Best method of obedience training? I am in the process of training my 6 month old puppy Gryffin. We took a puppy basics class at pet smart and he did very well. I have been doing research since we finished that class on how to continue and there seem to be very different opinions of how to go about obedience training. Some people seem to swear by a Cesar Milan type method where you make sure you are known as the alpha, others think that even a firm NO is too much punishment for a dog, and others swear by a "nothing in life is free" approach where a dog must do something for everything he gets (food, a walk, playtime, cuddles, etc). I am so confused on how to proceed. I'm curious on what type of obedience training people did with their yorkies. Did you use one of these methods? A combo of these methods? Something totally different? I'd love to hear what worked for people, and any tips you can give. |
Did you ever get an answer? I too have a puppy that I need help in training. Has anyone purchased a training video that worked? My Chole is darling, but a pill. ALSO, I need a grooming video. Any recommendations? |
My experience has been that positive training methods work best, especially with little dogs who can have fear issues. I use "no," but for the most part I'm rewarding success and not punishing failure. I'm redirecting them to positive activities instead. I.E., if they're chewing on a shoe, I give them a chew toy. If they stop barking when I ask, they get a treat. ... My philosophy sort of evolved in the 9 years I've owned my first Yorkie. I started out with an obedience school that employed many of Cesar's philosophies. But I wasn't happy with the results. Oh, they learned, but they fought me and weren't having fun. I switched schools to a member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers, and I was delighted. Everything was positive, and my dogs learned to enjoy obedience, rally, agility and now nosework. Both of mine are happy and well-mannered and have passed the Pet Partner therapy dog test multiple times. Good luck! |
I agree with Mike. I use positive reinforcement also. Pasquale is 5 yrs old and I still do the "pee pee dance" every time he uses his pad. He'll even come racing from the bathroom at full speed to tell me he went!! |
I do not like Ceaser and I think most of the alpha stuff is a bunch of nonsense. I think positive reinforcement is best. |
Me and Oreo are still working on his obedience and it has been very difficult. Besides petsmart are there any other obedience classes that are on the economical side? TJ |
Since starting this thread Gryffin and I have taken all of the obedience training classes at petsmart. They were very good actually, although I have heard petsmart classes can vary greatly depending on the teacher. Luckily, our teacher was fantastic. She taught using positive reinforcement methods only, so that is what I have stuck with. I am wondering what to do next with Gryffin though. I would like to find another obedience class to strengthen and build on what he already knows, and I love the added benefit of the socialization he gets with other dogs. Does anyone have any recommendations for different obedience classes? |
I get very bothered by people that try to apply Cesar Milan's methods to their own dogs. His show has a disclaimer right at the beginning saying ''DO NOT DO THIS AT HOME, UNLESS YOU ARE A TRAINED PROFESSIONAL.'' Or something like that. He works with severely aggressive dogs, and his techniques are not to be used by normal dog owners. Just because Cesar does it, does not mean you can or should that is why there is a disclaimer. Obedience is pretty straight forward, give lots of praise and treats. I use the NILF method, or ''Nothing in life is free'' which means basically...lots of good quality treats. You have to apply it everywhere, even on outings. If you're at the beach and get yourself an ice cream cone and your pup is whining for a lick give a stern 'SIT' and only let the pup have a taste when they sit, just as an example. If they do something really naughty like snap, bite, get into the trash,ect. Tell them NO and put them outside or make them lay down in their bed for a while as punishment and ignore them. Another thing you can do is hold them like a muzzle gently by the snout, sit down with them and make them look at you and say NO, BAD. They don't need anymore than this, it's enough for them to know you are the boss and are upset with their behaviour. Nothing in life is free is a very easy method, and works well. Some people are cruel with it and take the dogs food away and use that as a treat, which I highly disagree with but the easiest way is to just always reward them for being good and when they are bad let it be known. Sometimes they don't respond to it and need negative reinforcement, but never do it out of anger or they'll fear you. If you must punish the dog, do it gently and sternly...like for example if your dog gets into the trash dont smack it over the face with a newspaper, grab it by the collar and say NO BAD many times as you forcefully but gently lead it to the time-out corner lol. They will learn. |
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So early this morning I noticed Oreo was not in his bed is in my room. That's when he has gotten out to do mischief (potty). So this he was under the bed and I got down on the floor with him and started talking to him to make him come from under the bed. We play for a minute and then I go to the bathroom where his pads are to fix his breakfast. I look out in the hallway and he is peeing on the floor...I say "no Oreo" and he runs under the bed again. This is a habit of his to run under my bed. Moments later he goes number two on the floor and I catch him and again he runs under the bed. This time I get him from under the bed and show his wrong doing and tell him "no" and put hi, in his kennel. It probably was my fault because it didn't put him on his pad initially but how can I get him to let me know he has to go potty? |
A def me too moment... Quote:
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