Zx2guy19 Posted December 28, 2015 Report Share Posted December 28, 2015 My wife and I got a dog yesterday- 35 lb full grown lab/pitt/shepard mix. She's just over a year old and was a neglect dog that was recovered by the humane society- we got her from Capital Area in Hilliard. So far, she's been great. Hyper, but we expected that given her past and having to sit in a cage all day. However last night, she snapped at our friend a little more aggressive than we'd like- we could tell she was playing, but still, I don't want to take any chances. A few of my good friends have used the guy that trains the dogs for the Franklin County Sheriff and I plan to call him today, but just wanted to see if there were any other recommendations out there. We did order a shock collar as we've seen the success of that from our friends. With 2 cats, we don't want to take chances- she could kill them in a heartbeat. Also- any other tips on welcoming her into the home and getting our cats to come downstairs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckeye1647545503 Posted December 28, 2015 Report Share Posted December 28, 2015 Watching cause my trouble maker needs help too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zx2guy19 Posted December 28, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2015 I'm extremely comfortable going with the contact that we have, but CR has always been a great resource for these types of things. He is pricey- $120 per session and you have to buy about $230 worth of equipment, but our two friends who had theirs trained by him (one bulldog and one doberman) are incredibly well behaved AFTER the sessions (one did 5 and one did 7). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RC K9 Posted December 28, 2015 Report Share Posted December 28, 2015 National K9. BTW, if you are serious, get ready for a lifestyle change. I'd say 90% of the people I encounter want to treat dogs and their issues like a wrench turning a bolt and it's fixed. That's not how it works. Most people I know who I have worked with don't follow through, and their dogs retain the same issues, yet somehow magically when I show back up, the dog is on point within 5min. the difference? I enforce the rules and the owners don't because lazy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zx2guy19 Posted December 28, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2015 Our friends have already prepped us with: the trainer hardly trains the dogs- he trains the owners. We're prepared for that and were going into it. Good insight! More on National K9- is that you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsm_sleeper Posted December 28, 2015 Report Share Posted December 28, 2015 Training and consistency is required. Also, keep in mind that it may take a week or two for the dog to settle in to her new place. Good luck with the training. I've never used a shock collar and wouldn't. My dogs have become well-behaved. Positive reinforcement has worked well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmwohio Posted December 28, 2015 Report Share Posted December 28, 2015 Just do some research on line and do the training yourself. As stated, a school with teach YOU how to train the dog. Few tips: POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT! As SOON as the dog does something you want it to do you PRAISE PRAISE PRAISE and reinforce with a small treat. It may be a little harder since the dog is full grown now, but as soon as the dog does something you are wanting it to do, you reinforce. On the flipside, as soon as they do something wrong a STERN 'NO' is in order. The training will take some time and patience and will be hard for both of you. Just keep working at it, and habits will begin to form. It will be a little bit harder to teach to heel, but just start taking small walks and teach her to heel.....find some treats that you can give her many of without upsetting her stomach (cheerios/small cereal), but positive reinforcement is KEY because dogs will only associate the treat with what they JUST did....dogs forget very quickly. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RC K9 Posted December 28, 2015 Report Share Posted December 28, 2015 Our friends have already prepped us with: the trainer hardly trains the dogs- he trains the owners. We're prepared for that and were going into it. Good insight! More on National K9- is that you? NK9 is not me. It's a well renowned facility that not only trains dogs, but also has a pretty intense course for people to become trainers. They have students from around the world. They are located over by Gahanna. One of my friends used to be a trainer there and I have met another one on a few occasions that is still there. Her name is Erica, and she know's her ish. http://nk9.com/index.html It's where I went to have a few dog's CGC certified back in the day when I still lived in Columbus. Training and consistency is required. Also, keep in mind that it may take a week or two for the dog to settle in to her new place. Good luck with the training. I've never used a shock collar and wouldn't. My dogs have become well-behaved. Positive reinforcement has worked well. Consistency is key. As for "shock