A few months ago I posted a question about what to do with a puppy from hell. The short story is that after having no trouble raising two dogs by reading a book and doing what it told me to do my new puppy had drawn blood from all family members, etc.
A few members gave some excellent suggestions for getting back in control, which solved about 80% of the problem and there was a concensus that I ought to invest in a dog trainer. We finally got around to the dog trainer several weeks ago and I can’t believe how quickly the dog improved.
We went from seriously considering returning him to the pound to rating him the smartest and most obedient of our three dogs by far. Much of the improvement was after only one lesson.
What do you think made the most difference to your dog, in terms of what the trainer was doing and what you hadn’t been doing? Or do they work in secrecy?
(I have an amusing mental image of a dog being strapped to an interrogation-type chair and brainwashed. “Ven you hear ze commands, you vill obey.” Somehow, I’m guessing it’s a more simplistic approach than that, however! )
He had us put about 25 pennies in a plastic bottle and tie a string to it. We then had to throw it near the dog (creating a startling noise) at key moments when he wasn’t behaving. Also, he knows what the right moments are.
The other thing is he did the same old positive reinforcement, but he did it with the authority and expertise of years of training.
Interesting. We use the same thing for our dog (border collie). We call it the “instrument of obedience”. It gets used less than once per year now. The mere appearance of this device causes a sudden and immediate change in behavior (we don’t even have to make noise with it). I don’t know who came up with this idea, but it’s the single most effective training tool I’ve ever used.
Wonderful news, and bless you for sharing! Spread the word, and maybe fewer dogs would have to be abandoned, abused and killed because people expect them to be magically good all on their own.
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