What's Your One Training Dilemma?

kpwlee

 LOL he was like that with squirrels too but we could work on that because they are all over the place here.  Basically I let him go into the stalk/point and then praised him told him 'I see it' and 'enough'.  With practice it is now part of our walk except he rarely even does the point/stalk fully.  I can see that he locks on I say "I see it" and he happily moves on.  Some version of that might help you.  Its like a command and acknowledgment that he's done well.  Of course in our case if, as we believe, there is gsp in him its part of his instinct.

He also has the job in the yard of chasing them off the bird feeders - this seems to appease his squirrel needs.

Now if some deer would just let us practice with them we may be able to move on  

Yeah, we're working on it. Slowly, slowly, slowly. Most of the time if *I* see it first, we're ok, but if he sees it first and I don't redirect his attention, well, that's a whole different story.

as everyone knows I am not a dog trainer - but have you tried acknowledging him when he spots them and then moving on.  Basically a good job Pirate your work is done.  That is what helped me/us to turn the corner.  They are so populous here I am not going to see all of them before he does so I had to think of another way to do it.

Anyway I feel your pain, although I think I would rather have to hang on to a leash with Pirate at the end of it then with Bugsy at the end of it.  Some days I think I'll be booking dual shoulder surgeries  

Haha.... the terror in Casey loves to chase squirels, I just give him  the 'leave it' command, and we move on. If he's off leash - he can do as he pleases, on onleash is walking time, not hunting time..... He'll still stalk stuff out and try to chase, but I just tell him no, and he leaves it.

Oh my god, to pick just one....

The dog I'm posting about isn't my dog.  He's my housemate's and let's see... the one thing that he won't stop doing?  Peeing on my couches, rugs, bed, eating the cat food, just to name a few.  I've resolved to bringing the cat's food upstairs and closing the doors, but it's still my couches, furniture, and house in general that he's peeing all over.  He's the worst beast alive.  Since he's not my dog I can't discipline nor properly train the dog because the owner of the animal won't carry through.  Sigh.

Rory's #1 issue I would have to say is crying bloody murder if she see's dogs having fun without her.

Example#1, at the beach we played hard for a good hour so I decided to lay down with her leashed to me and relax a bit. Some dogs come onto the beach and are just chillin and she's ok with that. When they started playing frisbee she errupted into a chorus of monkey/chewbacca howls and persisited until I left.

#2, driving! We can pass a gazillion dogs walking but if any are having fun she freaks out. At first I thought she was a fun nazi but no she just wants to play. And for all of you thinking "oh this isnt that big a deal" lemme just say you havnt heard the pitch and franticness of her cries. She is inconsolable and its extremely embaressing. We can walk past 20 dogs in petsmart but if one owner is trying out a ball or toy with his dog she wants to play pronto!

Unlike other issues this cannot be redirected with food, she looks at me like "I want to play, not eat". I try adn call her in a namiated fun voice and pick up the pace like I'm more instersting then the other dog, its getting better as she has gotten older thankfully but its still not mormal.

As far as Primo goes....he's easy. I wish I could get him to like cats but I wont push him on that. I wish he wouldnt fart or lick his boy parts loudly in the middle of the night but other then that he's good!

For Max, I'd have to say it's the occasional lunging/barking/growling at another dog (also on leash) while we're walking. He doesn't do it all the time and when he doesn't, he gets a treat.  I just never know when he's going to do it, so I find myself avoiding people with dogs.  If I see someone  coming, I get him off the bike path and try to distract him with sniffing the trees or fences. I'd really love to not have to worry about him doing this and be able to just stay on the path.

Joyce

FDM- I agree that distraction is key however removing him from the other dogs is hindering him from getting over this. Maybe try staying on the path with some super stinky treats in your pocket like freeze dried liver treats and continuing forward as you keep the leash length very short but not tense. I've found its easier for them to lunge and yank you around if the leash is longer. If you do decide to try to push through this remember to not stop in your forward motion, dont give him time to reacct or pause. Act in the same way you'd want him to reacct....with no response to the other dog at all. If he starts to pull away or lunge towards the other dog give a firm and quick "lets go" and continue on. Its when we stop and try to analyze, talk it out or discipline the dog that they have time to reacct.

Do you think he is leash reactive or protective of you? Does he do it to particular dogs like small? black? digs off leash?

Ironically, all Penny's annoyances are pretty much a direct result of me trying to teach her that something is fun.

After several months of trying when she was a pup, I finally managed to teach her that it's fun and enjoyable to swim. Now I can't keep her out of the water (unless it's cold). If I don't want a filthy, wet dog to take home, I tell her no when she catches sight of the water. She gives me this look that says "What's that? Go for a swim, you say? Okay, you're the boss!" and in she goes. She's a keen bean to get into that water.

I also spent ages trying to teach her to chase animals. Don't ask me what was going through my head when I was doing this. Suffice to say I was young and got a kick out of that long stare between prey and potential predator that is inevitably going to end in prey bolting and a short-lived but exhilirating chase through the bush. It wasn't as much fun when my dog didn't care about rabbits and chases. When I finally enlightened her about how much fun it is to chase roos, all my bird watching I did for work came to a grinding halt until ten minutes after Penny had seen off all the roos in the area. Discovered that it was even harder to teach her not to chase than it was to teach her to chase in the first place. The new pup is going to learn to chase a frisbee. There will be no encouraging him to chase wild animals. Honestly, I do not know what I was thinking.

Right now, I'd like her to have a good stay. It hasn't been important until now, but these days she has trouble with stairs and while I can convince her to stay at the top of the stairs and wait for me to come back, she'll only do it as long as she can see that I'm not far away. If I have my hands full and am making a trip that will take me out of her sight, she'll painfully do the stairs on her own even after I asked her to stay or wait.  

AuroraLove

FDM- I agree that distraction is key however removing him from the other dogs is hindering him from getting over this. Maybe try staying on the path with some super stinky treats in your pocket like freeze dried liver treats and continuing forward as you keep the leash length very short but not tense. I've found its easier for them to lunge and yank you around if the leash is longer. If you do decide to try to push through this remember to not stop in your forward motion, dont give him time to reacct or pause. Act in the same way you'd want him to reacct....with no response to the other dog at all. If he starts to pull away or lunge towards the other dog give a firm and quick "lets go" and continue on. Its when we stop and try to analyze, talk it out or discipline the dog that they have time to reacct.

Do you think he is leash reactive or protective of you? Does he do it to particular dogs like small? black? digs off leash?

There doesn't seem to be any pattern.  Size/color of the other dog doesn't seem to make any difference.  We very rarely see dogs off leash here except in the dog park. He may be a bit leash reactive, but I don't think he's trying to protect me.  He'd let the Boston Strangler in the house if he scratched his ears. You've given me a few good ideas.  I may be contributing to the problem by tightening up on the leash though I do keep it pretty short even if there aren't any other dogs around. He's not a dog that can be given the full length of a leash, even a 6 or 4 ft. one. I'll look for some yummy stinky  treats and try to keep walking instead of getting off the path and see what happens.

Joyce