Puppy Classes

[Peggy]

Originally Posted by missfancypants25

It was pushing back at the nose with my closed hand, not tapping on the muzzle.

Ok, I've seen this done and done it myself. No adverse reactions. They learn to sit back and wait for you to open your hand and offer the treat. I think it works well.

And yes, it's a very gentle push with your closed hand.

Peggy

[Peggy]

Originally Posted by glencorgi

In the class I did, we sat on the floor in front of our dogs (they were in a sit) with lots of treats and played "take it/leave it". Hand open, treat on palm - if the dog was told take it - they got the treat immediately, if the dog was told to leave it, it was supposed to wait until the take it command was given. If the dog didn't leave it, then the treat would be closed up in the fist and some nudging might be needed. This was also an exercise where the dogs were taught to take treats gently from a hand.

This is the way I've seen it done too, but it doesn't teach them not to jump. It teaches "leave it" and to wait till a treat is offered to them.

I've not had a dog have an adverse reactions to hands because of this type of training. It's gentle and not harsh.

Peggy

[missfancypants25]

Originally Posted by MyPemCharlie

Well, I'm still having a hard time getting my arms around this one. Encouraging the dog to do something "bad" (try to get the treat), in order to teach something good (Off!) seems like the dog is learning a game of "Let me test you to see if you'll give me the treat by nudging and licking your hand." You say "Off!" and gently push the dog back, then give it the treat for giving up and sitting a few seconds. It seems like the dog just learned to nudge and lick your hand anytime you're holding something yummy.

I would have preferred for you instructor to teach "Wait", where you can actually leave the treat on the floor and make the dog wait (in Sit or Down) until you release him/her with "Free" or "OK".

"Off" is my cue word for "No jumping up on people", not "Nudge my hand so I can make you wait to get the treat".

I may be missing something here, and I do know that training methods vary. I never try to entice a bad behavior in order to train a good behavior...Charlie does the bad behaviors naturally without my help. LOL

Well the instructors said the point of this exercise was to first teach the dogs that "off" meant to "back off." They want the puppies to actually take a step back eventually. They said that once the dog understands that "off" means they have to back up it will work when they jump up on people, because they'll know to "back off." I'm not a dog trainer and this is my first real experience with any sort of dog training, so I can't really say much about the method. What I CAN say is that it worked absolutely PERFECTLY for Waeryn. After a very short while of teaching her "off," she does it wonderfully. Here are a couple of examples:

She was laying on the couch with me and I was drinking a bottle of Dr. Pepper. She is usually very interested in anything that I'm drinking and tries to lick the bottle/can/cup (etc.). She got up and tried to put her nose on the bottle so I said "OFF" and she back up and layed down right away. She tested me for while, but soon she stopped trying.

Also, my sister has a kitten that doesn't run away or defend herself when Waeryn tries to play with her (and Waeryn can get a little too rough with her). Waeryn wouldn't leave the kitten alone so I said "off" and she backed off.

[missfancypants25]

Originally Posted by fogebotom

I was a little confused on the way "off" was taught too. I teach focus first and foremost in class then when the dog has a reliable reaction to their name and will focus on me, then we move to round robin recall-which is similar to the whole name game you played but it's 4-8 people and one dog in a circle and dog is passed from person to person who is calling their name.

As far as wait/leave it, yes, wait is taught after focus so as I come near something that I want the dog to leave alone, if they see the treat or toy, I say leave it-say name or look at me and reward for leaving it alone. If it's say a plate of food in the house, I teach it by asking for a site, taping the plate with a stern voice like I'm mad at the plate and say leave it or no, leave it.

Otherwise, sounds like a great class. But the most important thing to work on for now is the focus--as dog with good focus is always looking at you for more!

We are working a lot on focus too. "Watch me" is to teach them to look you right in the eyes and give you their full attention.

[glencorgi]

Originally Posted by missfancypants25

Well the instructors said the point of this exercise was to first teach the dogs that "off" meant to "back off." They want the puppies to actually take a step back eventually. They said that once the dog understands that "off" means they have to back up it will work when they jump up on people, because they'll know to "back off."

A-HA! Got it!

I'm not a dog trainer and this is my first real experience with any sort of dog training, so I can't really say much about the method. What I CAN say is that it worked absolutely PERFECTLY for Waeryn. After a very short while of teaching her "off," she does it wonderfully. Here are a couple of examples:

GOOD WORK!!!!!!

Debbie

[missfancypants25]

Originally Posted by glencorgi

GOOD WORK!!!!!!

Debbie

Thanks, I was extremely pleased about it. Before my classes started I felt like I was saying "No" too much. "No" dont hurt the cat, "no" dont put your face in my food/drink. It's very nice to have something else now. I was afraid that she might get numb to "no" eventually.

One thing with "off" that we still need to work on (but is kind of funny and cute) is that when I said it and she backs off, she'll stay away for a while, but then inch closer so that she's not close enough for me to need to tell her "off" but somehow each time I say it she ends up closer and closer to me than the last time. I didn't notice this at first, so now I keep an eye on her and as soon as she starts moving towards me I say "off" again so she doesn't have the chance to sneak closer.