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More Training Tips...
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Stop the pulling
NB, try each exercise over the course of weeks rather than hours before deciding they don't work for you.
1)Refuse to move when you're being pulled. Stand still as soon as your dog starts pulling. When he's back to your side, treat him, and move forward once again. You may not get very far initially because it will take time for it to sink in with your dog that pulling only results in lack of progress forward.
Lucy always refuses treats on a walk - substitute for better treats or toy if your dog refuses too, otherwise work with commands only.
Doesn't work?
2)Every time your dog is almost at the end of his lead, stop, then start walking backwards. Keep walking backwards until dog has turned around and made it to your side once again. Only then can you move forward in the correct direction.
Doesn't work?
3)Try changing direction the minute your dog lunges in front of you. This technique is supposed to teach the dog he needs to keep an eye on where you're going. Personally, Lucy and I had absolutely no success with this but others I know have gotten great results.
Doesn't work?
4)For particularly stubborn dogs, take then straight inside the minute they pull. It might take you 20 attempts or so to get them further than the end of the driveway but in the long run, you'll teach your dog that pulling = the end of the walk.
*)Use a harness rather than a neck collar, especially if you're correcting a pulling dog. Using a harness does not always promote pulling! My dogs are easier to control on a body harness!
*)Never set out with a destination in mind when you're trying to train a dog. You can't afford to get frustrated when your dog refuses to walk nicely and you definitely can't afford to let a dog walk badly because you don't have time for his training.
*)Keep patient! You're more than likely going to be super disappointed if you set out expecting instant results!
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When teaching a stay you need to walk before you can run so to speak. (If you haven't taught a sit, start with this.) Put your dog into the sit position, then ask him to stay as you take a step backwards. Praise him and treat him assuming he's managed to stay for 1-2 seconds.
Put him in a sit once again and ask him to stay for a second time. This time, take 2 step backwards. Treat and praise for correct response.
Keep practicing as you move further away from the dog and put more and more distance between yourselves. Any failures just mean you're taking the practice sessions too fast and need to reduce the distance between yourself and the dog before rewarding him.
Once you've mastered a reliable stay with no distractions, take him to the park and introduce distractions such as treats nearby and other dogs he's desperate to say hello to! Teaching a reliable stay could save your dogs life. It's an important command to teach.
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Food aggression needs sorting asap. Don't let a situation escalate to a bite.
In simple terms, food aggression occurs when a dog thinks of the food in front of him as belonging to him. It doesn't - the food belongs to you, and you are allowing him to eat it!
If children are part of the family or you're in any way nervous do consult a trainer, it's always better to be safe than sorry. For minor problems though, go back to basics in training with sits and downs etc and reinforce yourself as the boss and controller of food. Feed his daily food to him by hand rather than giving him a bowl to be protective over, and make him work for his food as he would in the wild. Walk him first and make him build up an appetite, and use feeding time to perfect any of those tricks and commands your dog is unsure of! Think 'watch me', 'target' or even scenting games!
You're aiming to teach the idea that food is a reward to be worked towards and a reward given by you - not a right the dog should be expect! Don't be pestered into feeding at set times either. If your dog starts to clock watch and badger, (You know whether your dog does this I'm sure!) ignore him completely until you're ready for dinner time to begin on your terms!
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I hate the thought that some might believe crate training is cruel because in all honestly, crate train a dog correctly and you'll be giving him the best space ever! A space that the dog actually wants to go into is a space he feels safe in. It's a refuge when he wants to get away or chill by himself.
Shove a dog into a cage and lock the door on him and of course you'll have a dog who isn't happy - the key to crate training is to take everything super slow and make the crate a place the dog chooses to be rather than is forced to be. You can crate train a dog at any age, and I always start by making sure I buy treats that are super special! These treats are then given inside the crate. The door stays open, but the dog does need to sit inside the crate to get his treat, and remain there whilst he's eating.
If you repeatedly encourage him into the crate and give decent treats often enough, leaving the crate door open at all times for him to explore his new space whenever he gets curious, you'll soon find your dog is choosing to go into his own space regardless of whether a treat is available or not! Once this start happening, slowly close the door for a few seconds at a time, increasing the time until your dog is comfortable to be shut in for a full 5 minutes. Once you've hit the 5 minute mark, you can increase the time by 10 minutes until you reach a couple of hours.
Make the crate as comfy as you can for your dog. Give him a cosy blanket, old clothes smelling of you, nice treats and his favourite toys. Help him see the crate as a special place he loves to be! If you're really keen for him to be crated whilst he's out, always make sure that all treats (other than for other training purposes, obviously!) are given whilst he's settled in his crate.
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There is no quick fix for this. You need to work with your dog in short sharp bursts. For example: if he howls when he's left home alone, start by putting your coat on and taking it off again seconds later until he's no longer anxious about it. Then pick up your bag and keys too. Then when he's used to that, go to the front door. Progress to opening and closing the door... and so on. Practice the routine you'd normally follow before leaving the house, adding each step until your dog is accepting each step in a calm manner. You might need a week of taking your coat on and off before he's calm and you can go on to picking up keys as well. That's fine, have some patience! Never go back to him or take that coat off whilst he's noisy. Always wait until there's a break in the noise before you go in. It may take time, but soon enough he'll be quiet as he'll be trying to hear your return ;-)
Improving your training success rate:
1)Reduce the fuss.
Never play or pet an anxious dog right before leaving the house. In fact, ignore him for a good 10 minutes before you leave. Go through your leaving routine calmly, with as little fuss towards the dog as possible.
Make no big deal of coming home, either. Ignore your dog until both you and him are calm and ready to welcome each other.
2)Regular exercise works wonders for reducing anxiety.
A tired dog is less likely to have the energy for fretting and/or destructive behaviour. Do your very best to walk every day with your dog, especially before leaving him.
3)Consider trying leaving a radio on for company.
4)Toys (Kongs!) may provide distraction. At the very least you might get lucky and have him distroy his own stuff rather than yours!
5)Ignore attention seeking behaviour when your are home together. Barking and jumping up should ALWAYS be ignored. Affection should be on your terms and in your time, not your dogs.
6)Keep training up to date. Work on the basic training commands often and if your dog is interested, play scenting games or teach little tricks. A mind that is worked is a tired mind, and once again, likely to be a content one and more likely to sleep.
7)Consider crate training. When a dog is crate trained correctly and kindly he'll love his own private space!
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TIP: Use a remote doorbell and have one person ringing the bell whilst the other controls the door..
Your aim is to ONLY answer the door when the dog has barked a maximum of 3 times. To do this, have somebody else ring the doorbell. Wait for 3 barks before getting up, and give the dog the 'quiet' or 'enough' command you use with him as you stand. Assuming he quietens down, you're free to make your way to the door and open it.
If he continues to bark, sit back down, or walk back to your starting point depending on how far you've walked to in the time the dog has been quiet. Make sure the dog is silent before you try getting up again. For rounds 2, 3, 4 and 5 (if needed!) try getting up again and venturing towards the door as before, but only go as far as you can before the dog barks. Once he does bark you need to go back to the starting point and wait until peace reigns again. Be aware that you're not ringing the bell again until you've made it to answer the first bell, even if it takes a dozen stop starts to get to the door!
The second the dog barks more than 3 times you go back to your starting point and sit down, but once you've made it to the door and answered it, repeat the process until the dog is beginning to react less to the bell. Remember an alert bark is okay - constant barking is not!
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