My GSD (Sam ) is now approaching 2 and up till a month ago I'd trained him myself, well that's what I thought anyway... He would sit on the Barbara Woodhouse stylee "Sssit" command, not go upstairs and that was about that - I thought I'd done rather well...

Been going to a retired Police dog handler for a couple of weeks and "**** me" he now sits, stays, jumps over fences, walks towards traffic on the road without aso much as a blink and does exactly what he's told....

He's asked if I want Sam to be trained for protection and while I'd like to say "kill the hoodie" and watch Sam de-bone some chavy ****** I'm not sure if it's a good thing or not.... if I'm not careful I'll be walking round in tactical clothing next

Anyone done similar?

 

I had a Rotty, and did 3 years of weekly session Dog training, he'd go mad if he saw someone he didn't know in the house, and the minute you said down, he'd drop to the floor, think it was the best thing I'd ever done with the dog, well worth it...

 

We just taught a bit of very basic discipline to our good ol' boy labrador and then let him enjoy his life as he wanted to within reason. He had a long and very happy life.

Les

 

Likewise Les - I'm doing the same thing with my Lab & Spaniel.

Basic commands, and then enjoy life as a pet and family member

 

good to hear, big dogs need responsible owners!

 

With proper training they really can be the best dog, my daughter used to climb all over him and he didn't batter a eyelid, my neighbours hated me, people would cross the road rather than walk past him, and a double glazing salesman that would leave without me signing his bit of paper got threatened with him

Do miss him

 

Its more healthy for the dog's state of mind IMO; Especially if it picks up any bad habits. If you cant control it, you end up shouting at it, shutting it away from visitors, or it ends up getting anxious and worked up over silly things; like another dog walking past the house. So long as its in his thought train that when he does as he is told he gets rewarded, be it fuss, play, attention or treats, then its only a good thing.

I know a case when no training has certainly been detrimental; My mate's black Cocker Spaniel is a pshycopath; He suffered seperation anxiety from an early age, which despite my warnings, they didn't train out of him. He'd go destructively insane (to both himself and the house) if left alone.

Instead they got another dog (black lab) to keep him company, which now also suffers the same as she's picked it up off the nutter Spaniel, although not as bad she just chews stuff (labs ), so she has to go into cage if they ever go out - daft Spanial is happy as larry so long as the other dog around though) the lab is a clever dog so it would be quite simple to train her out of bad habits, but the Spaniel is just plain retarded (probably from being over-bred). So its just got worse; he now suffers from rage syndome so gets anxious at everything now; and just goes insane at unknown visitors or other dogs. And when I mean insane, he'll bite anything that is near to him, be it his owners, the pet rabbit, a child or whatever. Its made worse because he looks so damn innocent and cute until you appraoch him and he turns into attack mode.

This is not helped when out and about his missues has given him treats to shut him up when another dog is passing- In other words, rewarding ( i.e training) him for going mental at another dog Because of this he's not walked anywhere near enough or allowed off the lead to run and let off steam (as he'll instantly run up to the nearest bystander and just bite them), so he's never tired, and has so much energy he can't be controlled.

I wish I could slap them somtimes (the owners), I've dog sitted them on occasions, and the Lab would be easy to sort (barring incontinence from a suspected bodged spaying - I'd sue the vets with what they charge). But I think the Spaniel is a lost cause because once he he flips his lid it is impossible to snap him out of anything that he is fixated upon. Although a good two hour walk is just about enough to get him to lie down and take a nap for an hour or two of peace - then its back to nuttsville again.

I'm certain a bit of training from a early age to respond to certain noises (click, clap, his name etc.) would have overcome this. But now he's just one very confused demented dog - I try to get him to do commands, and he basically hasn't a clue to differentiate one command from another and he just ends up doing random tricks in a hope its the correct one.

 

I make my Spaniel watch the Dog Whisperer

dl

 

father in law has a short haired pointer, the dog went to basic dog training now doing his advanced.

the dog is still a little ****** and don't listen

 

Used to have an Alsatian, he was quite well-trained, I did teach him to "speak" on command, which was enough to see off any threat.

He was an absolute b*gger with other dogs while on a lead, though and I could never break him of it. He would happily socialise with the same dogs while OFF his lead........

 

Trained our Boxer myself and can still teach her new commands. Worth every minute of research and i find it very rewarding to watch her obay.

A well trained dog is a pleasure to be around and the owner is also a more relaxed person.

The kennels we use if we go abroard is owned by a nice couple, he breeds and trains Shepards, German and Belgian for the security services. I have experienced first hand the control he has over these dogs, fekkin amazing. I had one sat about 12" from me, growling, snarling and snapping at me. The only instuction he gave me was 'do not move'. He also speaks/commands the dogs in Flemish which is also very impressive.

If you do take up the offer to have your dog trained in this way, then you must understand that you have a very dangerous weapon. And as such you must maintain the control, ie continue to train and exersice your control over the animal.

