Quote: ramachandran subramanian

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.

Kids often comment on him being a pirate. I feel like it's a safety issue when I have to train in the city. There's traffic, a lot of people who don't like large dogs running up to them, other dogs that aren't trained and other distractions for a dog with high prey drive. I would prefer not to use it but I think it will prevent problems for the time being. I know what you are referring to and saw the video of the fellow training his Rottweiler using a similar technique. I will try this. I am currently not using corrections during training sessions, other than sessions devoted to leash conditioning. Do you think it is time to try out corrections and see if he keeps his drive?

I do use the negative markers and training heel at rest I have done mainly against a wall. I think he'll get better at this soon.

I think that makes sense with training stand. I always do it from 'down' and I think standing from a sit is saved for last, once you have a solid place command.

Yes, I need to work on the implied stays. I'm bad with letting my dogs get out of their sit or down when we're not training. So I rely on stay. I should make that change now though, it'd make things easier.

Thanks for your advice.

Here's another video working with distractions.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZFOeyTmBrA

Looks great, great focus, is the other dog a stranger or does your dog know the dog already, just curious, either way great job.....

Yeah, we know them. Didn't really want to attempt this with a dog and handler I don't know. I think I can work up to using friends dogs that Toro hasn't met yet.
Thanks for your comment!

Unfortunately I don't have sound on my computer here in the office so I can't really give you much advice on what your doing well or could improve on.. but he looks like a very nice dog who you've developed some nice focus with. Personally I as the handler would be a little more upbeat and 'flashy' in my walking/movements so the dog would be even more interested in me and build more focus.

He's still young and if you keep doing your research on different training methods/styles and put in the time (like you seem to be), I'm sure you'll have an amazingly trained dog in the future. Best of luck with your training goals.

Dave

 Quote: michael pugsley

Yes, I need to work on the implied stays. I'm bad with letting my dogs get out of their sit or down when we're not training. So I rely on stay. I should make that change now though, it'd make things easier.

My girlfriend drives me crazy with this. I always have to remind her how important it is that when she tell her dog "platz" (down, sit, etc) to release him with his cue word "Yes" when she is ready instead of letting him just get up on his own accord.

You can't expect your dog to ever stay in position on the trial field (or anywhere for that matter) if it can move on it's own at home, after being given a command, without any correction. If my dog lays down on his own, he can get up on his own, I couldn't care less.. but he knows "Platz" means to lay down and not move until I release him..

Sorry to rant, just a pet peeve I guess.. glad you plan to work on that

Sometimes I start just moving slowly with little animation to see how he reacts, but I suppose it's better to me more upbeat and save the focus on voice for later. With my older dog I have done so many recalls from a down stay or sit stay that he anticipates it and I anticipate the creeping from this. And I was terrible around the house with letting him sit for a couple seconds and then letting him go off to do what he wants. So I'm working on the implied stays with both of them and working on marker training around the house and in the backyard. Definitely makes sense to be consistent in every situation.

Don't worry about the rant, it's great advice. Thanks. And I'll work more on being upbeat and animated. You can see in the videos where I run around more and play with him a bit he goes up in drive. I'm glad I started videotaping this stuff.

Cute dog, and great engagement!!!!!

Very nice, Michael!