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Sit, Ubu, Sit. Good Dog
An-D
EnthusiastAshevilleRegistered User regular
EnthusiastAshevilleRegistered User regular
So after spending a few days at a friend's house who happens to have an amazingly trained dog, I began to think about my own dog and how great it would be if she were to obey a *few* commands.
Mandatory Picture:
The one that *technically* is my dog is the red Shiba Inu in that picture. Kisa. She's eight years old and an AKC Grand Champion (I showed her as a puppy. She got her championship at about two than had three litters, most of which went on to be champions themselves). But, the only commands she learned from showing is some intense leesh training skills, and 'Stand Pretty' and 'Cookie.' The two vocal commands are pretty much useless unless she is on a leesh (stand pretty) or if she is in the house and knows where her treats are.
So, is Kisa too old to start training? And if not, how should I go about doing it? I really only want a few basic ones like 'sit', 'come', 'stay' and maybe 'lie down.'
Any PA Dog Whisperers out there willing to lend me some advice?
Mandatory Picture:
The one that *technically* is my dog is the red Shiba Inu in that picture. Kisa. She's eight years old and an AKC Grand Champion (I showed her as a puppy. She got her championship at about two than had three litters, most of which went on to be champions themselves). But, the only commands she learned from showing is some intense leesh training skills, and 'Stand Pretty' and 'Cookie.' The two vocal commands are pretty much useless unless she is on a leesh (stand pretty) or if she is in the house and knows where her treats are.
So, is Kisa too old to start training? And if not, how should I go about doing it? I really only want a few basic ones like 'sit', 'come', 'stay' and maybe 'lie down.'
Any PA Dog Whisperers out there willing to lend me some advice?
An-D on
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Some people do the clicker training as well, though I don't know how effective that is. Now I want a doggie... I've always wanted a Shiba Inu and she is so pretty.
Otherwise, the most important thing to remember is to make sure you're not confusing your dog. When you start off, only give the command AS your dog is performing the required action, and reward frequently.
This is the way I've taught our dogs some simple actions.
Sit - hold a treat in your hand, hold it just above and in front of your dog's face. Move your hand fowards, over the dog. The dog should lean back to follow the treat, causing it to sit. As its bum hits the ground, say "Sit", and then reward and praise.
Drop - Get the dog in a sitting position. Hold a treat in front of its nose, and then lower the treat towards the ground. The dog should follow by lying down (not all dogs do this, we haven't had much luck teaching our youngest drop).
Stay - Have your dog on a lead. Tell it to sit. Then hold your hand out (empty) with your palm towards the dog (essentially making a stop sign). Take one step backwards, and say "STAY" as you move - make sure your voice is calm, and elongate the word, so the dog is paying attention to your nice calm voice, not to your movement. Pause VERY briefly, and then step back in and reward/praise. Gradually you can increase the distance you move away and the time you require the dog to stay. Once you're several steps away, start practicing a Stay where you put the lead on the ground and then move away - this is particularly difficult as bending over and putting the lead down/picking it up will probably excite the dog and cause it to move.
Once you have the basics of Stay down, practice making your dog STAY before it eats from its food bowl. You should be able to get your dog to sit and then wait for your permission before it starts its dinner.
It may take more patience with an older dog, but it's certainly possible. Train often, in very short bursts (several 5 minute sessions a day, rather than a single 15 minute session).
Good luck
The biggest key is consistency. Every time an action is performed, use the SAME word (don't like talk to your dog like you might a friend, you're training and focusing on a word), and if possible, use the SAME hand gesture every time you say the word (my dog learned to sit whenever I pointed downwards with an index finger, and would stay as I raised a flat "STOP" hand), at the EXACT same time you say the word. Make different commands have visibly distinctive hand gestures. This will help re-enforce the command, and you might be surprised how easy it is to train dogs on hand gestures, especially since I heard a study that the actual phonetics of the word mean less than the dog's understanding of context and visual cues.
ANOTHER BIG TIP that I find many dog owners don't quite get, is that, at least for me, it always helped to say the dog's name first, followed by the command. When the dog was drifting off and inattentive, I would say its name, generally snapping its attention to me, then say the command.
"Fido. SIT! Fido. SIT!"
as many times as necessary, but if you just say sit sit sit sit over and over again, it might never pick anything up. You need to make sure you HAVE its attention as you give the command you're training on.
And yeah -- positive re-enforcement and in 5 minute bursts.
Don't worry that the dog is having so many treats, it isn't like giving a kid candy or anything.
Just want to squeeze them dont you?
Try watching "Its Me or the Dog" instead on Animal Planet. The Dog Whisperer is kind considered a crock by most of the professional dog training community and a lot of his methods are considered inhumane.
Mmmm, sassy domineering British women. Too bad Secret Santa is over...
The "Dog Whisperer" is indeed full of shit, don't watch that show. I would recommend picking up some dog training books and visiting Chazhound.
Dogs are trainable at any age, but keep in mind that you have an independent-minded shiba, so it may require different techniques and more time than training a labrador.
Agreed on both counts, though Cesar Milan is not a total charlatan so much as a trainer whose advice is just less easily followed and more easily misunderstood by the average layperson than Victoria Stilwell on It's Me Or The Dog. She puts less emphasis on being "dominant" (which people - no one in this thread that I know of, but acquaintances of mine - too readily interpret as "scream and bodyslam your dog to let him know who's boss") than clear, calm, consistent leadership through positive reinforcement and understanding dogs' behavior and body language. It sounds like a kind of pussy approach, but following it (and exercising the shit out of your dog!) works pretty damn well.
It sounds like that's not quite the degree of work you need, though, thankfully.
...Man, she is a beautiful dog. *jealous*
God bless Mythbusters.