Dog Training

[Pete]

I had a pair of coon hounds when I was a kid.  Worked my ass off to get them.  We went on all sorts of adventures.  Loved those dogs.

The one lesson that I learned is that when they die you should have them cremated and encased in a vase inside your home.  DO NOT BURY THEM.  You'll spend hours trying to kill fracking red weeds where you buried them.  HUGE pain in the ass, IMO.

Reminds me of my childhood, growing up in the Ozarks mountains.  One time, I found a whole bunch of monkeys that had escaped from a circus train.  Man, that was one awesome summer.  I like to refer to it as The Warm Season of the Lower Primates.

That sounds awesome.

You should have captured and sold those rough ridin' monkeys and bought yourself a pony and a .22, IMO.

[jtksu]

I had a pair of coon hounds when I was a kid.  Worked my ass off to get them.  We went on all sorts of adventures.  Loved those dogs.

The one lesson that I learned is that when they die you should have them cremated and encased in a vase inside your home.  DO NOT BURY THEM.  You'll spend hours trying to kill fracking red weeds where you buried them.  HUGE pain in the ass, IMO.

Reminds me of my childhood, growing up in the Ozarks mountains.  One time, I found a whole bunch of monkeys that had escaped from a circus train.  Man, that was one awesome summer.  I like to refer to it as The Warm Season of the Lower Primates.

That sounds awesome.

You should have captured and sold those rough ridin' monkeys and bought yourself a pony and a .22, IMO.

Nah, I bought a .22 and a dog.  Ended up having to take Aged Screamer behind the shed and put him down though.  I was really down, until I discovered the colony of extremely intelligent rodents living underneath the hedges with the talking crow and creepy old owl.

[asava]

I do submissive training indoors; worked wonderfully to stop his air humping habit. Problem is, I'm not comfortable using it on walks out in public. Looks extremely bad even though it isn't hurting the dog, y'know?

Might have to try the pinch collar in the backyard with the "leave it" command.

could see that being a problem. to me its just another way of ensuring other peoples safety. once mine gets done growing its going to be close to 100 lbs of muscle. i'd just tell whoever was judging "its this or your kids get eaten." but anybody who has a dog will generally know what you are doing. and as long as you aren't bitch slapping it you shouldn't have a problem.

[PurpleScarf]

What kind of dog do you have?

[asava]

rhodesian ridgeback aka the "hipster" breed.

[PurpleScarf]

Lol, come on now. 

Very cute. They do get pretty big though.

[asava]

Lol, come on now. 

Very cute. They do get pretty big though.

Thanks 

[tdaver]

[DILLIGAF]

Any tips on getting a dog to heel? Mine wasn't fazed by a pinch collar, so we've moved on to a gentle leader, which works 10x better, but he still insists on pulling on the damn leash.

Also, what's the foolproof command for "quit eating poop"? So far, copraphagia pills have been ineffective.

pinch collar didn't work? were you pulling or giving it a quick jerk? there is a big difference in this. if you have a pull it will more than likely not work. where a quick jerk will get his attention and let him know he's not supposed to do that. pairing this with a verbal command works nicely. also, is it a pinch collar or a choke chain? you also have to use positive reinforcement when he starts to walk well. the idea is to have a flowing transfer from negative to good. you will go back and forth between the two. he should stay right at your hip, not in front of you, not behind you. right beside you. when my dog moves outside of the zone, i give him a quick tug and a short abrupt low command, i use "eh." or "easy." or sometimes "hey motherfracker." 

if that doesn't work you can do some other things. there is a method where if he starts tugging at all you just stand still. don't move until there is no tension on the leash and then when he gives slack, or even better, sits, then you can start moving on, giving praise when he doesn't pull. this takes a lot of patience and a lot of time. but he should learn that if he is pulling he goes no where. his pulling is essentially a way of telling you where to go and that you are walking with him, not the other way around. so letting him know it doesn't work is extremely important. if he gets to go somewhere while pulling he will start to understand that it is correct.

you can also carry a treat with you, cup it in your hand and place your hand on the outside of the hip. let him know its there and walk while trying to keep his nose glued to his hand. giving him praise. this is good for short training around the yard.

another thing may be your posture. keeping a tight posture, chest out, back straight, and purposeful steps add to letting him know what the rock is cooking.

its important to note that all of these have a lot of positive reinforcement involved. a dog will do things more readily when he knows that he is pleasing you, rather than pissing you off.

Thanks.

It was a pinch collar, not a choke chain, and yes, we used quick yanks, not pulls. He didn't give a ****; just choked himself constantly on walks. Like I said anyway, the gentle leader is far more effective at correcting his direction when he reaches the end of the leash.

We do stand still if he tugs too consistently, and we carry treats to reward him when he walks with the leash slackened. The problem is, he could care less about treats while on walks; he's far too distracted by everything around him. He's extremely social, so he wants to bolt to every other human/dog he sees. This is the root of his walking problem. We've tried training him in the backyard first, but he does great at that...then the minute we take him on the street with other people/pets, he goes ape.

Also, any tips on the eating poop thing? Not harmful to him, according to our vet (he only eats his own), but extremely annoying/gross.

Have heard of sprinkling with Cayenne pepper can have the desired effect.   You can also get a muzzle, they make a plastic crap eaters cover to go over the wire. 

[asava]

that is awesome. Does it with some speed too.

[asava]

so a really cheap babysitter for dogs: take a tennis ball. make a cut in it, so when you squeeze it there is a big enough hole that your dog will be able to get his tongue in there. put peanut butter inside.

essentially this is a kong ball, but 10x cheaper.