# Training a new dog



## JanHank (Mar 29, 2015)

I´ve got time on my hands and if you don´t know by now I have this thing about dog training. :laugh:
Because our dogs have always `done as we ask´ very rarely a raised voice, in fact until Shade started going deaf we could whisper to both him and Motley.
Comments like "You just talk to your dogs" come to mind. Yes we do, but don´t discuss, ask twice, if no responce its an order.
Two things have come to the front of my mind in the last few days:-
1. Leaving the dogs for what yesterday turned out to be 4 hours alone at home.
2. Turning the dogs on and off.
*Leaving dogs alone*
From the start each dog we have had, has been left for short periods while we go to another part of the house, 2 words are said `Sorry-stay´ the amount of time we leave them gradually increases over a few days, using the same words every time they are left. On return nothing is said, walk in and ignore them. In the end the words can be added to, as long as _sorry and stay _are included, ours is "Very _sorry,_ you must _stay_ " except for one occasion we have never had trouble with any dogs howling or destroying stuff while we are out (or at home either)

*Turning the dog off and on.
*Getting dogs excited is easy, voice, actions, toys, but turning them OFF is something people don´t often think of. This is where basic training is most important.
Motley gets very excited when he plays, but we only have to say sit or down and thats the end of the excitement until he is turned on again.

We know that in the not too distant future we will have to start with a new dog, but at the moment he says, "not yet Mum."


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

Agree totally with you - dog training is really about OWNR training as most dogs are keen to learn in order to please....

Our Border Collie is great at many things except when out inthe garden he likes to run with his front paws tucked in his ears - so that is a work in progress but he is improving. We go to a dog training club every Sunday afternoon - much better than the (expensive) professional classes we paid for......

So much of it is the gentle use of the voice and being consistent in the terms used......

I was mixing up "Wait" and "Stay" and using them randomly - that is now changing and I am learning the importance of consistent voice words and volume - every aspect needs to be the same for the dog to react as I want.....

Praise when praise is due and not before.......

and that's only for me.......


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## JanHank (Mar 29, 2015)

Another word we use a lot *TIME.

*Dinner *time *and they go to there, wait until we have finished, places.
Half *time,* a short break from play.
Full *time *end of play, 
so *time* to them means stop until we say otherwise.


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

Shadow understands a wide range of commands 

In the morning we have winston , I say breakfast as I get out the bowls

Shadow arrives at his own pace but lies down,to wait until ive mixed it ready to put it on the step 

Winston ,bless him ,comes with me to get their mixer and tin of tripe 

By the way Aldi do an all in one mixer , rice and turkey, or lamb, completely wheat and corn free, the equivalent of the expensive specialised food for a fraction of the price 

How he could be so volatile around the van and garden is beyond me 

Normally he’s so laid back he’s in danger of falling over 

I’m sure he’s given lots of commands but mostly we just chat , if we are going out without him I tell him exactly that , youre staying here this time 

In a morning we have an early morning chat, he’s very vocal, I tell him he’s beautiful , a pain-in the neck needs a brush and he agrees or disagrees 

Windy weather, I tell him constantly he’s a wimp , it’s just wind not a problem and ignore it 

Although once following his op he stared constantly into my eyes , willing me to understand , and I didn’t until his intestines fell out 

Now when he stares at me I know somethings wrong and we work out what it is 

When he goes I’ll miss my companion , I’ll miss watching him watching Tv, he’s particularly fond of the kids cartoon about horses , Spirit, and so am I so it’s great when the grandkids come and we watch it on Netflix , he likes horses cartoon or real 

I’ll miss the way he controls skates across the polished wooden floors on hairy feet , Rember he weighs 8 stone 

Barks at the widow when anyone leaves as they walk down the path and out the gate , goodbye or don’t leave ??

Welcomes the grandkids and their friends into his home, welcomes our friends once introduced 

He’s such a Jeckle and Hyde 

And of course it’s partly our fault 

We are prob over cautious with people or other dogs 

We don’t have dog walking groups here 

If any strange dog shows aggression he’s there and usually much bigger and heavier 

Would he actually hurt them, I really don’t know , but I don’t intend to find out 

winston is fast, when Shadow has had enough of his youthful exuberance 

Winston just runs faster 

Sandra


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## rayrecrok (Nov 21, 2008)

Our Cocker is learning a new command.. Get off the ceiling, she has stopped running round the walls!..0

ray.


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

Success Ray 

Brilliant 

Sandra


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## JanHank (Mar 29, 2015)

Training depends on what you personally want from your dogs. Ours are our pals, we understand each other, we are very rarely without them and when we are, like yesterday afternoon, the car feels empty.
They are rarely on leads, only for example, in the vets waiting room or when they're amongst a lot of people (rarely) and of course the odd occasion when there's traffic.
When we have a sleep so do they. As we sit here on the sofa they are at our feet, we are a team.