collar", "e-collar" or whatever term people want to use, I have absolutely zero issue using that as a training tool, just like every other tool available. The problem comes in when it is misused, like most training tools are such as slip collars and prong collars. Nearly every time I see them used, I cringe because they aren't being used properly. "Positive" reinforcement "works" with some dogs to a certain extent; but I know many dogs that couldn't give two craps about that cute clicker sound and the hotdogs in your fanny pack. There is a reason you don't see dogs trained at petsmart in the serious obedience competitions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RC K9 Posted December 28, 2015 Report Share Posted December 28, 2015 Just do some research on line and do the training yourself. As stated, a school with teach YOU how to train the dog. Few tips: POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT! As SOON as the dog does something you want it to do you PRAISE PRAISE PRAISE and reinforce with a small treat. It may be a little harder since the dog is full grown now, but as soon as the dog does something you are wanting it to do, you reinforce. On the flipside, as soon as they do something wrong a STERN 'NO' is in order. The training will take some time and patience and will be hard for both of you. Just keep working at it, and habits will begin to form. It will be a little bit harder to teach to heel, but just start taking small walks and teach her to heel.....find some treats that you can give her many of without upsetting her stomach (cheerios/small cereal), but positive reinforcement is KEY because dogs will only associate the treat with what they JUST did....dogs forget very quickly. Good luck! a proper heel auto sit can be taught to a dog in a day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zx2guy19 Posted December 28, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2015 I just read quite a bit about their obedience training- sounds like exactly what we're looking for. Perhaps a quick call there today will help too. I agree about the shock collar- if you knick the dog every time they look at you the wrong way, that's not the way to do it. But when there's negative behavior you discipline, and when they do something well, you show positive reinforcement. Already she is listening when we say "Ah Ah", following by "No" and a pointed finger (we don't yell). My only concern was the snapping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrs.cos Posted December 28, 2015 Report Share Posted December 28, 2015 I personally am anti shock collar but thats a debate for another day. Training the dog imho is WAY more about training you. Dogs respond to consistency. We go to class every week and have for each dog while in early stages and do training every day. We do training with the dogs every day because its a mental exercise for them, and it reconfirms all the training we have done up to that point. Training each day is about 20-30 mins a day. Its always a positive experience, and they love it. We are currently using http://www.posidog.org/ and i like it ther, but wish it was a bit more structured. Oddly, we have had great training at Petsmart, but we may have been a bit more focused there. They have done a great job with somethings we hadnt thought of before but something about it just doesnt strike me right. They do have a Rowdy and Reactive group i have heard NOTHING but great things about from PetPromise Fosters though. Maybe the puppy group isn't the right group for us, but that has been historically what was used through our fosters Our next round of training we may try another trainer who is also in hilliard, but i cant think of their name right now. Congrats on the new dog! The cats should be kept in a spare room till they are all acclimated to each other. Feed the dog near the cats room door (in front if there is no reaction the the cats on the other side) Do this for a few days (introductions should be done slowly.. lots of patience) let them get used to each others smells in positive ways... feed the cats near the door too. If the dog is reactionary to the door where the cats are.. move the food and start over farthere away from the door. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TTQ B4U Posted December 28, 2015 Report Share Posted December 28, 2015 BTW, if you are serious, get ready for a lifestyle change. Most people I know who I have worked with don't follow through, and their dogs retain the same issues. Consistency is key. ^^ this. Ryan and I've talked through it and he's spot-on. The remaining issues we have with one of our dogs is/was a result of my wife not wanting to change HER Behavior with him on walks. As for "shock collar", "e-collar" or prong collars. Nearly every time I see them used, I cringe because they aren't being used properly. "Positive" reinforcement "works" with some dogs to a certain extent; but I know many dogs that couldn't give two craps about that cute clicker sound and the hotdogs in your fanny pack. We've used both. The e-Collars do work. I don't call them shock collars as to me the current doesn't travel through their body like a lightening bolt just around their neck / shoulders. It's