Dog Trainers?

Alfasudcrazy

I am at my wits end with my dogs. They take no notice of my commands and do what they like.:(

Admittedly they probably know I am too soft to bring them into line but I know I need to get a handle on this soon for the dogs own safety.

My female dobie especially - the big explorer of the pack just hates getting back in the van after a walk on the beach.

This evening she decided she wanted another dart at catching a seagull and ran away. She almost got lost in the sand dunes and I spent 30 minutes searching for her.

Anyone know any good dog trainers in the Munster area?

... and before the lectures start - there was non one else on the beach as it was too blustery and the dobie is only interested in seagulls. :rolleyes:

marystar

i know theres Obedience classes .. i m thinking of getting a puppy soon and bringing it to puppy classes .. we' ve had dogs before & they were trained by ourselves fine .. for me , i m just curious what its all about
have nt looked much at this website but i saved it , for looking at later on so dunno if its much good .. based in kildare , which isnt where you are , but theres a contact us email .. i find most pet places will always write back to you saying they know of someone where you live so maybe ask them..

http://www.fircroft.ie/home/canineTrainingCentre.asp

peasant

Every chase for her (even if she doesn't get the seagull) is a rewarding experience ...the rush, the run, the fun.
And with every chase that she gets away with the likelihood of her obeying your callback gets smaller and smaller: a) the seagulls are more intersting and b) you will still be there when she is done chasing.

This will not be an easy fix, not even for a dog trainer.

You will have start from scratch again with recall training. You know ..the little excercises in the yard were you call her, she comes, gets treat/praise ...repeated ad nauseam and with ever increasing distances.
(with the other dogs too, of course)

For the beach I would recommend long lead training. For this the dog needs a good, strong harness and you a long (~10 - 15 m) light and strong rope, gloves and a strong stance .

Affix one end of rope to dog, other end to self. Pretend rope isn't there. Then when she heads off on a chase, let her run, but juuuust before the rope runs out, you call her back. She of course won't listen, but immediatedly will run into the end of the rope and come to an aprubt halt (remember gloves ...otherwise the rope will burn your hands ...and strong stance:D )

The effect of your call followed by the immediate and very distinct end of her chase should be quite drastic. Then call her again and praise/reward if she does come. If she doesn't ...just haul her in.

Repeat until you see an effect, but take care to vary the length of the rope, otherwise shell learn to gauge her safe distance.

Could take a while though before she finally cops on.

Both parties should learn something while doing this ...she to obey your command and you (sort of as a side effect) to read her and see when she wants to take off BEFORE she actually does and call her back before she gets going.

Rigsby

The dogs have to be shown that you are the boss. In addition to peasant's good advice above, you could send out some "I am the boss" signals by never leaving out their food to eat when they please. If you want to go further with this you could pretend to eat from their bowls first making sure they see you. Sounds silly I know but in the wild the alpha wolf always eats first. If you put it out and they dont eat it then take it away and put it down again later. If a dog approaches you for attention (I always find this hard to do) ignore him completely for a minute or two then call him to you and pet him. The message with these signals is that everything is on your terms and not theirs.

Even if you do get a good trainer to bring your dogs into line it's important to maintain this by being firm with them.

JarOfFlies

marystar wrote:

i know theres Obedience classes .. i m thinking of getting a puppy soon and bringing it to puppy classes .. we' ve had dogs before & they were trained by ourselves fine .. for me , i m just curious what its all about
have nt looked much at this website but i saved it , for looking at later on so dunno if its much good .. based in kildare , which isnt where you are , but theres a contact us email .. i find most pet places will always write back to you saying they know of someone where you live so maybe ask them..

http://www.fircroft.ie/home/canineTrainingCentre.asp

Great site.

http://www.dogtrainingireland.ie/home.php

This is good aswell.

kashi

I know there are some dog trainers in Cork, but I don't know if this will be of any use to you. They are in the golden pages, and there is no problem in ringing them for a chat anyway. Some have different ways of training them, but ultimately, as Jarofflies and Rigsby said.........they have to know you are the boss. I'm a sucker too, but ultimately both of my dogs know I'm the boss, and will do what they are told.....especially when out walking.

houndsoflove

What happens when you get home? Is it bed time or out the back? Your dobie sees the beach as a positive fun thing and sees going home as a negative thing. This is why she runs away when it's home time, she doesn't want to go back to the negative thing. My advice is to make going home a positive thing. When you get home take her out for a brisk walk, around the block will do.

There is a guy in Limerick called Michael Priory from Munster dog training. Check www.goldenpages.ie and you will find him. He is dealing will dogs for years.

Nicola.

RebelRockChick

John Clifford in Cork is supposed to be a good dog trainer. His number is in the Golden pages also.

kashi

RebelRockChick that's who I was thinking of........I just couldn't remember his name. I'm so bothered these days. He is a bit more of the old school type though although my sis corkimp did a course with him and he practiced on my crazy GSD. He did do well with him..........so he would be definitely be worth chatting to. (My GSD has the attention span of a flea at times! Totally scatty..........hmmm he must be like me!!!)

ShirleyH

Peasant and Rigsby are totally correct in their advice. Maybe have a look online for trainers and try and get some feedback on individual ones??
Or ask your local vet/ kennels for a recommendation?

luvablelizzie

Yep..start all over again with a reward system in the back garden..
The rope and harness is a great idea too..

Another one is when she starts running..call her..if she doesn't come..run the other way making really high pitched excited noises..she'll come runnin