Dog Obedience Training For Your Pet Dog

I haven’t really seen this question asked here before.

I’m interested in a trainer/class training for:
Pet/manners/CGC training:
Competition training for obedience/rally/agility: and
Working dog training for field/ service/ protection dogs.

I know that there’s a lot of good and bad infornation posted here. I’m just curious as to what people’s thoughts and experiences are in training.

I have an 8wk old puppy and I want to know at what age should I start training basic commands sit, stay, ext. I always thought they should be around four months old but some people tell me I should start now.

after reading the dog wisperer and watching dog borstal,i have definatly come to the conclusion that my staff reckons he is leader of the pack,any suggestions on how to fix this problem i was told to .1,ignore him for 20 mins when i enter the room. 2,pretend to eat his food before him. 3,only give him attention when i have called him and told him to sit. 4,do not give him attention when he demands it!he does not really listen to me and have to say is very bossy.due to the fact he is not keen on other dogs im wary of a training class. any suggestions? thanks
also if i try to ignore his bad behaviour he gets worse and proceeds to do something that is really naughty such as steal a sofa cushion ,run to the garden and rip it to pieces!
does neutering help?
thanks for all the great advice, i will be contact a private trainer for a few sessions then try to introduce him to classes! thanks again!

Hey everyone,

I had to share how excited I am to have started this training!!

Just a run down for people that don’t know about my dog….
My dog Quattro was becoming quite the handful. He was fine at home, he knows basic commands but once he was out on a walk he started displaying aggression – first at kids, than adults he didn’t know and finally unaltered males. I didn’t like it one bit.

I have always been absolutely in love with Schutzhund dogs – I think they are the end all of any trained dog lol…almost like the Rock Stars of dog training! (I will have to send out a shut out to Greek on this) So I contacted my local Schutzhund club and told the guy what my issues with Quattro were. Since he was kind of far from me and was busy getting ready for the upcoming season, he referred me to another trainer in my area who has trained in Schutzhund, trains police dogs, assistance dogs and does obedience.

My first session with him was last night. He showed me how to give a proper correction with my prong collar – I was doing more of a tug of war kind of thing when it should have been shorter and sharper. I thought my corrections were sharp, I was wrong!
He taught me where my dog should be in relation to me when in the "heel" position. So we walked around and he showed me when I should ask him to heel on a walk – Quattro picked up fast.

Then he brought out the "distraction" – his 10 year old retired Schutzhund Doberman. Amazing dog! They came out playing and as soon as he gave his heel command the dog was at his left side paying full attention to him and it was down to business! So he started playing with the dog in front of Quattro, had his dog bark, etc. – in the end, Quattro stayed at my side and never tried to go over to the other dog (he loves playing with other dogs if he doesn’t feel threatened by them lol). Even with the trainer started making kissing noises at Quattro to have him come over to him, after the first correction he never tried it again. If you knew my dog – you would have found it as amazing as I did! If anyone starts asking him to come over he will usually go.

He taught me that it was important to make sure the dog was getting as much "quiet praise" (as in not getting over excited when giving praise) as he was getting in corrections so that Quattro wouldn’t become stressed with his new form of training. I guess it’s hard for a dog who thought he was running to the show to finally be put in his place!

We were then talking about the 100% positive reinforcement debate – he said that yeah it may work for some dogs but dogs that tend to be more dominant like GSDs and Dobes etc. he doesn’t find it works for them. He was then telling me (actually this is the second time I have heard someone talk about it this week) that some positive reinforcement trainers are now saying that when your dog is displaying aggression – the best thing to do is to ignore it or let the dogs figure it out themselves….sorry, what? lol That seems a little risky/dangerous to me. He is currently training a GSD that came from a trainer with those kinds of views – apparently it is hard work untraining him lol.

So here’s my questions:
1. Anyone else use this form of Obedience training?
2. Can anyone that is training in 100% positive reinforcement tell me if this is how their trainers train? Also, can you explain how not giving the dog a correction to show the dog boundaries or what is not a desired behaviour – how do you 100% proof your dog? (I’m not trying to ruffle feathers – I’m REALLY interested in knowing how people training in this method can guarantee that their training is proofed)
Hopefully one day I will be able to join a Schutzhund club! Yesterday was our first session with our trainer and so only time will tell if he thinks Quattro would be able to do it!

As for clicker training – I wasn’t really talking about clicker training. I don’t really talk about it because, simply, I’m not that interested in it.
I’m sure it might work later down the road if I ever decided to use it but right now I don’t think it will work for my dog. Every dog is different, right?
I have looked into a few different types of training and I just don’t think clicker training is for me or my dog.
@Bindi – thanks for that. I hope you understand what I’m saying about clicker training. I don’t think that is something for my dog at this point. I think if your dog is proven in basic obedience and then clicker training is something you are interested in – then yeah, you could do it at that point. Will I do it? Maybe. Probably not.

Maybe you can’t 100% proof a dog – but I do know Quattro will be scored at the end of his training and his training has to be at least 96% proven before he can move on to any other levels.
@Bindi or rather "-" now. Why would you change your name and then your answer?
It’s not like you got a wack load of TDs lol. Everyone is entitled to an opinion and if it’s the opinion of someone not to use a certain method of training, that is theirs to have.

We just got a new puppy…a boxer/pit bull mix and want to take him dog training classes. I was thinking about going to Petco and using their puppy training class. Has anyone used these classes before, and how did they work out?
And what is the cost of the 6 week puppy training class?

Each person feels that they have the easiest and most effective method on how to train a dog with a clicker. Almost every dog owner is anxious to share their advice and expertise, when they find out that you have a new puppy. It is very similar to what parents go through with the birth of their first child; every person they know has to give their two cents about how to get through the perils of parenthood.

For dog training, the use of the clicker has become increasingly popular in recent years. Essentially, a clicker does just that — it’s a small box-like device that emits a click sound when pressed, and it allows you to show pride and appreciation for your dog whenever they exhibit excellent behavior or restraint. The real element of using a clicker for dog training is teaching your dog what the sound actually represents.

Obviously, the first step is to buy a clicker. A book describing the clicker training procedure, available in most pet shops, will also be quite useful. Begin slowly by initiating the process with a simple command like “sit”. Issue the command to “sit” and attempt to get your dog to sit on his hind legs. You should give your dog a little treat, and press the clicker box, as soon as he has followed the command. Do this every time the dog is given a treat – click. In short time, the dog will associate being rewarded for their excellent behavior with the click.

Recently, there have been many dogs that participate in competitions that are using clicker training. The next time a competition is aired on television, watch as the dogs perform the various obstacles; if you look to the side, you will probably see their trainer with a clicker box in hand. This can be quite an effective training method, if you consistently utilize the “command, treat, click” technique.

The use of a clicker to train your dog puts you front and center as the person distributing both rewards and discipline while also making the dog aware of how much you appreciate it when they demonstrate good behavior. This method helps you to develop a closer relationship between you and your dog.

Remember to keep in mind that dogs react better to positive reinforcement, rather than negative punishment; every time they are on their best behavior, be sure to reward them with a click to reinforce the preferred behavior.

Roger writes numerous articles on dog life preserver uses and about finding a new dog life jacket online.