You have to pick and choose what canine training advice, suggestions and “style” to use for your own dog. Don’t listen to me or anybody else.
With my own dogs (a senior lab mix and a young weimaraner), I tend to gently guide them to do what I want, praise them and give firm corrections occasionally when they don’t do what’s expected. Update: RIP, Ace.
My focus is on structured exercise, calm and positive leadership, consistency and clear guidelines so they know what’s expected.
We have never allowed Remy the weim on the couch, for example. Not once, not even as a tiny puppy. because of this, hopping on the couch is simply not on his radar. Clear, consistent guidelines make a big difference.
Still, Remy is a big challenge for me, continuously seeing what he can get away with.
My two dogs are very different, and I’m not training or raising Remy in the exact same way I raised my senior canine Ace.
So I wanted to share some of the common training suggestions – ideas I would typically use and recommend – that I threw out the window when I got my weimaraner puppy Remy.
Let me know if you can relate to any of this! Which suggestions do you typically use or ignore? and has your canine challenged you to train differently than you’re used to?
Dog training guidance I threw out the window when I got my weimaraner
1. Make your canine work for his food. Feed him as a reward.
Great advice. I say this all the time. It’s actually something nearly all canine trainers would agree on!
However, my weimaraner is so food obsessed that in the morning he’s drooling and shaking and moaning in his kennel for his food.
Frankly, it’s just simpler to feed him right away and get that tension behind us.
Yep, I feed The prince and then we opt for a walk.
For the longest time, I fought this and made Remy “work” for his food by walking him and then feeding him.
This just ended in disappointment for both of us.
All Remy could think about on our walk was getting back home to eat. Our walks were not fun. He pulled like a train. He could not focus on me or on anything. I lost my temper every morning, and it was not a good way to start the day.
So, I feed the freaking canine immediately.
Our walks are much much more unwinding this way.
You do what works.
2020 update: Remy is 4 years old now, and I am now able to feed him AFTER our walks. This works for us now. It did not work in the past.
2. Cradle your puppy until he stops squirming.
When I first got my puppy, people told me it was essential to “cradle” him on his back and only let him go when he’s calm and stops squirming.
This is especially essential with a powerful breed like a weimaraner, they said. Not necessarily to be “alpha” but to encourage the important skill for a puppy to accept being restrained and to feel comfortable and unwinded being held.
I think this guidance is typically great!
However … this DID NOT work for Remy!
Even at 8 weeks, he would absolutely not “surrender” to being cradled. He would squirm and kick and bite and as time went on he would become much more and much more aggressive.
I held him for 45 minutes one time, trying to sooth him and calm him while remaining as unwinded as I possibly could.
He was mad with energy! It was much more of a wrestling match than a bonding experience. I was identified not to let go until he calmed down.
Well, let’s just say he never calmed down. I had scratches and bite marks on my arms and legs and stomach.
He and I are both stubborn. apparently him much more than me.
So I stopped doing this outrageous exercise.
3. positive reinforcement training is best. science tells us so.
हो। By all means, stick with positive reinforcement as much as you can.
This implies reinforcing the behavior you like by gratifying your canine with food, toys or access to whatever he enjoys. research says this is the best way for a canine to learn a behavior.
I use a lot of positive reinforcement with Remy, but not 100%.
My canine is very … “willful” and frankly, in some cases I just need to be a mother Bear and give him a firm “NO.”
I have to say, I’ve even bopped him on the nose a few times for nipping me or jumping on me. It’s not something I’m comfortable recommending, but you know what? It gets the point across.
My canine is very resilient. He’s strong, fearless, wild and just plain impolite at times. My older canine Ace snarls at Remy to communicate, “STOP. NOW.” My cats smack Remy in the face to politely as possible tell him to “Seriously, Fuck Off.”