really just like the old fashioned hand-shake gag-gifts we've all seen. We used one with our first Boxer years ago that barked a lot. Currently we have great success with the newer style pinch collars for walks with both dogs. Our Pit Mix that I've talked with Ryan about now heals, and obeys on walks even without the pinch collar. We still use it though as we are still leery of him with other dogs. 5yrs of bad behavior takes time to work out for sure. He's close though. a proper heel auto sit can be taught to a dog in a day. ^^ this. get them while they are young and food motivated. worked great for our newer pup. just be consistent. I do the heel / sit and stay every time I take her outside. We're just now starting to let her run in the yard outside to go to the bathroom off the leash. I really wanted her trained in case she were to hop the fence chasing a squirrel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RC K9 Posted December 28, 2015 Report Share Posted December 28, 2015 Sit Means Sit is another option, and they use only e-collars. Their dogs are pretty impressive, but I am not a huge fan of their school of thought as the dogs are always at 100% and I don't care for the manner in which they incorporate the e-collar in training. I'm not saying it's right or wrong, and it does "work" very well depending on how you define "well", but it's not my cup of tea. It's kind of a quantity over quality deal IMHO. You can find videos of SMS trained dogs all over the interwebz. I can give you some more details on their philosophy if you need more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmwohio Posted December 28, 2015 Report Share Posted December 28, 2015 a proper heel auto sit can be taught to a dog in a day. I would agree for that session....just hard to make it stick sometimes (especially since the dog is a not a pup - could have some bad habits or could be great)....I still think consistently working with her will get it done quicker, but I don't think she would learn in one session/day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RC K9 Posted December 28, 2015 Report Share Posted December 28, 2015 Every dog is different, I am just saying, for every dog I have trained, it was taught in a day. Some may take a bit longer. Just pointing out, it's not usually too difficult of a command to teach. There was a high energy young dog ripping around a few years ago with no collar or micro chip. The dog was wild. Had obviously never been on a leash before as was demonstrated when I put a leash and slip collar on. I decided I was going to teach that dog how to walk properly on a leash while I walked him around the neighborhood. Halfway through the walk, I had the dog not tugging on the leash, and walking beside me. By the end of the walk, I had the dog auto sitting when in the heel command and I stopped walking. This was like 45min. From there it's just incorporating distractions and such. Temptations to reinforce that the auto-sit command still applies when a squirrel runs by or someone drops a steak in front of you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LJ Posted December 28, 2015 Report Share Posted December 28, 2015 Sit Means Sit is another option, and they use only e-collars. Their dogs are pretty impressive, but I am not a huge fan of their school of thought as the dogs are always at 100% and I don't care for the manner in which they incorporate the e-collar in training. I'm not saying it's right or wrong, and it does "work" very well depending on how you define "well", but it's not my cup of tea. It's kind of a quantity over quality deal IMHO. You can find videos of SMS trained dogs all over the interwebz. I can give you some more details on their philosophy if you need more. Sit Means Sit is one of the few trainers that multiple veterinarians I know recommend AGAINST Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
90G60 Posted December 28, 2015 Report Share Posted December 28, 2015 (edited) Good info. I also just added an 8 week old Great Dane puppy to our family yesterday. We want to start training ASAP. Feel free to elaborate more on the cat subject. Right now our cat stalks the dog. He is terrified to explore and just runs to the safety of his kennel. Vet visit scheduled for Thursday. Puppy evaluation being scheduled for day 14 at National K9. Edited December 28, 2015 by 90G60 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHIEF Posted December 28, 2015 Report Share Posted December 28, 2015 Parents took their german sheppard to National K9. You will still need to work with your dog afterwards, if you don't it's wasted money. But the groundwork they do makes it very easy as an owner. I would go there if I had a dog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RC K9 Posted December 28, 2015 Report Share Posted December 28, 2015 Sit Means Sit is one of the few trainers that multiple veterinarians I know recommend AGAINST I don't put too much weight into Vet opinions on training philosophy just as I don't put too much opinion in a trainers opinion in regards to medical issues with dogs. Are opinions from either side be somewhat relevant to the other side? Sure. But it wouldn't be what helps me make my final