OT: Dog Training

[phenom5]

Anybody have a recommendation for a good dog trainer? Preferably on the NW side of town.

Our chocolate lab is just out of control. Three separate events this week have pushed me to finally seek out a trainer.

First we were helping out my mother in law. Had the dogs outside of the wall on her property. One of the neighbors was going to get the mail, and I guess her (mother in law) big male golden retriever does not like the neighbor's dog. He took off running around to the front side of the house. One call for him to come, and he stop from a run, and turned right back around. No way Georgia would do that.

Second, Georgia tore up our taxes, mortgage interest statement, and car registration.

Third, my mother in law sent a rawhide bone home for Georgia. Even though we typically don't give her rawhides, we figured what the heck, give a little treat. She was going to town on it, and must have cut her mouth somehow, because there was blood all over the rawhide. So I went to take it away from her, and she got very possessive, and got very aggressive with me. That was the final straw, absolutely unacceptable.

She doesn't need simple, Petsmart training. She knows plenty of commands, she needs something more. She needs to not get aggressive with me or anybody else, ever. She needs to listen to us if she off the leash. And she needs to learn how to walk on a leash.

I'm willing to pay the money, but I want to make sure it's money well spent.

 

[Tanque Verde]

We had great success with Cactus Canine, which uses the Kohler method (sp?). It didn't cost that much, but it was a ton of work. We trained five nights per week for eight or ten weeks that summer. I am comfortable with their use of a training collar (critics call it a choke chain), especially for a thick-necked labrador, but their anti-chewing, anti-digging techniques are extreme, IMHO.

As for listening to you off leash, we have discovered that if the distractions are considerable enough (especially other dogs and people), a simple command won't always do the trick.

A pavlovian food response, on the other hand, will stop our dog dead in her tracks. To make this happen, we filled an Altoids box half full with dry dog food. Then we took her to the park and simultaneously shook the box to make it rattle and issued a come command. As soon as she got back to us, we gave her a few bites. We did that over and over again, eventually dropping the come command, and just rattling the box. Now, if Ruby hears a rattle, she'll break a full sprint, and reverse course.

 

[scubabum1983]

i feel you. i already have two well behaved labs but my third also a 6 month old chocolate lab that i rescued from the pinal animal control is proving to be alot more work than my previous two. the only thing id say is practice practice practice. dont give up. just like kids they have the terrible twos. once they get past the two year mark they tend to get alot better.

 

[Tucson Reef]

First, no disrespect intended and not even talking about OP in particular. I have trained obedience and protection dogs for many years. I also worked as "Agitator" ( the guy that gets dog to try and bite him ). First thing I always told new clients before signing contract was "I can train this dog in a few weeks, but it might take several months to train the owner". Point being, money is only the incentive to get a trainer to take on your dog. You the owner and family members must make a far greater commitment then just money. We charged $1,500 for obedience in the 70's and would only do protection after you showed me perfect handling abilities for obedience. The protection was also $1,500, that was a lot then but to me it was a fair fee for the final result. So heres the free advice, first never have dog off leash in an uncontroled area(where outside influences or your dog getting away could lead to disaster). Yes, I let my dog go off leash, but I have been training long enough to know dog nature and can foresee problem and tighten control. Second, never let off leash during trainiing till you have 100% controll and confidence. If you go off leash to soon and dog fails to comply, you just threw a lot of work out the window and have re-enforce. First few times off leash do it in a small fenced area. Third if you find a trainer, check them out. If they take your dog for training, drop by unexpected and see how kennels look, are dogs clean, seperated and well cared for. And most important, before you do anything, make sure you and all family members are going to keep the commitment. A good trainer will train the dog and show/teach you how to follow through, but if you don't do your part you'll still have a confused dog.