My neighbour has adopted a 1 1/2 male unneutered husky. She has always had a dog but does not train her dogs to the degree that my is. She would like to be able to walk him on lead. As he is a husky he PULLS while on a flat coller and a choke. I have suggested a prong but she balked at first. Now I think she realizes that the only way she'll ever walk this dog is with a prong. She is too soft to give corrections and he is very smart but stubborn as a mule. I will have to get involved in the beginning. What kind of prong do you recommend? A medium link or a heavy duty one? He's not a big dog probably around 55-60 lbs. but boy is he strong. Very friendly though to dogs and people and a little over enthusiastic. :rolleyes: <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

My guess would be a heavy duty.

You have pointed out the real problem though, " She is too soft to give corrections and he is very smart but stubborn as a mule."

No matter what the correction collar that is used, if it isn't used correctly it will not be effective. The important thing here is going to be to teach the owner to make proper corrections, otherwise no collar will be effective.

I have said it before and I will say it again, the purpose of a correction collar is not to attempt to overpower the dog. It provides an opportunity to re-direct the dogs focus and interupt the current train of "thought". Dogs are "pre-programed" to please, if you can maintain the focus, and communicte the desired activity/behavior the dog will attempt to comply. It is the ability to communicate the desired behavior that is the trick.

Richard, She is a lovely lady with a heart of gold, but she lacks confidence in herself and in her ability to train a dog. I don't really want to get involved to the point that I'm doing all the work. I just want to give her the opportunity to work with her dog so that he has a more meaningful existence. All of her dogs have been outside dogs with kennels and runs. This dog can come in the house and he does get frequent human contact.

I think that if I can get her to accept and use the prong she'll come to value its worth and gradually gain confidence in using it. But perhaps I'm just being idealistic. I know her fairly well and sometimes I just can't picture her correcting the dog. I just feel sorry for the dog. In reality although she is a wonderful person she shouldn't really have a dog. But she is opposed to placing him at the Humane Society to be readopted. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

Winning the hearts and minds of stubborn Siberians can be a task that has reduced strong men to weep! That burning desire to please that you get in labs, sheperds and other breeds can be somewhat skimpy in Sibes. They possess a independent nature that can make training them a sometimes frustrating experience. Everything that Richard said is very good advice but I would add a couple of points. Keep training sessions
short because as soon as they get bored and have done something once they are apt to get a bit creative in their responses. Correction has to be fair but firm - but they are also masters at acting and if he lets out a yip and acts like a fading lily you kind of have to ignore it. Dogs that seem wimpy on the outside are actually pretty tough - steel wrapped in marshmallow. They tend to be leash pullers and generally need a choker and constant reminding to heel even after they are trained as they really like to step out
by nature. Exercising the dog with something more vigorous before trying a training session can help - if free running make sure it is in a fenced area as they have 3000 years of being bred to run away from you and come on recall can be a stretch. Alternate activities can let people learn to enjoy their huskies for what they are and provide an outlet for their energies. Skijoring and bikejoring are becoming a popular way for people to enjoy time with their dogs and see those natural, bred-in impulses at work. A site that she should look up is http://www.sleddogcentral as this site provides lots of links to other northern dog and siberian sites that might help her to enjoy her siberian. I'd warn her though, Siberians are very addictive!

Caniche,

Most people that come to understand the advantages of having the dog well trained can do it. The biggest thing to get them to understand is that it is much more humane to have the dog properly trained than to have to try and fight with it every second of every day.

What I will usually do when I start a novice is take them out without the dog for the first lesson or two in order to teach them the commands, hand signals, and foot work without the further distraction of the dog. Once they can make all the proper moves then I introduce the making of a proper correction , and then finaly the dog. It has taken up to 3 weeks of practice for some people to get it all down before they start with the dog.

Tiggy2, Never have I met a dog that just LOVES to run like this guy. When she first got him we tried taking him out to the park we live behind (it's 6 acres) and let him free run with my dog (who always comes back) and we took some hot dogs too. Guess what? He took off faster then a speeding bullet and it took us 45 min. to catch up with him and releash him. We'll never do that again. (Now she's got my flexi) He's also dug out of the backyard 2X, bolted out the front door and wormed his way through the garage door. $200 in SPCA fines so far. My dog would never even think of leaving (he's got it too good!). This dog is always "talking", moaning, groaning, whining, playing with his paws, howling, etc. If he wasn't so sweet I'd bean him over the head just to stop him from being so annoying.... (just kidding!) <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

I'll forward some of these tips to my neighbour and hope she catches on.

P.S. I'll save the story about my other neighbour and the unneutered, untrained working line GSD for another rainy day.

Caniche - yup, it's a Siberian! Digging, pulling,escaping, bolting - they got it down to an art form. While obedience on leash can be a long ongoing thing with this dog, teaching household manners is easier and really, really important. Teaching a "back" command is imperative for any house husky as they are real door bolters. They are dogs that need to do stuff
and people that find an outlet for some of the dogs more excessive energy usually do better in the obedience area when they can see what makes them tick. As for kenneling - a solid floor,sturdy wire and a roof if needed cause if they can't go through something, they will go over it! I got a dog that will go over the back
panel of a 7 foot kennel rather thatn go through the open door! Exercise in a fenced yard under supervision only as they are real escapers, my kennel is fenced like Fort Knox. When they are getting loose they are not trying to escape you -
they just get so damn excited to run and explore that they can easily zone out and seemingly ignore you. They are an active breed and stay active well into their senior years it's directing their activity into something productive or manageable that is the hard part. They are the worlds worst watch dogs so training for protection is out of the picture <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> . there are people that compete in obedience with their sibes and maybe if you contact the Siberian Husky Club of Canada(SHCC) they could maybe refer her to someone who could troubleshoot the "siberian training syndrome" (symptoms - loss of hair from pulling it out by the roots!). There are a lot of Siberian breeders in the southern Ontario and they could also be a source of siberian info. Good Luck <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

UPDATE ON THE SIBERIAN. Well, despite my misgivings on whether or not my neighbour would accept my meddling I ordered the heavy-duty prong. It came yesterday and I immediately went over to show it to her. She cringed, got wide-eyed and I had to do some fast talkin'. I put the prong on her arm and showed how it worked. I then put the prong on the dog (no easy feat!). I took him out of the yard on the flexi to demonstrate it's effectiveness.

Even I was surprised. HE WAS A DIFFERENT DOG!!! I never even gave him a correction. He self corrected. I just gently redirected. In less than 5 minutes this dog (who previously pulled like a freight train and you could not correct on a flat coller or with a choke) was heeling like a dream and sat on command. We have to work on the left hand side thing though he got the picture pretty quick. I then let out the flexi so he could go out to the limit. Before he used to still pull on the flexi. NOT ANYMORE! When he comes to the end he comes right back. She was amazed!!! I then let her do the same quick exercises I did. It worked for her as well and she was almost in tears. She loves it and is now sold!

Thanks a bunch!!!

I'm really glad to hear everything is working out so well! The more your friend works with her dog the more responsive her dog will be and then she can really enjoy him. Thank-you Caniche for taking the time to help someone learn to train their Siberian. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />