^^
I don't allow my dog to come and go as she pleases. That's why when I tell her to go potty, she goes. Eat, she eats. Relax she relaxes. Stay,she stays. She is a very smart dog but gets few chances to show how smart she really is.

 

Only reason I ask is while my fiance and I are about to start back up at school at the end of the month, we are going to be gone most of the day M-W-F... Ive ALWAYS has "outside" dogs where we would leave them outside while we were gone...Then when we get home they can come in and chill with us all they want. On the other hand my fiance has always has an "inside" dog, where she would let them out right before they leave then just leave the dog inside while shes gone.

I dont mind keeping the dog in as long as they dont start chewing stuff (Kane is only 4months old and we've had him for less than a week and previous owners didnt do **** to train him).

 

Establish the rules and enforce them. Dogs are very smart. Once they get it, they got it. The best peice of mind you can get is crate training. It does take some effort on your part. I would never suggest leaving a dog in a crate for 8hrs a day 3/4days a week. That's terrible for any animal. For a few hours at a time, no problem. You just have to be sure to take the time and train the dog when you're there. Excercise the snot out of 'em. Controlled walks or lead bike rides will really poop them out. Most anxiety/behavior problems spawn from a restless mind. The more time you spend establishing the rules right off the bat, the better off you'll be. Don't waste your time on what the previous owner didn't do from now on he is your dog and you are responsible for his behavior. Understand?

 

i 110% agree with you.. owning a dog is like a job... the lazy ppl have poorly trained dogs cuz they didnt put forth a effort. Ive had a handful of well trained dogs my entire life (although i wasnt the one training them, family dog trained by my dad) This is the first dog that I can call MINE (along with my fiance of course).

Today we took him on a 10min walk up to the near by high school and then ran him for 1/2 mile around the dirt track and threw the ball around a bit. Then 10min walk back and he continued to play around with his "cousin" (fiances brothers pitt) for well over an hour lol. Hes a machine running on puppy energy

We have been working on the basics; sit, laydown, stay, sit up... that kind of thing. So far he hasnt chewed anything he wasnt supposed to up.. the previous owner said the dog did but who knows.

We might get a crate to put outside on the porch where its shady and possibly bring it in when it rains but as of now idk. The big ones cost money haha. Hes only like 4months old so still have time to get him in the routine of things

 

nice! wish mine stayed that tiny haha

pics of them now.

 

Loki, 1 1/2 year old I just adopted. I think he's a border collie/pointer mix? Very smart! He's into trying to ride shotgun in the truck.

 

LoL your dogs look Asian.

(hope no one takes offense to that statement. im asian myself)

 

Ours took about a month and it seemed like she wasn't going to do it, then one day when she was off-leash and cruising around, she went down the stairs to the landing and rang the bell. She started doing it for fun and not when she had to go after about a couple weeks, but that is pretty easy to condition away just like everything else, if you want to. We want to. Our pup is a quick learner when she wants to, but slightly defiant as well so it just takes calm consistency (so it seems). It's funny how many people say their dogs are a PITA or something. Sure it's work, but what fun! A tired puppy is a happy puppy - too true. I am way new at this and learning every day - not trying to sound like I know wtf I am talking about!!!

Robotic dog? My nephew has a white velociraptor like that.

 

Not robotic. Kylie is super smart, really smart. She takes to things very quickly. She is also very dominant. She looks to exploit weakness. She's been that way since she was with her litter mates. She is a true Alfa female. Demanding so much of her it keeps her in check. You have to be this way with her personality. It's really no big deal just a different sort of relationship. Dogs that were born to lead always challenge the leader and attempt to establish themselves as such. As long as you continue to lead she'll follow. She has a structured life.

 

A few books that might interest some of you guys/gals with stubborn pups or simply would like some ideas.
Culture Clash by Jean Donaldson

How to Teach a New Dog Old Tricks by Ian Dunbar

Don't Shoot the Dog by Karen Pryor.

Cesar's Way by Cesar Milan

 

Have you read this one Jeff? I have another one of his, Be the Pack Leader, or something like that. It wasn't too helpful, it seemed more like a collection of short stories with problem dogs that he "fixed," but it didn't say what he did. Maybe I didn't read far enough into it.

 

Of course. I was just joshin' dude.

 

I lol'd and I'm not Asian...I feel like a bad person... :[

My dog has spent everyday this summer so far swimming in the pool with me. I was told when I got him that he didn't like the water, but now when I let him outside he swims laps in the spa/pool to cool himself down. What's great is that when we go out mudding during the winter he runs to the heated pool to clean himself off -_- lmao

Swimming...not sure if I posted this one...edit: I did on page 18...sorry for the repost


Him sleeping on my laptop....

 

Really? Then none of the above titles will be for you. Much of the material is about understanding a dogs behavior. They are not people(of course) they don't think like people. The ideas that are conveyed is to make people think like dogs. It's harder than it sounds because you need to step back from yourself and rethink your body language, communication, expressions. Once you understand the behavior side and how to translate what you want, into something a dog can understand, you can teach them to do anything you want. There is not a cookie cutter way to train a dog. One similarity that dogs have with people is they are all different/same. Look at it like this, and this may look familiar to you:
Dog
Sex
Breed
Name
They are listed by importance.
We're talking dogs here. Everything below it has little to do with the basic thought process of a dog. This is the level that you approach every dog. Once you realize they are dogs, which they realize right away, they look at sex. Token butt sniff. These mean a lot to them. Breed means nothing to them but it does mean a lot to us. We have taken certain traits and engineered them to create different breeds. Those traits are something we can use and need to understand to. Different things drive them. Lastly is the name. The name is something humans give to dogs to make them more human. This is the least of our concerns. Everything that a human would associate with the name is for the human not the dog. Hugs kisses all that jazz. What we want to do is nurture the dog. Fulfill the most basic need. The dog. The rest falls into place once the dog is nurtured.

You got something you'd like to work on with Kramer?

I'm probably going to start reaching out with this a bit more. I am seriously going to move forward with my dog trainers certification. There are some prerequisites that I need to do before enrolling. Some of which are working with dogs, shelter time any number of items. It's something I am really passionate about.

 

Jeff this is really cool. If you need some "logged time" or what-have-you with random dogs let me know as I/we would be appreciative of anything that could be taught with us and our pup. We want to get our pup into some puppy classes, but have not done so yet (we need to, mostly to train us of course). I am doing the best I can and paying attention to my pup to learn her personality and what makes her tick but I am far away from knowledgeable regarding dogs. Since we know nothing (beyond what we learn every day of course) our focus is on consistency, and looking for specific help if issues arise.

One thing I have noticed is that whenever someone has a dog and they say he's just too crazy or doesn't react well to new people, I never ever have a problem with them. I have seen times where I will say hi, pet a dog for a sec, and then someone else will come up and the dog will bare teeth and growl. Cannot put a finger on why, but I have to think it has to do with the body language and related items you mention. There also seems to be a lot to simply approaching a dog in a good state of mind, confidently and happily. Learning is fun, especially when you can see results so quickly.