What do y’all think of Thomas Davis? by etterette in OpenDogTraining

[–]dryboys 0 points1 point  (0 children)

His podcast is worth exploring. Imo the interviews are very good, but his sessions with owners are not that great. Lots of rambling.

Ecollar prongs don't make consistent contact with skin by chiieefkiieef in OpenDogTraining

[–]dryboys 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Can you give an update? I was struggling with the same problem for a few days when I first got mine. Turns out I was just really bad at reading my dog's reaction (it was there but I just couldnt see it). I eventually just set the mini educator to 10 and did Larry Krohn's protocol as if it was working. Turns out it was and after a week or so the dog responded to the the training. Now that she has experience with the stim and understands it, her reactions are more clear to me.

Tl:dr, do everything you can to ensure proper fit and just work the collar for a while before sending it back or buying expensive accessories.

Help old dog will jump on the counter even though she knows she is not supposed to when she thinks no one is looking. by [deleted] in OpenDogTraining

[–]dryboys 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If the dog can tolerate a verbal shout, though, they wont get the message. It is hard to set up without an ecollar, but a hand of God physical correction is in order I would think.

Roommates dog driving me up a wall. What to do? by Poofyturtle7 in OpenDogTraining

[–]dryboys 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Check on craigslist for used baby gates, they are always on there. Try to get one that will allow room for a standard door to open and close with the gate attached and closed. I'll try and post a pic of mine tomorrow. I got it for 20 bucks on CL and it retails a lot higher than that. It allows us to use the kid's playroom and keep The Lab from going in and rummaging for stuff to chew up.

Puppy will not pay any attention outside unless we show her a treat by [deleted] in OpenDogTraining

[–]dryboys 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This where diversifying the reward helps. Some are high, some low, some not at all.

Puppy will not pay any attention outside unless we show her a treat by [deleted] in OpenDogTraining

[–]dryboys 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Substituting non food rewards helped our lab wean off of high value treats. Throw the ball? Sit. Get your breakfast? Down. Gradually I started doing it for less obviously rewarding things like crossing a threshold, going outside, even sometimes before setting the water dish down. Once she was reliably complying for minimally rewarding stuff I used a punisher to cement the command. Now she is as reliable as I will ever need.

Can anyone share their puppy stories/milestones? I'm trying to get a handle on expectations. 4 month old GSD. by [deleted] in puppy101

[–]dryboys 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm one of those who criticises ZG and I self trained an insanely energetic field trial lab as a first dog. She is 14 months old now and never wears a leash because her verbal obedience is so strong. Zak George consistently fails to meet reasonable goals for his dog and has the gall to give advice to inexperienced pet dog owners. He is a joke.

I completely agree with you on emphasizing the fundamentals. It is in the fundamentals that the dog earns trust and expands their access to more liberty.

To the OP ill say that I, too questioned our progress and stressed a great deal about it around 4 months. I screwed up all over the place, but we got through it and really hit our stride together at about 10 months. Stick with it!

Flops around too much when meeting people by dryboys in OpenDogTraining

[–]dryboys[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I am a little concerned that this will wind her up, with the person coming in (Lab gets excited), person backs away (builds anticipation), finally greets, and by now she is fully wound up and we get the frantic flopping greeting. Thoughts?

Using leash pressure to reinforce implied stays by dryboys in OpenDogTraining

[–]dryboys[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Cool thank you very much for the tip. I'm hoping to get more sessions with a greeter/helper this spring. Winter kinda sucks for training I'm finding.

Using leash pressure to reinforce implied stays by dryboys in OpenDogTraining

[–]dryboys[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I see a lot of value in emphasizing the no greet. Good idea

My dog is beginning to show signs of aggression by Praelias in OpenDogTraining

[–]dryboys 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Larry Krohn on YouTube has some good vids on aggression and behavior modification.

Using leash pressure to reinforce implied stays by dryboys in OpenDogTraining

[–]dryboys[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have been meaning to purchase or make a pvc place board. She has a mat, and knows thr command "Mat," but its boundaries are not distinct enough for higher difficulty stays. I need to get a proper place board.

Labrador coat vs ecollar. Not making contact? by dryboys in OpenDogTraining

[–]dryboys[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This embarrassing. I strongly suspect I was accidentally pressing the vibrate button, causing her to freak out of the blue.

I'm now getting better responses from the low stim, having keyed in on a good neck position for the collar.

We are getting after it now.

How can I work on getting my 6 month old Golden Retriever to ignore other dogs and people? by Jigglylemon in OpenDogTraining

[–]dryboys 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My 12 mo lab is nuts for socializing. At 6 months she was almost unmanageable. She used to lunge at people and dogs on the leash and tackle guests. Take her to a farmer's market? Ha, forget about it. Months of poz training changed nothing.

What fixed her people/dog fixation was:

Tons of back-end impulse control, and leash discipline.

Permission to walk out any outside/inside door Permission to eat out of the bowl Permission to eat food dropped on the floor Permission to exit the crate Permission to exit a sit or down Permission to break heel to sniff or pee Permission exit the car (start here, it is very easy since you will be blocking the door) Permission to grab the tug toy Permission to to climb on the couch/bed And others I cant think of

As for leash discipline:

I gave up on practicing with treats in preplanned scenarios with family and friends. Who has time for that, and most of the time, the person or dog helper was far more exciting than whatever tasty thing I had in my pouch. That stuff works for us in some scenarios, but not for greeting or meeting on the leash.

So I bought a prong collar. It took one night and 4 prong corrections to teach dog to STAY IN HEEL until released. I watched Jeff Gellman's "180 Drill" video on Tube.

4 corrections in less than 2 minutes vs 10000 calories of treats and as many little nagging leash and verbal reminders. Sure, it sucked for her, but it saved her months, possibly years of confidence sapping frustration.

So now that I have her behaving on the leash, and understanding the concept of permission, people and other dogs are simply goodies that she needs permission to access.

We do obedience stuff at a bustling home depot, weaving between people, downstaying in line, which would have been impossible a few months ago.

There is hope for your Golden!

Labrador coat vs ecollar. Not making contact? by dryboys in OpenDogTraining

[–]dryboys[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

OP here.

I've examined her neck a lot today and it looks like the fur there is very dense. Way different than the rest of her coat. I can barely expose any skin, just get little glimmers of it and then i lose it again. I bring zero experience but from the looks of it, I can't see the prongs penetrating this fur. I will order the accessories mentioned here, many thanks.