Work it!
Click to enlarge
I’ve recently discovered the wonders of having a dog who likes to work(or so I think). From day one without me teaching him (ok, I got him when he was 4 months and is likely he received some training because he was too good of a puppy) Doggy would grab a stick, a ball a piece of clothe and carry it around whenever we would go out. I soon realized how great that was, Doggy was with his mouth busy and wouldn’t try to eat crap in the street. Later on I watched a video of a Spanish Water Dog doing chores at home, by chores I mean carrying the trash, moving light stuff from one room to the other, picking up keys, open gates, etc. Jackpot! I thought, if I can only teach Doggy half of that I can retire and let him take care of me. As for now, he has started to carry things up and downstairs, he doesn’t know he’s working, he thinks he’s playing and getting free treats, little he knows that’s only the begging of the exploitation. In all seriousness, is not because Doggy is my dog, but he’s too smart and he needs motivation, shame I’m not an expert and can’t teach him cool things like other people does, sadly there are no facilities in here where I could send my dog for a month(not sure I would want to either), I would like to go to a camp with him so an expert can give me tips as to how to do things, so far I only follow videos on YouTube and some things that I read on blogs. There are some greats videos out there, many other can be misleading or rather frustrating when they use dogs already trained, however, there’s a guy who is my favorite by far, I’ll add a video at the end. I talked with Doggy’s breeder about click training, he doesn’t agree with it, he doesn’t use it with his dogs, I’m curious as to what methods he uses and what methods are used with working dogs, I don’t think they use the old school “beat the hell out of your dog till he learns” method, I just don’t see how you can train a guide dog if it’s not with positive reinforcement, not that I assume that all has to be click-treat, but you know what I mean.
Might I suggest you follow Life With Dogs on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lifewithdogs. They have a wonderful, friendly community over there. You can pose questions to the group and they are very willing to share helpful information. They also have a website, http://www.lifewithdogs.tv/
Another option would be to follow Fun With Pup and Jane on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/funwithpupandjane -and/or- YouTube http://www.youtube.com/user/ilovejanelle. She trains her Australian Cattle dogs to do tricks and recently trained her 6-month-old, Rogue, to put socks in the dryer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08n5kEqSsM8. If you comment on her videos, she is very good at responding. She might be willing to give you some suggestions.
Hope this helps ~
I’ll check it out.
We really need to implement that nail cutting technique, it’s always a struggle with Daisy. I’ve seen the same video or a similar one to the one you talk about regarding the dog who does everything around the house. I know Daisy’s smart enough to learn many more things, but I just can’t dedicate enough time to teaching her how to take out the trash, etc.!
I am a dog who guards and alerts Beloved to potential dangers. That is my job and I am happy lying around doing it. That is the sort of dog I am.
It is great that you know that Doggy is a working dog and understand the need to keep his brain occupied and use those instinctive traits that he has. My instinctive traits are to lie in a soft place, eat a lot and not let Beloved get out of sight!
Hope you find the right method for you and Doggy and that you have fun learning together.
I have something for you! Take a look at: http://wp.me/p2h87n-9q
Humom trains me wiff treat’s, that’s only why I do what she want’s but I make sures it takes me awhile ( until all the treat’s have gone)
I’ms gonna take a look’s at the links your Furriends have left in ya comments.
Big Paw’s Five. Mollie x
I love your blog! I gave you the “Sunshine Award”! Check it out here: http://kingsimba.wordpress.com/2012/07/10/thank-you-thank-you-thank-you/
We trained Tonto with clicker training. It works but I think it’s more difficult for the humans to learn. Clicking and treating and carrying a leash all at the same time is harder than you think. LOL
Clicker training worked like a charm once I figured the right treat, hotdogs are impossible to resist for Doggy.
Why do dogs like hot dogs so much? Haha