After three days with Chumley we are seeing some patterns in his behavior and we are formulating a curriculum for our four-legged trainee. On the positive side he appears to know SIT, he responds to his name with a good recall, and he understands WAIT with prompting/blocking. He prefers Lisa to me; I scare him sometimes. He is soft and only requires a mild verbal correction.His obedience needs work, but he is no trouble around the house. Monte may disagree as he has had to remind Chumley who the boss is on a couple occasions.
Our first area of focus has been reinforcing his SIT and eliminating the need to lure him into a DOWN.
Tonight we joined the Janesville training class. The final task involved a visit to the food court. The puppies were tempted by kibble that appeared like manna from heaven, but they were not allowed to touch. Juno, on the left, attempted to use mental telepathy and move the food into her mouth.
10 comments:
If he only needs a verbal correction, why does he have a pinch collar on?
My post was referring to the home situation where Monte has found it necessary to provide an occasional "pinch" correction.
The pronged collar is on very loose out in public - just getting him used to it at this point. He may never need it, but it will be available.
BTW much safer and effective than a choke collar.
Then why not a martingale or just the flat collar?
Choke, Martingale and flat collars, along with gentle leaders, are less effective and can actually inflict more harm on the dog's neck, throat, and trachea. Although seemingly a more painful device, the pronged collar provides a correction similar to that of another dog.
The pinching mechanism is only employed when needed, it is not a constant correction, which would defeat the purpose. The dog needs to be informed when he is not behaving correctly.
Head Trainers from other service dog organizations that prohibit the pronged collar have shared their desire to use them. They are easier for novice trainers to use and more effective.
Why not use the pronged collar?
If Anonymous would like more detailed information I would be happy to provide it.
Positive trainers have found that you can get the dog to do what you want without any hands on. The leash is there only for a safety net.
I understand about pinch collars and have used them before. They work well in turning around a dog, but it also teaches them learned helplessness as they don't try something because they may be corrected. It doesn't teach the dog to think for itself except how to avoid the correction.
And whether you like it or not, the public view on pinch collars is not favorable.
Hi Anonymous.... do you train dogs? I follow this blog and always feel that Jeff and Lisa are honest and kind, caring people. Have you tried the different collars?? Would be interested in your thoughts.... and why stay anonymous??
Lexy
With six years experience raising service dogs, we have learned a bit about dog training and the need to adjust the training method to the dog, not vice versa.
I would generally not provide unsolicited advice on training techniques or equipment, I suggest that if you are not comfortable with the pronged collar that you not use it.
Yes, I do train dogs. I have trained longer than Jeff & Lisa actually. I have used numerous training techniques and tools. While the pinch collar does give immediate corrections, there are other methods available.
Positive training may take longer at first until the dog learns that it is ok to try something and the worst thing to happen is to get a "whoops" or "ah ah" for a correction. Then the training really takes off and the behaviors are much more solid and reliable. My dogs are happy to work WITH me, not FOR me, and not afraid to try new things.
Its your opinion. Everyone is entitled to their own. This blog happens to be about the experiences we have with the dogs in training. Nobody is forced to use any training equipment. If you can do it with a simple "oops" and your dogs are behaving as you want, more power to you. We use a combination of techniques & tools based on the dog's learning style and temperament. Most dogs can start out with a training collar (after at least 4-5 months of age)and transition to simple verbal "no-no", we even have had dogs that a simple frown or "mom face" across a room and they understand. We aren't throwing pronged collars on puppies and popping them for the next year--of course they have to understand what is expected of them, but they get much more praise than "pops!" This is obviously not the forum to bash somebody you do not even know (I assume? If you are someone who knows us, we would welcome a rational conversation) for equipment you have little experience or knowledge about. Any tools you decide to use need to be used based on the dog's personality and ability to learn and always with fairness. I would disagree though with the comment that the general public opinion is against training collars. Since we are out in the general public with the service dogs in training all the time, we have gotten many more unsolicited positive comments vs negative, especially from people with dog experience. It also matters very little how long you have been training. Some of the best advice has been received from very new & talented trainers. Even your comments have made me at least more conscious of techniques we use, and I am confident these dogs we are training for other people are getting very balanced training and socialization. We certainly do not believe we have the only "right" way to train. We listen to, read about, and watch lots of trainers and we learn a little something all the time. Most important, we all love and respect the dogs in our lives. Let's get off the negativity and try to learn what we can from others! Lisa
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