Dog training-obedience, agility anyone do it?

[TigerWoman]

My dog doesn't eat dog food either. He gets fresh meats, fruits, fish, and veggies.

Whole Dog Journal has great articles on dog foods and what is good and what isn't. They do not have adverts in the magazine, therefore this allows them to be completely unbiased in their reviews. It might be something to check out. They also have articles on behavior, leashes, etc. It's an excellent monthly mag, imo.

Yes, it is a great publication, I have been getting it and it backed up my choice of dog food. I have been thinking about what my vet said. There's a U of MN dog nutritionist that has a diet that can be prepared. But who knows if my dogs would acccept it. Ninja refused liverwurst, his favorite, because it had ground up dry food around it and he normally does eat a little of it. I put it on so it wouldn't be so gooey for training treats at the center. Drives me crazy, this pickiness. TW

 

[Sarah]

Again, I would look for a trainer that trains based of positive reinforcement, and who has an understanding of the dog not as a pack member, but as a member of your family unit. This may be hard to find though, unfortunatily...

The Family unit has replaced the pack but is still the same thing, there are still positions in the unit a pecking order. Everyone of course is entitled to there own beliefs, and mine is that you can take the dog out of the pack but you cant take the pack out of the dog, even after hundreds of years of selective breeding we have not changed the essence of the dog, they still display 'wild' behaviors' there instincts may be watered down but they are still there.

As for Ninja's picky eating, there is some really good info about that in 'The Dog Listener' picky eating isn’t always about the food it could be related to a bit of a power struggle, you'll know what I mean once you get the book.

My advice on finding a trainer would be talk, ask questions, find someone who will train YOU and not your dog. When I was instructing I very rarely handled any of the dogs, I was there to teach the owners how to train there own dogs, It could be easy for me to take the dog get it to work for me and then give it back to an owner that still knows nothing and have achieved nothing. Do your own research, not only about training but about your chosen breed; you might be interested to learn why your breed does certain things.

One of my pet peeves was when someone would come to class with a Husky that they got because it looked pretty and ask me how to get it to stop pulling on the lead *sigh*.

Happy training.

 

[Cruentus]

The Family unit has replaced the pack but is still the same thing, there are still positions in the unit a pecking order.

I would still have to say that the dog functions more as part of the human team, which is far different then the pack. In a pack, there is no position of equality, and every animal is constantly looking to take a higher position. So, for example, if you have an alpha wolf who sustains an injury, that alpha is going to get knocked down in status by one of the younger, healthier wolves. If the alpha's injury isn't that bad, and he can still sustain his position, he and the other wolves may eject a young challanger out of the pack, which could essentially be a death sentence for that wolf. There is no compassion in that social order.

On the other hand, do you think that your dog is going to try to bite you and take your food if he senses weakness in you? I would hope not. Domestic dogs have learned that for their survival, pleasing the owner is the best thing for it. This is far different then a pack mentality, and is more related to the human team.

Yet, your dog has instincts like any animal, and if forced in that environment its "pack instincts" will take over, as I mentioned previously. So, one has to ask oneself how one wants to raise the dog; does one want to propigate a pack mentality based off negative reinforcement ("No!" or and yank the pinch collar for example) where one must constantly show dominance as the "alpha dog"? Then what happends if you show that sign of weakness, or if a weaker human is introduced into the home, like a child? What happends if the dog try's to vigh for that higher position? I can already see the news article where the owner says, "I don't know why my dog mauled my 5 year old niece, it never showed that kind of aggression before, then it just "turned."

I would rather include my dog as a part of my human team where my dog understands that pleasing me is far better then anything else out there. It doesn't matter if there are kids or other people around, other dogs, or if I am sick or injured. He knows that he will get the best reward for pleasing me, period. That is tapping into his domesticated instincts rather then his "animal" ones.

But, I do understand your point of view, and I realize that my viewpoint, although well supported, is a minority viewpoint. So, I am not faulting anyone for doing something different then me, I am just explaining my point of view.

Remember, there seems to be more methods out there are martial arts!

Paul

 

[Sarah]

I do actually agree with you to some point, and with domesticated animals it is usually a mix of both view points. ie; the family unit is still similar to a pack but of course has some different dynamics as well.

I would still have to say that the dog functions more as part of the human team, which is far different then the pack. In a pack, there is no position of equality, and every animal is constantly looking to take a higher position. So, for example, if you have an alpha wolf who sustains an injury, that alpha is going to get knocked down in status by one of the younger, healthier wolves. If the alpha's injury isn't that bad, and he can still sustain his position, he and the other wolves may eject a young challanger out of the pack, which could essentially be a death sentence for that wolf. There is no compassion in that social order.

On the other hand, do you think that your dog is going to try to bite you and take your food if he senses weakness in you? I would hope not. Domestic dogs have learned that for their survival, pleasing the owner is the best thing for it. This is far different then a pack mentality, and is more related to the human team.

Yet, your dog has instincts like any animal, and if forced in that environment its "pack instincts" will take over, as I mentioned previously. So, one has to ask oneself how one wants to raise the dog; does one want to propigate a pack mentality based off negative reinforcement ("No!" or and yank the pinch collar for example) where one must constantly show dominance as the "alpha dog"? Then what happends if you show that sign of weakness, or if a weaker human is introduced into the home, like a child? What happends if the dog try's to vigh for that higher position? I can already see the news article where the owner says, "I don't know why my dog mauled my 5 year old niece, it never showed that kind of aggression before, then it just "turned."

I would rather include my dog as a part of my human team where my dog understands that pleasing me is far better then anything else out there. It doesn't matter if there are kids or other people around, other dogs, or if I am sick or injured. He knows that he will get the best reward for pleasing me, period. That is tapping into his domesticated instincts rather then his "animal" ones.

But, I do understand your point of view, and I realize that my viewpoint, although well supported, is a minority viewpoint. So, I am not faulting anyone for doing something different then me, I am just explaining my point of view.

Remember, there seems to be more methods out there are martial arts!

Paul