You've never lived until you've chased a German shorthair(Noodle) in the woods and down winding roads barefoot for an hour. After this eventful day I volunteered to train Noodle, my aunt's dog, in order to...save her from herself.
Man have a just picked up a full plate!
All this dog ever does is run, which is pretty much the breed for you but she is a year old and has had absolutely no training so its pretty much unbridled insanity.
First day of training I put a harness on her so i can start working on the come command with her and the second I put it on her she froze, she wouldn't move if the world was crashing around her, this is a dog who only stops moving when she sleeps and even then her tail wags like crazy!
Today was day two. I left a collar on her overnight and today she's walking around, she's not all hyper active and flying about as usual which means in other words, I broke her. ::)
All in all its going well, in two days I've gotten her to walk on a leash with little hassle and I have taught her the come command. Right now I am hoping and praying that this will stick in her little mind and make my job that much easier.
If anyone has anyone has some advice in training in general or for this specific breed that would be great! I've trained 6 of our own dogs but no German short hairs...until now *cue dramatic music*
(http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a268/duckieboo/noodle.jpg)
Actually the harness is not going to do much to get her attention for long.
Start with a leather slip lead. Lots and lots and lots of practice walking at your side inside the house and yard before you venture into the wider world.
Eh! actually works better in most cases than No!
German Short Hairs are sight as much as scent. get a red hanky to carry with you. Wave this in front of his eyes to distract him is he gets too focused on something besides you. If that doesn't work, a touch in the ribs should.
Books:
"No Bad Dogs" Barabara Woodhouse
"Raising the perfect Puppy" by Cesar Milan.
I recommend "No Bad Dogs" as well.
Gorgeous dog. I love German Shorthairs but they can be a real handful!
Woo! Looks like I'll be making a trip to the library!
Yeah, I am not to thrilled about using the harness on her it really doesn't help much cause she is so darn skinny but because she is so wiggy about leashes and collars its managed to work alot better cause she doesn't panic when she feels movement on it. I also want to switch when asap cause in a short amount of time I can tell I am going to be battling against her being a puller.
I have a question, Do you guys think she would respond well to a gentle leader (once she realizes leashes arent there to kill her) cause she has a very submissive personality but I was wondering if she might be TOO submissive.
Also, if something doesnt go down completely right, like a go to go one way and her another, she will sit up on her butt and cross her paws like shes praying and just sit there till she falls over....Its bizarre but apparently our old german short hair used to do the same thing.
I recommend the book "Don't Shoot the Dog." I know several animal trainers at zoos who swear by this book.
I've never trained a dog, but I have successfully gotten my cat to (most of the time) come when she's called. :)
Good luck!
She doesn't think the leash is about to kill her. Your reaction to her reaction let her think she had won the argument over the leash. No dog likes a leash until they learn to associate it with something positive like walkies or the dog park. My Boston used to practically do cartwheels when he saw his sweater come out because he knew that meant we were going somewhere fun. Teach her that the leash means good things even if you start out with treats and massages after she accepts the leash calmly.
It took me two weeks of my Boston, "Fenway", wearing his leash around the house to get the idea it was a good thing. I would hold it at times others let me just get use to wearing it. Now he know if he has his leash on it means going out the front door. We have worked on getting him use to the car. When he his "go bye bye" blanket go in the car he waits by the back door of the car to be let in.
I'm still working on getting Fenway trained. I wish you luck.
my pug/dashund mix took very quickly to the leash she knows it means I'm taking her out and she gets to find sticks and things to play with(she's easily amused) the boxer wasn't so crazy about it to start with she thought it was a bad thing but now she realizes if i take her outside on the leash especally out the front door i'm likely going to let her come back inside and she likes that. she also realizes that if i take her out to piddle that she can piddle and not get in trouble for piddling in the house and that she gets to stay inside longer.
I think pretty much all dogs freak with the leash to begin with but she really does think its going to kill her or at least cause her pain.
I have a feeling she may have been beat with it before. I know my aunt wouldn't her husband though it another case then she has her gardeners and pool guy ugh ugh...(shes a workman's nightmare, the kind that always gets in the way and will try to steal your gloves ect.) The first time I put the leash on her she became very panicked before it was even on which was odd cause she had never worn one before and usually attempts to steal things like that from you when i actually put it on she yelped and cowered and just sat there shaking(def. not a normal reaction), about a billion treats later and some petting we got over that, but if you move the leash quickly from one hand to another she'll cower pressed to the floor(again, not a normal reaction similar to a dog who gets hit will cower when you left your hand above it) until you rub her chest. Overcoming fear of beating is a much bigger hurdle than just not having control of herself. A dog giving resistance is no new task for me (were a scottish terrier family) but having one thats genuinely afraid of being hit is.
