Michael, the reward above the head is for the heeling. Not sure how much Dogos could lift their heads and still be comfortable, you'll see what's the best position is after a while.

Rewarding above the dog's head is supposed to prevent that wrapping around you and promote "walking with body in a straight line".

Good luck!

 Quote: peter cavallaro

Michael cool dog; can you please answer the following questions as i get asked them all the time and i don't really have good answers other than "..ahh because, or i don't know"

1. what are you training for
2. why didn't you get a more proven/traditional breed - interpret that as GSD or Mal.
3. is it dog agressive
further what weight / size will Toro mature to and is the Dogo AKC breed?
thanks and keep up the good work

Good questions. I would like to train for Schutzhund or French Ring, but am having a difficult time finding helpers. So for now I'm just training for obedience and trying to build his drive. I'm also going to see how far I can take him with Retriever trials.

When I was looking for a new dog I was more interested in the hunting side of things and guarding was second. Most of the hunting dogs in my area aren't much for guard dogs so a Retriever or Duck Toller wouldn't really cut it. I was just starting to become interested in protection sports but I read about the first Dogo Argentinos to achieve French Ring 2 and 3 which I thought was incredible, and they seemed like amazing dogs. So I took a risk. Now I realize that I could likely train a Malinois or Shepherd to track deer. Some day if I have more time and money I would love to have a Malinois or Dutch Shepherd to compare.

A lot of people will tell you that Dogos are not dog aggressive. The saying goes that 'a Dogo will never start a dog fight, but they'll end it.' I'm not sure where this comes from (partly it comes from them being dominant dogs) but I don't believe it. They originally were bred from fighting dogs and they have extreme hunting drive, so I think most people trying to make a pet out of a working bred Dogo would end up with a disaster. Most people in Argentina hunt with their Dogos and the Dogos are raised in a pack with dominant owners. So they are fine if raised with clear rules and are socialized with other animals. I know my guy was very intense around other dogs at a young age so I do a lot of focus work around other dogs. So yeah, the breed is dog aggressive for sure. They're like a stronger pit bull so you'd see similar sorts of dog fighting from people who can't contain and control their dogs.

Toro is already 90 lbs even though he looks skinny. He will likely top off around 110 lbs. Very large dogs. The working Dogos tend to be between 80-110 for females and 90-120 for males. There's quite a size range depending on the lines. The American bred Dogos are huge, one I saw was around 150 lbs and they breed them to look like a thicker Great Dane, which is kind of funny because great Danes used to look a lot like Dogos.

Toro is from Argentina so he is registered FCI (Federacion Cinologica Argentina). But the AKC recognizes the breed within the working group.

What breed do you have?

 Quote: ana kozlowsky

Michael, the reward above the head is for the heeling. Not sure how much Dogos could lift their heads and still be comfortable, you'll see what's the best position is after a while.

Rewarding above the dog's head is supposed to prevent that wrapping around you and promote "walking with body in a straight line".

Good luck!

Right, that's a good point. When I'm only working on one thing I'm better with reward positioning. When I work on focused heeling I do what you say. But for whatever reason in this general obedience/play I'm not remembering to do it. I'll have to work on that. Thank you.

At 19 seconds or so, I thought you were giving him a stand command while you kept walking.

thanks for the answers, hope you don't mind if i just cut & paste them next time i get asked. i can't get out anything that smart sounding. i will replace the word dogo though. my dog is a home bred curr. i am guessing from Plotts originally, with blue tick coon etc, all guesswork. just bred by hunters/farmers to dual hunt & herd, started both, already shaping up to be a decent bay dog. not the drives for competition sleeve/bite work, doesn't mean we can't have some fun with it. you might get looked down upon at times from the more elite comp people, all the more reason to keep doing it. here is a link to pics one of the mods kindly put up for my dumb butt.

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j275/connies419/peters.jpg

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j275/connies419/peter2.jpg

Phaedra, your dog is growing like a weed!
(Sorry to be off topic)

 Quote: Betty Landercasp

Phaedra, your dog is growing like a weed!
(Sorry to be off topic)

I know! At this rate, he'll be as big as Toro (this one & mine) in no time!

Michael> Very cute dog with the pirate's patch eye. He seems to be enjoying himself. I am no expert but here are my 2 cents.

1) I dont use the long drag line. I have a line that is 3' but is made of extremely thin but super strong twine. One end has a dog hook and the other end has a piece of waste leather tied to it. I hold on to the leather so that when I give corrections I dont cut through my palm. If you hold it in your right hand behind your back while he heels he will not know that you have the leash.

2) You can always use negative marker. NO. when he makes a mistake and say Heel again.

3) I would not train stand in motion untill I have a reliable stand from a sit or a down. In my dogs mind stand is always in a place. I think it helps with standing still even in motion. Atleast that is what I think, I may be wrong.

4) Also I dont train the "stay" . It is implicit when I say down, it means down till he is released.



Thanks for posting , your dog looks extremely cute and I enjoyed watching it.

 Quote: steve strom

At 19 seconds or so, I thought you were giving him a stand command while you kept walking.

I see what you mean. Right around then I rewarded him and I said something that sounds like 'stand' Or it may have been people walking by as there's a path behind the camera.

 Quote: Peter Cavallaro

thanks for the answers, hope you don't mind if i just cut & paste them next time i get asked. i can't get out anything that smart sounding. i will replace the word dogo though. my dog is a home bred curr. i am guessing from Plotts originally, with blue tick coon etc, all guesswork. just bred by hunters/farmers to dual hunt & herd, started both, already shaping up to be a decent bay dog. not the drives for competition sleeve/bite work, doesn't mean we can't have some fun with it. you might get looked down upon at times from the more elite comp people, all the more reason to keep doing it. here is a link to pics one of the mods kindly put up for my dumb butt.

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j275/connies419/peters.jpg

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j275/connies419/peter2.jpg

That's a nice looking dog. I'm somewhat familiar with Catahoulas and currs. I figured you'd be able to do some amount of sport with them. I'm sure some people will look down upon us and our dogs, but that's their problem. I'm just doing it for myself and my dog to learn and have fun for now. A title is secondary and I'll aim for that if I feel ready.