Sometimes when I see my canine is abouम ममा हाम फाल्न, म अगाडि बढ्छु र हिप-जाँच गर्छु। म अरूलाई आफ्नो घुँडा टेक्न प्रोत्साहित गर्दछु।
हो, सकारात्मक सुदृढीकरण काम र हामीले सबै यसलाई प्रयोग गर्नुपर्दछ, तर हुनसक्छ दिनको हरेक कुकुरको लागि प्रत्येक दैनिकको लागि होइन।
A. चोक वा फ्र ong कलर प्रयोग नगर्नुहोस्। तिनीहरू पुरानो हुन्।
म हिड्ने को लागी एक कोमल नेताको सिफारिश गर्दछु (कुकुरको थूलीको थोकमा फिट) वा कुनै-पुल दोभाषे त्यो अगाडि क्लिप हुन्छ। मसँग दुबै छ र सकेसम्म तिनीहरूलाई प्रयोग गर्नुहोस्। यी धेरै कुकुरहरूको लागि तान्ने (कुकुरको घाँटी वरिपरि कुनै कलरसँग तुलना गर्न कम सम्भावना हुन्छ।
यद्यपि, म पनि एक माई को लगभग% 0% समयको% 0% समयको% 0% को बारे मा सार कलर प्रयोग गर्दछु। (यसले तपाईंलाई संकेत गर्दैन। यो हाम्रो लागि के कार्य गर्दछ।)
म कोमल नेता प्रयोग गर्न छनौट गर्दछु, तर रेडीले उसको टाउकोलाई कम पार्दछ र रेलको रूपमा तान्छ। उसले एउटा पहिरन नखोजेको खण्डमा पक्का गर्नाले गर्दैन र धेरै सजिलै ओभरथ गर्न सक्छ। उसले यसमा पंख पनि गर्दछ, जसले अन्य कुकुरहरूलाई हामीप्रति प्रतिक्रिया गर्न बाध्य गर्दछ।
म पनि कुनै पनि पुल दोभाषे प्रयोग गर्न को लागी छनौट गर्दछु, र धन्यबादले हाम्रो लागि धेरै परिस्थितिहरूमा काम गर्दछ। यो केवल अन्य कुकुरहरूसँग कडा, भीडभाड क्षेत्रहरूमा मात्र इष्टतम होइन। यो किनभने जब ऊ एक दोहन मा छ उसले अन्य कुकुरहरू पास गर्दा ऊ आफ्नो पछाडि “हप” गर्न खोज्छ।
स्पष्ट रूपमा, यो शहरी सेटिंगमा इष्टतम होइन। यसले अन्य कुकुरहरूलाई धेरै उत्साहित वा नर्भस बनाउँदछ। यो लाजमर्दो छ, र यो मेरो पक्षमा जिम्मेवार छैन।
एक चेन स्लिप, मार्टि onlylele वा prong कलरले मलाई कहिँ पनि मेरो क्यानना लिन अनुमति दिन्छ र उसलाई शान्त र नियन्त्रणमा राख्न अनुमति दिन्छ।
रेगले तिनीहरूमा उफ्रिने मानिसहरूलाई पास गर्न सक्छ। हामी उसलाई ब्रेभर्मी र कफी पसलमा लिन सक्दछौं। म मेरो क्याननालाई संसारमा लिन्छु मानसिक र शारीरिक रूपमा चित्त दुवै थकित गर्न सक्छु र सामाजिकता जारी राख्न र उसलाई प्रशिक्षण दिनुहोस्।
शक्तिशाली पंड मार्टिंगले चेन कलर
हो, म नियमित मार्टर्लेटल कलर वा कोमल नेताको संक्रमण गर्न मन पराउँछु। तर अहिलेको लागि चेन कलर यो छ।
मेरो पोष्ट हेर्नुहोस्: कोमल नेता बनाम बनाम प्रो ong कलर
Insess। पुरस्कारको लागि सामान्यतया व्यवहारहरू प्रयोग गर्नुहोस्।
व्यवहार एक भयानक प्रशिक्षण उपकरण हो। म तिनीहरूलाई कहिले काँही र बिल्कुल सिफारिश गर्दछु तपाइँ आफ्नो कुकुरको लागि व्यवहार प्रयोग गर्नुहुन्छ। म Zuks मिनीहरू सिफारिस गर्दछु। तिनीहरू हाल मेरो साइबर सोम सोम सोम सोम सोमबार बिक्रीको लागि 20% बन्द छन्।
यद्यपि खानाले माफी थप नटेट गर्न आविष्कार गर्दछ। ऊ सामान्यतया राम्रोसँग राम्रो व्यवहार गरिन्छ, धेरै ध्यान दिन धेरै ध्यान र सबै भन्दा धेरै-वरपर areine एक राम्रो क्यानरिन जब हामी न्यूनतम व्यवहार र खेलौनाहरूको साथ ट्रेन गर्छौं।
म मेरो खल्तीमा केही व्यवहार गर्दछु, तर ऊ मात्र उठ्छ जब ऊ बाहिर जान्छ (मेरो हातहरू काट्दै)।
An occasional treat is good.
Other than that, my canine has an simpler time focusing and learning when I use calm, verbal praise like “gooooood booooy.”
I wrote about a particular example of this in our agility training here.
So … as you can see, general canine training guidance is GOOD, but you really need to consider your individual canine and pick and choose what works for you.
Don’t worry what others tell you is “right.” It might be best for their dog, but not necessarily yours.
That goes for everything I say on this blog too.
Every canine is different.
Every environment is different.
Every owner is different.
And everything is always changing.
What canine training guidance have you typically used or ignored?
Let us know in the comments! Please be kind to one another.