Dog training
 

My two Dachshunds are well behaved puppies, 10 months old. The GF/boss them to sit on command, walk on a leash w/o pulling and behave well, like adults. Thinking of Petco, 6 weeks, once a week for "Puppy 1"....then Puppy 2 after some home work.

Anyone have any experience with this or other more expensive training including boarding training? MORE bucks, yes I know. But they get trained by someone else.....that makes me think...."they are gonna listen to ME?" Yeah right, I can't get my kids to answer the freaking phone.

Obedience is as much (sometimes more so) about training the owner as it is the dog.

You can't give them commands repeatedly until they comply. All they learn is that they have to sit the 4th time they hear it. If you give them a command and they don't comply then wait a bit.

How do you get them to comply? Praise and bribery. Use food / treats as a motivator and when they do what you ask make it seem like they just did the greatest thing in the world.

Other "dog think" things.

If you get mad at them or scold them do not use their name. Bad dog is fine, bad spot is not. Make sure their name is only associated with positives.

When they get things in their mouths that you need them to drop don't chase them if they run away. They think it's a game, "holy crap whatever I have is awesome cause everyone wants it"

Do some of the alpha stuff like never let them through a door / room in front of you, they follow you lead.

It's all pretty basic, just need to think like they do because they can't think like us.

Lots of truth in what SM said. A trained dog is a happy dog.
I took my poodles to puppy class and we all loved it. I trained my Schnauzer at home because I'd done the classes twice and it wasn't as effective. Perhaps the biggest difference was that in school the pups get to socialize and learn not only about their owners but how to be around other dogs. I would do a 6-8 week puppy class with any new dog I get. It seems to me that you would miss half the experience by hiring training out. Sure the dog learns some tricks, but what do YOU learn?

Yes, yes, yes!!!
Well put.
~~~~~~~~~
"Do some of the alpha stuff like never let them through a door / room in front of you, they follow you lead."
.
Vital, as well.
Great post.
.

Some friends have a nice little dog named Jake. So, all day long:

Bark!

Jake!

Bark Bark!

Jake!

Bark Bark Bark!

Jake!

You get the idea...

I have trained my dogs myself using the Monks of New Skete methods with great results. I used these books as a how-to, they are great references too. Recommend you read cover to cover before you start. If I had to pick one of the two I would get How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...4,203,200_.jpg
The Art of Raising a Puppy (Revised Edition): Monks of New Skete: 9780316083270: Amazon.com: Books


http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...4,203,200_.jpg
http://www.amazon.com/How-Your-Dogs-Best-Friend/dp/0316610003/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1439644606&sr=1-2&refinements=p_27%3AMonks+of+New+Skete

Crowbob, that's a great reason for training.
My poodle liked to bark before we went to puppy school. I told the trainer I had problems with her barking and I was told, "You need to teach her to bark."
Huh? WTF - she barks too much now!
"If you teach her when to bark you can teach her when not to bark."
Sure enough, I taught her to bark when I brought my thumb and forefinger together like a little dog mouth. So then she could "talk" and do math!
"Jemima, how much is 3 minus 1?"
Make the signal and she barks twice.
Do you want to go the park?
Make the signal, "Yes!"
We had a lot of fun. I miss that little dog.

We did the Petco training for our new (puppy) dog. He graduated about 4 months ago.
They covered basic commands - sit, stay, wait, down, "leave it". My wife and I both learned a bit from the experience as well. I'd say it was worth the cost - somewhere around $120 I think.

Dog has trained the owner.

I want attention, when I bark, I get it.

love the Monks..
they have awesome GS..
like SM mentioned..
no dumb dogs really..
just lack of effort & understanding the dog by the owner..
mine are pretty good..
which means.. I'm trained..

Rika

Easiest dogs to train that I've had were the Mastiffs.

They got most things pretty much the first time.

Smartest was my Schnauzer. Fiercely independent but one of those dogs that you could "talk to" like a person and he seemed to understand everything.

One mistake I did make with him. I used to walk him off lead when in the hood and when a car would come down the street I'd say "car". He would sit and wait for it to pass which was great since he was less likely to get hit by one.

One day I was in the house and I hear a car horn then frustrated yelling.

Went to the window and the little bastard had escaped the yard.

Apparently he had been crossing the street when a car came along and there he was sitting in the middle of the road refusing to move.

"... there he was sitting in the middle of the road refusing to move."
~~~~~~~~
That's where the emergency command "DOWN/STAY" comes in.
The dog will lie down motionless and allow cars to swerve to avoid them...they'll remain until another learned command is given.
.
A great dog training book that I learned so much from is...
Mother knows Best.
When a mother dog disciplines her puppies she grabs them by the skin on the side of their mouth, shakes their head...BUT immediately licks them lovingly.
They learn w/o being abused.
A great book for dog owners.
.
Mother Knows Best: The Natural Way to Train Your Dog: Carol Lea Benjamin: 0021898056665: Amazon.com: Books

Hmm, I was told the mother dog rolled them on their backs and stared at them until they looked away. That's what the trainer had me do with my dogs. It put them in their place and taught them who was boss.
Anyway, I'm not going to lick my dog.

We took our mini labra-doodle to Off Leash Training. You get an electric collar with a hand held remote. It sounds cruel but you can lay the collar on your hand and turn the remote way up, hit the button and it's just a little buzz feeling. Unbelievable results. After some use, you don't even need the collar any more. A dog that refused to come for any reason, now comes right to me and sits at my feet. He will walk right next to me with no leash when I tell him to heel. It was totally worth the trouble and $$--really makes life a lot easier. The drawback is now my wife wants to get one for me.--Dave

What? No sense of adventure? :)