Posted: Mon Jun 19, 2006 7:52 am Post subject: Disheartened
As you may know Majic has been a little bu**er since her season and it seems to me we are getting no better.
We go out at 6.30am for 40 mins training and a lot of the time this is on lead as I am trying to break some of the habits she has got, while there was noone about today I let her off and she came back to me on recall everytime apart from when I missed but she saw another dog she hurtled across and I couldn't get her back which I thought by now after over a month of having to sit on lead and told 'leave' while other dogs pass would have sunk in but alas not
While off lead she has also taken to chasing swallows this morning and it looks like the swallows are encouraging her by swooping down and circling round her which Majic thinks is great fun but I can't get her back
Is Majic destined to a life on lead as off it she is a complete nightmare.
I am not soft with her training I have quite a firm voice anyway and in training class she does everything first time.
Majic is still only just a year old Carroll, still very young. The old story was 7 years of a dog's life for one in a human life, but really, it's not exactly linear and probably the first year equates to about 9 to 10 years old in human terms. This puts the problems into perspective a little.
Personally I like my puppies off lead as much as possible to avoid the pup starting to think that "Off Lead is special" and something to be prolonged for as long as possible. I like all walks and training to incorporate a bit of both on and off work.
oh carroll I dont knwo but I totally sympathise - Ruby wont even sit on command now
Couldl it be maybe that Majic needs some off lead venting time if she has been on lead for a month?? I know Ruby would be unbearable if she hadnt had a run around for that long - maybe could you let her run around really early first thing AFTER a training session I know the advice is to do it after rather than before.
Not a clue and I dont even know if I have interpretted your post wrongly but saying she hasnt had a good old hoolie for a month
ahhhh see told you I would have mis interpreted hehe
I really admire you Carroll forging on alone - I go to classes so make a list of all the challenges and discuss them with my trainer in class think I would be pulling my hair out if I was trying to home train myself by now.
I'd personally get a little firmer with her corrections.
I'd give a firmer correction than just a voice correction. Esp if shes still not listening to your leave command after a month.
While shes on lead, and spots a dog, ask for a sit, if you dont get an immediate response, a lead correction and ask again.
If she even considers upping that bum from the sit, give a firm voice "SIT" If she does get up from her sit, another lead correction.
When she bolted off toward another dog and ignored your recall, i would have walked over to get the dog, took the collar, made the dog look at me and say a very stern "NO" and take all the way back to where yous were originally, holding the collar all the time while you walked there.
I always let my dog have 5 minutes to cheese about before starting any training also. I find even a short time to sniff about first really helps concentration.
Goodluck! x
I do that Jill the only prob I have when she bolts after another dog is if she sees me coming she bolts some more and then it just becomes a battle of wills which I don't really want, I even walk in the opp direction to get her back but I might aswell not exist.
A lot of the time she is on lead with a run around on the 26ft flexi while still training and she is fine with that does as she is told but let her off and well you may aswell have a 8 week old puppy
Now would I be better going bck to training i the garden off leasd to se if I can improve the situ but then again she is no prob in garden.
All other times she is a joy but training seems to be 1/2 step forward and 100 back
I do that Jill the only prob I have when she bolts after another dog is if she sees me coming she bolts some more
Ahh i see. That can be really difficult!
You see, when Leo used to do this, i only really had to give him "the look" and say "get here now!" and he'd come back to me slowly with the head down. lol
I would say walk in the opposite direction, but that never worked for me either... If i walked away, Leo would just follow the other person and their dog instead
Carroll, the only thing i can really say is keep at it. I absolutely 100% know how you feel. I went through it all with Leo. It's actually got a lot better sinse he had the chop at 7 months.
Yous will get there in the end. One day you won't even notice majic has done it. She just will.
And it will really only hit you when she starts doing it reguarly.
Recently, Leo has been testing me during the day. I think its because i'm home all the time now due to uni being finished, so he's really testing the water. lol.
He keeps sneeking into the garage and stealing this green watering can. lol. I know it sounds silly but he does it truely on purpose to wind me up! He will actually carry it about threw the house proudly, then take it into the yard and start chewing on the spout. If i go outside and give him "the look" (lol) he will instantly bring it back to me.lol. But then he's just cogering up his next plot to nick it again.
Just silly stuff like that. Although i'm glad that its just daft minor stuff like that these days!
