...at first till the corrections shut him down.Now I'm thinking a mix of both with light corrections for this very soft dog may be what we need.

Here he is at about 10/12 months and 130 pounds.The biggest baby in the world.



and

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q108/kbones_/Dogs/002-1.jpg




Edited by Connie Sutherland (02/18/2010 11:55 AM)
Edit reason: chenge oversize embedded pic to URL

One more!

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q108/kbones_/Dogs/OtisMe001.jpg

Edited by Connie Sutherland (02/18/2010 11:53 AM)
Edit reason: change oversize embedded pic to URL

Holy cow! That is a big baby!! And a cute one, to boot.

Jason, with marker training - no corrections. Just no rewards. You will always want to try and end the session on a positive note, even if he doesn't grasp what the lesson was at that moment (keep reading, this will be explained) but never, never any corrections.

You are going to be teaching your dog to LEARN how to learn, and reward him for that effort. It is not a matter of if he gets it right or wrong - it is okay to not "get it" - no punishment, just no cookie.

Give the big lug the opportunity to learn in a non-threatening environment and with a bit of patience, I think you will be really pleased with the process.

Barbara,i do NOT want to make you guys think i came here for advice and am not listening,because i am listening.But how can i have no corrections at all?During the day he is in the office of our Auto repair shop and sometimes he needs a little reminder to mind.Nothing major even the noise of the choker links can give him the idea that He's being too excitable with people.He's very "Soft"and it does not take much to let him know....If only i had known that before paying over 500 bucks for a harsh trainer.

What would you do in a situation where a dog like mine needs a small reminder to behave?

 Quote: jason dwyer

.He's very "Soft"and it does not take much to let him know....If only i had known that before paying over 500 bucks for a harsh trainer.

What would you do in a situation where a dog like mine needs a small reminder to behave?

Depending on how soft we're talking a quick verbal queue is what most of mine need. I usually just give them a stern "Hey)" followed by a command like down, come, or sit, and then a "good, (command)". Always end things on a happy note when you can.

I reserve a harsher NO! for more important things like stay away from my food/drink, leave that alone, pack posturing, or running for an open door. Even then, I follow it up with a command that they know, and a reward.

Jason, I haven't gotten any impression except someone who is asking for advice and wants to do right by his dog.

When I said no corrections, I was referring to during marker training sessions. With that said, do some reading on the theory of training (I'll search and post the links from this site)... The dog has to KNOW the command before a correction is fair. If you tell the dog to "jump" and he has NO idea what "jump" means but he gets corrected for not doing anything - what has he learned? He might learn that you are not to be trusted and you yank on him when he is confused... Doesn't seem fair, does it? (Imagine someone speaking to you in a foreign language and smacking you when you didn't do something - but you had NO idea what is was that you were supposed to do). Dogs don't speak our language.

It is easy to think they know "sit" because we taught it in our quiet kitchen and he sits every, single time. But then we take him to work and he acts like he has never heard the word before and acts like an idiot, then gets corrected. What happened??? He hasn't been taught sit in the office with distractions. Sit to him is something he does in the kitchen at home when all is quiet...

Right now I would suggest you do your very best to set this dog up for success by not introducing him to more than he is ready for. And don't correct him for something YOU have not throughly trained. If he doesn't know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, what you are asking him to do in THAT situation, he should not be corrected. If he doesn't yet understand the commands/skills needed to be polite in your office - don't subject him to a situation where he is going to be corrected for something he doesn't understand.