She has gotten to the point now that she realizes I am not there to hurt her and we dont have as many incidents and she is more willing to do what i ask (i think thats why come was such a trouble for her cause she thought i was just trying to get my hands on her). :-[
I must work on positive reinforcement of the leash by taking her out but I have to get someone to help me hold her in the car (walking her at my aunt's is not an option geographically). Time to shanghai one of my friends? I think so. ::)
Today is going to be another day, I wish it was cooler, going to keep it a very short session and I have to have a talk with my aunt and her husband on how the dog is being "disciplined" >:(
Wish me luck guys!
Personally,
I really really don't like Ceaser Milian. I don't think that I should have to dominate my dog into submission to get them to do what I want.
I prefer the methods of Victoria Stilwell- host of "its me or the dog" on the Animal Planet. http://positively.com/
She has an awesome website (and forum) where she provides lots and lots of information and tips.
She is all about positive reinforcement and redirecting energy.
We have her book and its done wonders to help us train a hyperactive beddlington terrier mix and a haughty whippet.
By the way that is one super cute (and mischievous) looking puppy
Quote from: Auryn on July 15, 2010, 02:31:45 PM
By the way that is one super cute (and mischievous) looking puppy
i concur
Mischievous doesnt begin to describe her.
We had a family BBQ at my aunts house and we were all out on the deck talking and eating and the dog runs by with a dead chicken in its mouth and runs over to its dog house. Thats when everyone just stopped and looked at me. Either the dog figured out how to get under the fence and into the barn area or the chicken figured out how to go over the fence. So we now have a new lesson to learn. Do not chase the chickens, or if you do dont present the chicken in the middle of dinner.
Quote from: Becky10 on July 19, 2010, 05:26:58 PM
Mischievous doesnt begin to describe her.
We had a family BBQ at my aunts house and we were all out on the deck talking and eating and the dog runs by with a dead chicken in its mouth and runs over to its dog house. Thats when everyone just stopped and looked at me. Either the dog figured out how to get under the fence and into the barn area or the chicken figured out how to go over the fence. So we now have a new lesson to learn. Do not chase the chickens, or if you do dont present the chicken in the middle of dinner.
Funny!
She probably just thought they were there to play with... ;) :D
More likely than not she just jumped the fence. GSPs have CRAZY jumping abilities! You absolutely have your hands full and your work cut out for you with this girl! Uff, I do not envy you there! Our GSP, Buddy, is 5 1/2 now but he has always been SUPER mellow. Seriously, this dog would rather sleep or lay around than goof off. DH trained Buddy for hunting- as soon as Buddy sees a gun- be it a pop gun, bb gun, whatever, he gets SOOOOO excited to go out hunting. We have never had a problem with him running- we don't have a fenced yard and he has almost never left it. I believe in treats, treats, treats for positive reinforcement! Really, the only problem we have with Buddy is his whining. It is mostly associated with DH but we can't figure out how to get him to stop and it drives DH NUTS! =P Anyhoo, best of luck and try your best to NOT chase her- she thinks its a game and will keep doing it. Also, teach her basic "hunting" commands to curb some of her scent runs. Best of luck and keep us updated!
I had considered jumping and i am sure she could have cleared the fence to get into the barn area but theres about a 3 1/2ft drop so the fence on the barn side is almost 9ft. She is so much calmer now that I've started working with her. We've been working on teaching her the boundaries of her yard and she is catching on quickly. Its funny to watch her try to push her boundaries. The other day she was walking parallel to the fence to see if that counted as leaving the yard.
And the best thing she has learned so far: how to open d-ring closed pockets to steal treats. God I love that dog!
Yep, they are crazy smart and THAT is why they can be such buggers to train. They are stubborn and LOVE to push the boundries so constantly need reminding of their manners! I know it sounds impossible, but with a running start 9 feet is totally doable! She is such a gorgeous girl, BTW! I love how you can look at her and KNOW she is a female. Some friends of ours have a female GSP like that and our male is DEFINATELY looks male! I met one female GSP one time who would jump backflips anytime her owner would leave her in the car. That was crazy to watch, you wouldn't think that she'd have room! I love these crazy dogs!
So today we worked on boundaries of the yard and not chasing chickens. When we were relaxing and playing on the yard she burst into a furry ball of energy and danced on my throat about twenties times than sat there and stared at me like "Why aren't you playing?"
Unfortunately for me she's learned that there is no stopping her when she's off leash. Time to start some off leash work. I think I am going to keep the harness for her cause it gets her mind in "work mode" and she calms down so much more.
Why do I have a feeling this is going to involve me exhausted and her running back and forth behind me? :D
I am really starting to get more and more attached to this dog!