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

Having had lots of rescue dogs it is always very interesting to find out what, if anything, they have been taught.


Most dogs are taught to sit by their owners. Other commands are a matter of trial and error and I usually have to teach it all over again if they ever knew it in the first place.


With our last dog we changed his name, for various reasons, when he came, so he learned the new sound of his name meant something nice would happen when he came or paid attention.


Esther, the failed foster dog, came from a very "shouty" home. She was shouted at and yanked into position. She has a very disconcerting habit of freezing and going all mutinous when she is confused. At the moment this is often because she is still traumatised from all the upheaval in her life. She obviously used freezing as a coping mechanism when all the shouting and yanking confused her.


Can't remember if I have chronicled it on here but, briefly, her dad (whom she was most attached to) became very ill, stopped walking her, and after lots of carers and medical equipment arriving and leaving over time, he died. Within a week, her mum was rushed into hospital and diagnosed with a terminal illness. The same thing happened when she came home to die, as happened with Esther's dad, but by this time we had taken over the care of her and her two companions, to foster them during her mum's illness. We managed to find homes for Esther's two companions, but Esther is nearly ten and has Spondylosis in the spine (very painful) so will stay here. Vet visits were necessary to diagnose her condition but pain relief was a big part of helping her to relax. She then moved out of our house, into the fifth wheel with us, when the builders arrived (more upheaval). Tigan, our existing dog, had a nervous breakdown and had to be put to sleep shortly after the move.


It is very difficult, if not impossible, to train an anxious dog. It is why all the abusive trainers are gradually dying out. Long term it does not work as the dog is anxious around them and anxiety prevents learning. So, we have to wait until Esther is ready. She has little flashes of trainability. I have worked hard on her recall around the van and garden etc, using high value rewards, and she now, after spending the last five or more years permanently on lead, can go off lead on her daily walks. She is finding this freedom wonderful. She has started to find mice in the fields to dig up, pheasants to try to chase and rabbits to sniff out. And each time she comes back to call she gets a wonderful reward 


She knows "sit" and "Esther". She is learning "down" but until the physio gives the all clear for her to be doing it I am not asking for it very often. She is also learning "stand" as it makes a nice threesome, with sit and down, to mix up the training and make it interesting.


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## JanHank (Mar 29, 2015)

patp said:


> Having had lots of rescue dogs it is always very interesting to find out what, if anything, they have been taught.
> 
> Most dogs are taught to sit by their owners. Other commands are a matter of trial and error and I usually have to teach it all over again if they ever knew it in the first place.
> 
> ...


Oh Pat, I am shocked to hear about Tigan, this must have happened while I was in hospital. I feel for you, nothing more I can say except how sorry I am.


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

Still too raw to talk about much, Jan, so I haven't really said anything. Suffice to say that he became too dangerous for us to continue to try to rehabilitate him.


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

Really sorry pat, not much any one can say 

Sandra


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

Thank you Sandra.


Have my mind taken off it now with looking after Esther. They certainly know where to lay their furry heads. She has noise phobia and severe Spondylosis (arthritis) of the spine. My day is taken up with feeding her all the various potions to help one or other of her conditions! As she is nearly ten I don't expect that it will end there either. Just booked her in to start hydrotherapy sessions as the vet thinks they will be beneficial.


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## ChrisandJohn (Feb 3, 2008)

patp said:


> Still too raw to talk about much, Jan, so I haven't really said anything. Suffice to say that he became too dangerous for us to continue to try to rehabilitate him.


That's very sad. Pat, after all the work you've put in.

Three weeks ago we had to have our ginger cat, Potzo, put down. He was 18 years old and as well as possible over-active thyroid he had renal failure. There are ways we are still having to remind ourselves that he's not here. Previously we were always careful to leave all doors in the house open, partly to give him freedom of the house, but mostly to avoid trapping him in a room. We now have to remind ourselves we can close them. I still avoid walking in the area of the now non-existent tray where the water and food bowls were kept. John particularly is still upset as Potzo could twist him round his little paw. There had been very little training here, and I'm in awe of what (good) dog owners can achieve.

Neither of us want a dog, John because he is wary of them, me because I see (good) dog ownership as a huge responsibility that I'm not prepared to take on. We are though beginning to have almost a 'dog share'. A good friend who would be lost without her dog is becoming less able to walk her as much as she needs, so we are playing a part in walking Ruby.

Chris


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

Your hounds are so lucky pat

Our maybe where you live makes it possible 

So I’m guessing Tigan had the best of everything 

So I understand how much you miss him 

But I’m thinking he had such a good life 

One lucky dog to have ended up with you 

Sandra


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

Sorry to hear about Potzo, Chris. They leave a big hole in our lives don't they?


Thank you Sandra. All we can do is our best and I am comfortable that I did do that.


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

Sorry for your loss Chris and John

18 yrs is a lot of companionship 

Sandra


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