Anyway, enough rambling! Let us know how you get on over the next few days. Keep at it! xx
I've written so much these last few posts that i will keep this brief for everyones sanity
You say you use a long flexi lead and when she is on it she KNOWS and doesn't play up. You say when she is on a normal lead and you let her off THEN she turns into the child from hell.
The lets trick her. Take her out with two leads on. A normal lead and a long lead. Now me personally I'd make a small bonfire and put the flexi lead in the middle of it and dance around it whilst it burns. I loathe the things. They have inflicted more rope burns on me than I can count and out walking I seem to spend my life untangling myself from them when my dogs play 'maypoles' with others dogs
So if I were you get a long line. A light line that doesn't whirl in and out making lots of noise but literally a washing line type effect you have to gather in and out in handfuls. Sounds more complicated. In a way yes, you have to practice your John wayne skills of looping it in your hand and letting it out fast and taking it in fast (you'll be a hit rounding up cattle after a short while with one!).
Now the best sort is a horses lunge line bought from a saddlery but you can make one with washing line or thin rope and put a clip on it. Anyway, enough of that, basically take her out with BOTH clipped to her collar. Train a while, do your normal routine, train just for a few minutes, 40 minutes is too long. Their interest span lasts a short time but their memory is good so what you plough in when she is fresh and open to learning is the first 5 - 10 minutes, from then on its boring and she will LOOK for distractions.
Then go for a bit of a walk. Set her up. Go reasonably near other dogs. Sit her up, take off her lead and send her out to play. Bear in mind that you need to make yourself interesting to compete with other dogs. You are unlikely to succeed in being so but that coupled with training is far better than just training! Treat her like a baby, take out a squeeky toy and the minute YOU see another dog you DON'T wish her to approach (because she neds to have some dog/dog contact to not make it a stunning exciting event) make yourself all squeek giggle and excitment. have an emergency titbit in your pocket and if she looks at the dog, looks you clapping and squeeking and being ace fun, and picks YOU make the hugest fuss ever then go in another direction so she doesn't THEN bugger it all up by charging off again.
HOWEVER IF she picks the dog, she will get the shock of her tiny life. She is off lead isn't she? She HEARD and FELT you unclip it. However as she pounds off to go to the other dog suddenly YANK! Oh my WORD! How DID she do that!!!!???? She is still attached to you and you can reel her in being happy and sunny and using 'come' and 'good girl come' and then have her perform a small command for you, a sit, or her happily trot the last few paxces in when you ask her to 'come' and treat her. Put her NORMAL lead back on and do it again!
ONLY do it two or three times though before you shove off somewhere with NO dogs about and give her 5 mins freetime with you not nagging at her.
People on walks nag their dogs too much. Command after command, all ignored. 'Jack! Jack! Sit! Wait! Wait! COME HERE YOU **** JACKKKKKK!' and they get no freetime. Rather than give a command they will ignore, let them bowl up to another dog then march up and get them and walk away with NO fuss. They have then NOT defied you because you didn't ask them not to. Remember being defied is far worse than saying nothing if it all goes wrong. The more times you yell their name or 'come' as they gallop away from you the more you are teaching them:
A) To ignore you
and
B) That running away equals 'come!'.
Tips!!!
You might think 'nooooooooooo Di, she KNOWS what I mean when I shout 'come!'. So test it. Sit her up at the bottom of the garden in a stay. Walk away 15 yards. Turn your back. Make absolutely NO body movements and DO NOT USE HER NAME and call 'come!' No clapping hands, no opening arms... just 'commmme!'. Most sit there baffled.
THEN if she DOES come. Repeat, sit her up, walk down the garden. Turn your back and shout 'bacon!'. If she came the first time I bet she also comes the second.
Few dogs know the word 'come. VERY few. Test it, try your dogs
Oh I will keep at it as I now she has the capability to do as she is told and listen to me cos she does when on the flexi.
Tomorrow I will just put her straight into off lead and see what occurs, everyone knows me now when walking that early so they all say How's her training going they probably know full well as they will hear me shouting and calling left right and centre
The one thing I was most worried about was heelwork on the lead and this is coming along fantastically well to the point at home I am going to start doind off lead heelwork
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which I thought by now after over a month of having to sit on lead and told 'leave' while other dogs pass would have sunk in but alas not 
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