decision. That being said, I stated above I don't care for their school of thought, but simply put it out there as an option. You can ask anyone who's dogs I have trained. I NEVER tried to present myself and my techniques as the only way to train a dog, and in fact, I encouraged ALL of them to look at various trainers and methods and decide what they think will work best, because in the end, it's the owners decision and they are the ones that need to live with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LJ Posted December 28, 2015 Report Share Posted December 28, 2015 Are opinions from either side be somewhat relevant to the other side? Sure. But it wouldn't be what helps me make my final decision. It's based off of medical issues from dogs in their care Of course there are also ACVB Diplomates out there, but there is only even 1 in Ohio, and not many nationwide. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RC K9 Posted December 28, 2015 Report Share Posted December 28, 2015 Parents took their german sheppard to National K9. You will still need to work with your dog afterwards, if you don't it's wasted money. But the groundwork they do makes it very easy as an owner. I would go there if I had a dog. Well said. They do good work with all the dogs I have seen, and some of the trainers up there have GSD's and Malinois' that are downright awesome. Better than a lot of the police dogs you see in videos that don't "out" on command. They were doing protection training with one students black GSD years ago and as the dog was mid air and mouth about to clamp onto the agitators arm, they gave the out command and the dog immediately turned it's head to the side and didn't bite. Which is awesome because most dogs try to get that bite in real quick anyway because the bite acts as a reward of sorts. IMHO with advanced trained dogs, my personal opinion is you can tell the quality of the training and the handler by how the dog "outs" of an attack command. Most of what I see out there is garbage. Dog's not outing and keep biting, dogs so anxious to bite they bite the handlers, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RC K9 Posted December 28, 2015 Report Share Posted December 28, 2015 You have to pay attention to how SMS describes their techniques and the terminology they use. The wording they use leads one to believe one thing, when in my opinion, it's really something else going on, but they don't want you to understand it that way. I had some meetings and did some stuff with an SMS instructor and tried to be polite in the way in which I called him out on things, and I think he got a little aggravated because I picked up on things most people wouldn't and I would call him out on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LJ Posted December 28, 2015 Report Share Posted December 28, 2015 You have to pay attention to how SMS describes their techniques and the terminology they use. The wording they use leads one to believe one thing, when in my opinion, it's really something else going on, but they don't want you to understand it that way. I had some meetings and did some stuff with an SMS instructor and tried to be polite in the way in which I called him out on things, and I think he got a little aggravated because I picked up on things most people wouldn't and I would call him out on it. The feeling I get from them is that they hire a lot of people who don't really know what they are doing and just do what they are told Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RC K9 Posted December 28, 2015 Report Share Posted December 28, 2015 The feeling I get from them is that they hire a lot of people who don't really know what they are doing and just do what they are told That is a part of it. Now, I don't have an issue with lack of experience. We have all been there in many aspects of our lives, and only through experience do we learn and get better, but that was one of the things I picked up on in my time with the trainer. I felt he didn't even fully understand the curriculum he was trying to teach. That is separate from my issues with the training philosophy as a whole though. One other thing to note about them, and this may have changed int he last 6yrs or so, but the trainers aren't SMS employees per say. You buy into the company, kind of like a franchise, and you get to use their logo and their training methods, and they help with advertising and support. Whereas some place like NK9 is more of a college where you go through the courses, receive your certificate, and then you go start your own business, or if you are really good and they have a spot, they can hire you as an instructor at their facility. They also help with some networking and such, but once you graduate, you are on your own to start your own business and such. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zx2guy19 Posted December 28, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2015 I have an initial consultation at NK9 Thursday at 11 and an appointment with the other trainer January 7th at 6:30p- will make a decision after and update everyone then! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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