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NautiGirl wrote: Wed Apr 24, 2019 6:46 am So Marzen had quite the evening yesterday... We had some new neighbors move in with not 1 but 2 great Danes! Owners wanted the dogs to meet and Marzen is a social dood so he started walking up the drive way until he made eye contact with "Thor"... His reaction was hysterical... Like Wtf is that a horse? All was good until Thor's brother came bolting out of the garage...also friendly but when 200lbs is coming at you, you get nervous. I've never heard Marzen make the noises that he did.... Other neighbors came out to check on him!

We separated the dogs and had a better meeting a few minutes later but Marzen will keep an eye on thoae boys!

Ytmsn wrote: Tue Apr 23, 2019 11:04 pm Good stuff Sailor, thanks for sharing! The way I got our pup to stop biting was to not jerk my hand back when bitten (very hard to do) but basically yelp, or call out OUCH real load. Immediately she'd stop, or let off any pressure. I was taught years ago by a good handler, pups learn to gauge their bite in play. Sometimes you'll hear a pup yelp when two are playing, and it teaches the other pup to not bite so hard and ease up. It really works with our dog.

sailor55330 wrote: Wed Apr 24, 2019 12:12 pm Off-Lead for Nauti- Here it goes

Ok, so Nauti, the first step is to make sure Marzon knows the basics at your side--sit, stay, and come. I'm going to assume he does. What you will want to do is on a 6ft lead, put him in a sit at your side then take a step or two away. If he breaks, put him back in the sit. That's step one. Once he will do that, then start working on a release command (Ok, Free, go play, whatever). The idea being you want him to hold the last command until you decide it's ok. Gradually build up the distance with tons of praise when he does it right. Now, once you have him sitting and are able to walk to the end of a 6ft lead and back without him breaking, now you're ready for "come". A challenge on this is to be able to walk to the end of the lead, and make a full circle, then walk back to the dog, then release---that's how you know he's got the idea. I always use "here" as too many people use come and I don't want them to be able to call my dog, but I'm weird like that.

Now, fast forward....with Marzen sitting at the end of the lead, say the command you choose for him to come to you. Stand tall and do not bend over as bending over will make him come to you to investigate. We want him to come because he was commanded. Say "come", count quickly to 3 under your breath and then slowly pull him towards you. At this point, you will only be a step or two away from him. Once he gets there---tons of praise (use a high pitched excited voice), treats aren't necessary. I'll explain at the end. Repeat this until he gets the concept then add distance. Some dogs get it quicker than others. I would try this in a room in the house in the beginning where you can limit distractions. Then move to the back yard, then the park, etc. You want him to succeed then add the distractions in.

Now making the assumption that Marzen has become a champ at this on a 6ft lead, get a long lead. I would recommend 15ft. You can buy them or you can make them from a pieces of 1/4 rope, it's just a little tougher on the hands. You might see them listed as a "Check Cord". Take the exact same drill you did on the 6ft lead and do it at 10ft, then 15ft, etc. You don't have to use the full lengthy immediately. Work up to it. If he struggles, shorten the distance back to where you have success and always end on a positive note.

Moving on--let's assume Marzen is nailing the long sit and come at 15ft on lead. Now move him inside and start the drills off lead at 6ft. Everything is the same, he's just off lead. Once you're there, then you move him outside hopefully to a fenced area where you can work the drills, again starting close and working up to distance. At this point, he should have a pretty good grasp of what we're trying to do here. Next thing you know, you've got a dog that listens off lead. Easy Peasy...right?

When you're training, keep the sessions short. two 5-minute sessions is usually enough to make great progress as long as you have several hours in between. We have to remember Marzen looks like a big dog, but mentally, he's like an 8 year old right. He's going to get frustrated, distracted, and stubborn. That's why training needs to be short, frequent and FUN for him.

Notice I didn't every mention using treats? BS you say? Nope---positive praise is every bit as effective as treats. More than anything, dogs want to please their owners and verbal praise goes a long way. Plus, if you give your dog a treat every time you train, he's going to get fat in a hurry. Lastly, if your dog gets used to only performing for treats, then they aren't going to do anything without them (yes, you can ween them off, but why?) so unless you want to carry a pocket full of hot dogs with you every time you leave the house, go with the verbal praise. How lousy would it be to see your dog run outside and you have to go inside to get a treat?

Anyway, that's the super-abbreviated version of how you work up to your dog coming to you with no leash. Like I said, it all starts with the basics, which is sit---everything builds. You can't build an engine without the block, right? Again, sorry for the ramble. Good Luck!

sailor55330 wrote: Thu Apr 25, 2019 9:17 am I forgot to ask---who's doing the dog training---Katie or Jeff? Not that it matters, just want to know who to hide from if the advice doesn't work!