Dog Community

Starting over...

Posted : 5/1/2008 7:36:45 AM

Has anyone else just started over with their dog's training? Kenya is a smart dog and she knows plenty of commands. In rally we've been scoring in the low 90s, which is not bad, but I'm looking for a certain level of attitude and precision. The attitude she has, precision we have not. I won't blame it on her b/c I truly believe the mistakes are due to me sometimes being inconsistent with verbal commands, hand motions, and tone of voice. Instead of working backwards to fix it, last night for fun I decided to throw in the towel and start over. No more English commands, only Dutch and German commands. Amazingly enough, it was our best mini training session ever and she caught on instantly. I think my dog can read minds! Previously, for her moving down I would say "drop!" and chop my hand towards the ground. She would only do it consistently if I used the hand signal and if she was doing it from the heel position. Last night, I use a lure two or three times but now all I have to do is say "platz!" and she SLAMS her front paws out and drops to her belly, regardless of how she is positioned in relation to me. Her heeling ("hup!";) was spot on, great focus and keeping right on my hip when I changed pace. I should have done this a lot sooner. No more "sit", "stand", "down", "come", "heel" for us....

Debbie Stull

Posted : 5/1/2008 7:48:18 AM

Perhaps Kenya has a background with Dutch/German commands, and you have refreshed her memory? Maybe with english you were starting all over, and she was confused a little, as in the hand signal was the same, but the word was different?

Regardless, it's wonderful that she is responding so well now! Here's hoping she keeps it up and you both get top scores!

nataliem

Posted : 5/1/2008 1:36:28 PM

That's funny, she probably prefers it in German. My dog responds to a few Russian commands but I try not to yell them out in public since people won't know what I'm yelling about,lol.

keedokes

Posted : 5/1/2008 1:51:22 PM

I think I'm going to come up with some crazy stuff when we get our first dog. I can't make up my mind whether or not I want to do it in Welsh or just make up commands. We're hoping to pick up 'Muggle' the Welsh Corgi from a breeder friend who needs to place him with a co-owner (I'm so excited!!!!) so I was thinking of doing stuff like 'Accio' meaning come, etc. I thought that would be rather interesting... Wink

*edited to add: Cardigan Welsh Corgi

Liesje

Posted : 5/1/2008 2:08:17 PM

I asked her breeder and she used a few German commands on Kenya years ago, before she was 1. The ones I'm using are a bit different. My friend and I agreed they probably work because while I have passable knowledge of these languages, I'm not fluent, so I don't know all the nuances and thus speak the words the same way every time.

So far I've chosen....

"platz" - plahtss, means a "down" either moving or stationary. Very fast down, drop right to belly, and she is expected to remain down until commanded differently. Will be use for any down (moving down in rally, down on recall...)

"fuess" - the German heel command with the ue in the middle sounding like the oo in book (it's NOT foooooos, it's a u-umlaut which we don't really have in English). This command means wherever you are, get in heel and sit. It will be used for left and right finishes, recall to heel, etc.

"hup" - Dutch word, pronounced similar to fuess above. This will be the moving heel, like "come along!"

"hier" - Just as it sounds in English "here". It means wherever you are, get to me and sit in front. It will be used for recalls and calling the dog to front in rally.

oranges81

Posted : 5/1/2008 8:17:09 PM

I've started over with Maze in her training just cuz I think we reached a plateau in our training and she's getting bored. I have considered using different languages and she seems to respond well to Japanese. Lol!

CoBuHe

Posted : 5/1/2008 8:33:05 PM

I've heard of folks starting over who have had dogs that "don't get it" because of inconsistent commands given them. They're just confused, though...not their fault. Starting over is the only remedy for those poor dogs.

Sounds like Kenya is enjoying it and I'll wager some of your words are ringing bells. Fun for you too I'll bet to train something different.

Good luck!