Personally, no i would not want my dog training to such a high state of alert. Our Boxer has had no security training, but she does recognise her bouderies and will protect them accordingly, even our personal space when out walking. But it would be totally out of charicter (sp??) for her to attack anyone or another dog, not saying she wouldn't as she is, by her very nature a dog, and therefor, unpredictable.

Good luck which ever way you go.

 

Our Boxer is trained the same, speak and quiet. As you say, very effective.

 

Sam's super bright (for a dog) and learns fast, I think I'll move towards the protection side but only with the very basics. I had a good chat with the trainer who explained the whole "he's potentially capable of killing a person" type thing and advised that I consider this new element carefully, I'm not totally convinced so that alone makes me think I/he doesn't need it and I'd hate for him to stop being a pet and become a 'protection dog'.

 

Our GSD is exactly the same. A monster with other dogs whilst on the lead.
Take him to the beach and let him run, he is fantastic. Greets the other dogs and plays. Weird as

 

Animals work on "fight or flight" When they're on the lead you've removed their escape (as you're holding it tightly and stressing) path and all they have left is the fight option, so they react in "fight mode". That's why when they're on the beach (off lead) the act differently, as they still have the "flight" option, so will relax more - and typically have a sniff and play.

So they're absorbing your emotions and the fact that they can't "flight" and they become twonks.....

 

Make sense. He is adorable in every other way, just an *** sometimes on the lead. Mind it does not help when you get some idiot with three dogs off the lead, and they have no control. They charge at ours, who get himself well wound up. We just turn him round and walk the other way. Seems to work.

Any pics of yours Shexy

Here is our stinker

 

Our one year old English Mastiff goes to a training class once a week and it is worth it.
It is vital with a dog of 'size' that it's under control at all times, ours now weighs in at ten stone so proper training has ensured she walks correctly on the lead with no pulling.
Dog classes also have the advantage that dogs can socialise with a varied mix of dogs of all shapes and sizes, well worth it in my opinion.

 

Very sensible. Nice to see you are giving it proper thought and consideration. For the sake of your family and the pooch.

 

That's intersting. And it fits perfectly.

 

I took mine to training classes............

Second week there he did a MAHOOSIVE dump as we were all walking to heel. Despite my attempts to a) stop him and b) drag him outside. It covered about ten feet of the circle we were in. Everyone laughed at my embarrassment. Then the stink hit them and I laughed........ Some people had to go outside..........they do say that he who laughs last......

Then he decided that every week he would "sing" all the time, a sort of ullulating howl. I couldn't stop him and eventually the trainer asked us not to come any more.

My wife was NOT amused when I told her we'd been expelled I had to carry on the training on my own.

 

Try this - when you see another dog in the distance keep your lead very loose and keep talking (any old ****e) to your dog in a big girls voice, don't give the other dog a thought and I'll bet he doesn't react the same way...

 

Yes, very true.

As you say above, the dog will 'feed' off your stress and fears that are transfered via the taut lead. A mentally and physically relaxed attitude goes a long way. (calm assertive, as the man says)

 

I agree, it was fun taking mine...

Until the trainer started using us as "bait" for the problem dogs, 'cos (initially) my Sam wouldn't react.
In the end I stopped going because he actually did start to react to their provocation. The best thing was that he never had a problem with being on a lead, he saw it as "work" time and always watched me.

Now sadly missed... R.I.P. Sam.

dunx

 

Same as nik52wrx i have an english mastiff, who's 3yrs old.
As good as gold generally but in the last 6 mounths has gone for two different " black furry" dogs for no reason. We did dog training when he was a pup no problem he just seems to turned funny now.
Behavour classes asap.

 

 

A gentle giant just like ours

 

Mia doing 'stand there and look daft' which she can do a treat!

 

This is exactly how we raised our labs, they will manage the sit command (especially when a biscuit is on offer!) but on the whole they do as they please and are part of the family for being that way

They are of course house trained and clean.

 

My GSD's are always trained to the highest standards.

At 2 years old you have left it late - I start at 16 weeks ... but, they are a very receptive breed.

Only Chavs don't train their dogs ....

 

I have trained my older dog for Working Trials (Civilian version of Police dog training) to competition standard the only part we didnt do which is optional was the Bite work and i would ask why you want to teach this?

If it is for fun then i would teach some thing like tracking or searching for article's these are fun and the searching for articles is usefull when you drop something

For good books on dogs i would recommend "Dont Shoot the Dog" or Culture Clash by Jean Donaldson they explain a lot of the issues mentioned in the thread above about dogs and are some of the foundation books for modern dog training.

As to why train dogs to do lots of things well its fun and the dogs enjoy this if you do it the modern way with rewards, a dog that is kept mentally occupied training (playing games) with its owner is a happier dog than one left to do nothing and is much less likely to get into trouble or be destructive