Anyone ever send a dog to "boot camp"?

[sparkplug]

contact the Aussie Rescue group in your uncle's area. They can evaluate the dog, possibly help with it's training, and find a new home if that is the best solution.





Working dogs thrive when having work to do.

Herding dogs NEED to have an outlet for their instincts: if not, they can become destructive and neurotic.

All dogs do best with structure, physical excercise, knowing who's the boss, and what they can do that is right ('Sit') when they get corrected for doing something wrong ('No Bite').

OK, Last time.....................herding/working dogs do not need any "working" for the most part if you know how to raise a dog and show it/them that you are the alpha male/female. I have 2 and I have several friends that have them as well. This s*** is not rocket science. Show your mongrel dominance and you will always prevail. Haazooos!

 

[Johnnymiz]

OK, Last time.....................herding/working dogs do not need any "working" for the most part if you know how to raise a dog and show it/them that you are the alpha male/female. I have 2 and I have several friends that have them as well. This s*** is not rocket science. Show your mongrel dominance and you will always prevail. Haazooos!

Sparklug,
you're right on it. if the dog thinks you're the boss, it will behave much differently than if it thinks you're not. i make it a point early on in the relationship with my dogs to tackle them, put them on their backs and literally bite their throats. not hard.....but it shows them that I am the alfa. and i have my kids do the same. the dog HAS to know...in IT'S OWN language....that it is the lowest on the totem pole...period. until you do that, it will do what it wants. has nothing to do with working. has everything to do with dominance.

 

[canucksafari]

Sparklug,
you're right on it. if the dog thinks you're the boss, it will behave much differently than if it thinks you're not. i make it a point early on in the relationship with my dogs to tackle them, put them on their backs and literally bite their throats. not hard.....but it shows them that I am the alfa. and i have my kids do the same. the dog HAS to know...in IT'S OWN language....that it is the lowest on the totem pole...period. until you do that, it will do what it wants. has nothing to do with working. has everything to do with dominance.

WTH? You can't make blanket statements like that. Talk to any breeder who's been in it for a while. It all depends on the dog's inherited (genetic) temperament and who they bond with from a very early age. Try that with a juvenile or adult dog on a some of the breeds that have been bred to be protective, aggressive and independent, like the Caucasian Mountain Dog, and that will likely be the last dog neck you bite.

 

[Johnnymiz]

you know, you're right. i shouldn't have said it that way. i actually contradicted my earlier statements in other threads on this subject. the breed does make a difference...and certainly the age of the dog. i should have said that i gain the dominant position with while it's relatively young. but really, how many people own caucassian mountain dogs? the dog in question needs to know that he is NOT the alfa, he is the omega....the lowest in the pecking order. and the owner, not a trainer, needs to get that point across to the dog.

 

[canucksafari]

the breed does make a difference...and certainly the age of the dog. i should have said that i gain the dominant position with while it's relatively young. but really, how many people own caucassian mountain dogs?

Just an over-the-top example to get the point across. But their are other breeds and dogs who have been bred to be gentically predisposed to an aggressive and an independent temperament, whether that is guarding or "sport fighting". Of course back yard breeders also F'up breeds by not eliminating bad temperaments from their breeding stock.

 

[Johnnymiz]

you literally made me laugh with your example cheers

 

[psquared]

My household went from having no dogs to having three in a very short timeframe. The one is a very belligerant hound dog. She is now 4 1/2 years old. She was just over 3 when she moved in here. She counter surfs, steals food from the other dogs and generally bosses them around. She used to nip my kids ears every time they played with a toy that had wheels on it. However, in the year she has been with me, she now sits before she is allowed in the house, she must lay down before she gets fed, and every once in awhile, I will make her lie down and not move......just because I can. The other day I watched her sit without moving while my son drove a car up her back and over her head. She then licked his face. She still has a long way to go and alot to learn, but now that she knows it is my house and I am in charge.....she's doing really well.

She still counter surfs though......that's a breed thing....

I think any type of training is a start....shows you're willing to try to make it work. If after training, you realize it won't.....then the next best thing is to find a place where the dog will fit in better.

 

[Arvin G.]

Kinda interested how it turned out after readin this. Did the boot camp work?

 

[craptabulous]

establish dominance , i have a boarder collie that would love to do all sorts of bad things and yet he walks a foot away from me on the left side with no leash down town with out winking an eye .

he has yet to chase a sheep so having work for a working dog is obviously not needed .

they like attention , consistency and to know who's boss . the dog won't think he is boss after boot camp it will think the trainer is boss, the dog needs to respect the owner. i know mine could care less about anything that anyone aside from me or my girlfriend tell him .

 

[3jvj]

I sent my GSD to bot camp at six months. Smartest thing I ever did. The handler then trained us in how to keep up with the routine. They are a good thing, and I think that any trainer that says a dog is beyond training sucks. For a thousand bucks they should be able to toilet train a dog.

 

[Radd Cruisers]

She still counter surfs though......that's a breed thing....

I think any type of training is a start....shows you're willing to try to make it work. If after training, you realize it won't.....then the next best thing is to find a place where the dog will fit in better.

First, make sure the dog understand that this NOT an okay behaviour. Then, set the dog up for failure, and use baited mouse traps for that set up. It doesn't take too long for them to figure it out.

The other way is to again, make sure the dog knows the rules, set them up for failure and then bust them in the act - and be very dog-like in your discipline of that behaviour: act quickly, be fair but firm, forgive almost immediately, do not reward.

Been down this road before. A little even temperament on your part will get the training embedded.

Even got the stray cat that adopted us to clear up its bad counter jumping/surfing behaviour in two "busts" - one was a quick yank off the counter by the tail in a surprise attack, the other was with mouse traps (un-baited) but set up all over the counter to snap when he was where he should not be. DO NOT encourage them to be at counter level, or allow them to walk on counters, tables, or similar objects - dogs and cats will get this figured out very quickly if you are consistent in the delivery of your correction and expectations of their behaviour.


~John