There's sit... and then there's sit

[xracer4844]

Sigh... trip to PetCo went well all the way to the checkout. Why do the clerks give an excited dog wads of treats when the owner is telling the dog "DOWN". I think I'll have to train the clerks before we go into the building again.

This is one reason why I do not allow people to feed my dog. He actually won't accept food unless it is given to him with an open hand and a "take it" command...but I don't allow strangers to feed him anything for many reasons...just a select few.

To address your comments above - I don't disagree with anything you've written. As someone who competes in obedience as well as agility and rally, our level of training is pretty extensive. On top of that he is a certified search and rescue dog which has earned him working status. The reason I mention this, is because not everyone has the time, or want, to devote to this amount of training. 4 nights a week + weekends is more than the average person wants to take on. On top of that, in my "spare time" I help train people, service dogs, police k9's as well as rehabilitation of abused animals.

I usually begin with training basics - sit, here, down, stay. Those are the staples I teach in the first months - USUALLY with a clicker. I love training pups with a clicker. Also, make sure I teach a leave it command. I then move on to leash work. Pups are very capable at 6 months - I was already competing with my boy at that age.

[TuMicks]

I'm not saying that they don't also have to heel in the field, but it is just not the same. For us, we teach heel as an attention exercise first, and it is taught simultaneously with attention in the sit.

I get this. The sports are different and typically, our dogs' laser like attention must be when we're on the line about to call for the birds... not altogether when we are going to the holding blind and then to the line. HOWEVER... with this new pup (15 months) I've found that I must heel her to the line with the precision you'd expect in the Ob. ring. (Her toenails never ahead of my shoe-laces, her eyes on me.)

But for the pet-owners, I am concerned they want so badly to "do it right" that they get in a sweat on perfecting heel and auto-sit... and then combine training on sit-stay and come (thus screwing up their sit-stay) because in class these things are a squeezed into an hour-long group lesson.

How many pet owners could be helped by just perfecting SIT (which means don't move until told to)? They could greet guests at the door. Meal times wouldn't be a scrum. And even walking on a leash would be improved even though they didn't necessarily work on the perfect heel.

[POPTOP]

Have to agree, the hour training class is intense. The way I look at it, the class is to train me to help my dog succeed. It's my job to do the work at home with what I learned in class. I find several shorter sessions training at home or on walks, etc., much more successful than an hour long session. I'm not into any of he doggy sports but do want my furkids to have manners. A sit/stay is to allow people to be able to get into the house without being welcomed by 8 happy paws at the same time. A heel is to avoid dangerous/busy situations where being out 6 feet would be a cumbrance to others or myself. Come is the one thing I expect absolute results; it's so important to keep a pet safe, along with leave it and drop it.

[TuMicks]

Whoop-eeeee!!! The rigid, demanding obedience seems to be paying off with my black fire-ball (or as they say in E. TN "Farball"). In HT situations, creeping and breaking at the line or on an honor is a big, huge fault, sometimes disqualifying. A dog that is vocal, (whining or barking) at the line is a dog who is saying "OK. I know you're making me sit here, but in my mind, I'm so out of here and on that bird!" Almost always, a dog that is vocal becomes a dog that breaks and it becomes a problem almost impossible to fix.

What to do???? OBEDIENCE. Obedience in the morning getting out of the crate. Obedience at the door. Obedience at the dinner trough. Obedience going out to potty and coming in from potty. Obedience on the truck. Obedience when getting out of the truck. Obedience waiting to go to the holding blind. Obedience in the blind and finally to the line... and VoiLA! Sitting quietly for the first time eh-VAH!!!

Tomorrow we are going to practice marks (with real birds, gun-fire, etc.) so probably there will be backsliding. But... there's hope!

[CraftHer]

Sigh... trip to PetCo went well all the way to the checkout. Why do the clerks give an excited dog wads of treats when the owner is telling the dog "DOWN". I think I'll have to train the clerks before we go into the building again.

They pull out the treat for them to see and then ask "Can I give your dog a treat?" Ask before he sees it so I can keep my dog calm and say no, if I want. On the other hand, it's probably a sales technique giving out samples. Like when they used to squirt perfume on you without asking first

[TuMicks]

Sigh. Performance was not as great today. I figured that would be the case since we were throwing marks (dead ducks) and shooting guns. But... she wasn't as bad as she could be, and she showed she can mark. Her blind retrieves today were not bad.

Obedience regime at home remains the same.