Quote: Bob Scott

A situation that could create a danger for the dog or anyone around it is one of those things I don't necessarily train motivationaly.
The lesson should be quick and to the point!

 Quote: SamanthaTopper

I'd rather be unfair and hurt him for a split second than to deal with a broken jaw or a dead dog.

okay both of those points I agree with, along the lines of blowing off a recall, yes safety first always


Pisa's reaction to the bike is typical of a lot of things, for example, I have really been working to desensitize her to me using the shop vac.

I am to the point I can have it running and work her in OB about 10 feet away

after I have released her from a position and I pick up the vacuum nozzle to use it, she tries nipping at it, not really trying she does bite at it, with some barking.

She will hold a sits well I use it but she will bark while holding the sit.

I do not think this (vacume)is a reaction I need to correct for, just to keep desensitizing her to it and other objects.

Am I on the right track?

Idk...I think when you dog keep reacting to new objects it reflects a lack of confidence in trusting you as the leader. Dogs cue off of us and we don't even know it. I don't think waiting until the dog starts barking and snapping at a tire is time to make a correction or wait until they stop to reward. I say both are wrong. Logan used to react to skateboarders and lawnmowers worse than that.

This is what you need to do...have the dog on a leash calm next to you introduce the trigger and redirect her THE VERY INSTANT her body language changes (ears up or tail wagging or stiffening or anything different...etc). Then once and only once she is truly calm, REWARD her CALMLY with praise or food...mark it too if that helps her to learn.

A lot of people make the mistake of rewarding/marking the dog for not lunging when in fact the dog is still tense and ready to spring. Reward calmness...don't let the dog go out in front of you...take leadership and bring the dog to the trigger when she's ready...and make sure than once she is calm and gets rewarded, then take her away from it and do something fun until the next session.

am I reading this right, you are responding to a thread from 2012?

In the course of Leerburg fixing some broken links, a few old posts were emailed to some board folks as new posts.

Oh snap! LOL