Time. Time and patience. Time, patience, and consistency. A scheduled routine. Acting is a useful skill set when training (I think) - acting stern, acting uninterested, acting exasperated... No acting with praise. The occasional touch just to connect. Basic simple, short commands. No negotiations. No wheedling voice. Matter of fact demeanor. Act with confidence even when a bit unsure. Always project leadership, even when giving rewards and praise.

A dog is not a human. A wonderful, loyal companion but not human, and not equal. Given enough rope, a smart dog - even a slow dog - will train the human.

Another ramble...

The thread reflects your real progress.

The MAN has spoken.

Not even close to a ramble.

Hi Mike

I think I might print out what you wrote, Mike, and hang it on the wall where I can refer to it... Often. Many thanks for taking the time to comment.

Day 19. I hadn't really been counting, except just now, out of curiosity. Have come round to thinking that having Lenney "blow us off" on December 25** just might have been the best Christmas present ever (**I now know that she didn't really "blow us off" -- she just doesn't have a reliable recall, and so shouldn't have been off leash in the first place...)

I think I have learned more in the past few weeks -- important stuff, big stuff -- than in all the 2-1/2 yrs since we adopted her. I am now somewhat embarrassed to admit that I had even been a wee bit smug at times that we had done a fairly good job to date with our "first dog." Ouch. Well, I suppose we could have done worse...

I feel like I am learning a new language to communicate with Lenney. Like this whole redirecting concept. I'm getting the hang of it, and realizing how infinitely more effective it is than: yanking on her collar, "No, Uh-Uh, No" and dragging her past whatever is captivating her attention. No wonder I never made any progress with that!

And while I wouldn't categorize Lenney as a fearful dog by any stretch of the imagination, I would have never guessed that a lot of her overreaction in different situations might be due to anxiety... which she probably picks up from me. (I've had a few scary close calls with my powerful dog, resulting in a big psychological barrier for me that I am still now working on overcoming.)

At any rate, I am gaining confidence by the day, and I don't think it's only my imagination that Lenney is calmer too, less distracted. I'm looking forward to Day 20... and 21... and...

 Quote: Marina Latulippe

I think I have learned more in the past few weeks -- important stuff, big stuff -- than in all the 2-1/2 yrs since we adopted her. I am now somewhat embarrassed to admit that I had even been a wee bit smug at times that we had done a fairly good job to date with our "first dog." Ouch. Well, I suppose we could have done worse...

I have followed your threads, Marina, and I think it's safe to say that you have indeed done a fairly good job to date. To your credit, though, you have come to realize there is so much more potential when it comes to the type of relationship you can have with your dog, and you are willing to learn.

As the saying goes, "When we know better, we do better." I feel I am constantly learning new things about dog training, dog behavior, and the human/dog relationship. I hope I will never stop learning.

I am enjoying following your progress. Your posts are a breath of fresh air.

"At any rate, I am gaining confidence by the day, and I don't think it's only my imagination that Lenney is calmer too, less distracted. I'm looking forward to Day 20... and 21... and..."

It's not your imagination!

It ALL goes right down the leash, and you have changed what messages the dog gets.




"I am enjoying following your progress. Your posts are a breath of fresh air."

I agree!

I've been following your posts off and on, and I will say that you have done a wonderful job with Lenney. Dog training is hard work, don't let anyone tell you differently. Your putting in the effort to better your relationship with your dog, that's more then alot of people can say (the vast majority it seems).

Don't give up hope when you have come so far, at this point it's still a learning phase for both of you, but the rewards are great and will last a lifetime. Your dog thanks you for taking the time to get to know her, and how to communicate with her better.

 Quote: Mike Arnold

Time. Time and patience. Time, patience, and consistency. A scheduled routine. Acting is a useful skill set when training (I think) - acting stern, acting uninterested, acting exasperated... No acting with praise. The occasional touch just to connect. Basic simple, short commands. No negotiations. No wheedling voice. Matter of fact demeanor. Act with confidence even when a bit unsure. Always project leadership, even when giving rewards and praise.

Marina says she thinks she is going to print this out...well I know that I am going to and I'm going to make two copies, one for the house, and one for the barn, so that I apply the same principle to my carriage driving horse!

I was recently mulling over what causes a "training setback" ...and I came to the conclusion that it almost always happens when everything appears to be going really really well. That is when I am most likely to introduce something too quickly or to make something simple more complicated...too quickly. I am going to make "Time, Patience, Consistency" into my mantra!

Ugh. I'm beginning to feel like the stock market -- up one day, down the next. The last 24 hrs were NOT good. I had a relapse into my old ways yesterday, giving Len too much attention, lavishing too many rewards when one little kibble would do, etc. My husband pointed it out and I knew he was right. It's hard to change.

Then today we really got off on the wrong foot. I took Lenney out for a pee this morning, and as aways, made her sit in front of her crate when I unclipped her leash. Every other morning she has gone in no problem. This morning she ignored the "crate" command, then spied a cat toy under the kitchen table and bolted for it. I lurched after her, she avoided me. I sternly told her sit, she ignored me, toy in mouth. I shoved, the kitchen table aside, HARD, so she couldn't escape under it, grabbed her collar (and a bit of scruff, too -- she yelped and dropped the toy), took her to her crate and pretty well pushed her in. She actually even gave me a bit of a snarl before I managed to grab her collar, which I think was the impetus I needed to be as firm as I was. I was trembling after, and it took me a long time to calm down. Even now, my heart rate is going up from remembering it. Did I react right? The little snarl was so unlike Lenney... the only other time she did that was very shortly after we adopted her.

I fully realize that I failed to provide "consistency" yesterday.
I guess I paid for it today. I just hope I'm not right back to square one... but if I am, well, I guess I'll have to deal with that, too.

Thats the way it goes a lot in training Marina. One step forward, two steps back. Little problems along the way give you a lot of chances to do things better each time.

Stay calm when she doesnt obey. You didnt react right. You werent being firm in her eyes, more like an attack to her. We all lose patience here and there, it never helps though.