all! It's been a while since I've been on, but I have been so busy with a job change and the boys' skin and stomach issues, so I've just been enjoying the company of my dogs ... Things have been crazy with the sensitivities and vet visits, but I'm really wanting to start back up with training them....... But I'm so lost as to where to start again!!!!
They know a variety of commands, some are sharp and some are lacking (and some are nonexistent). Some are reliable in distracting environments and some are only reliable when I have a tennis ball in hand.....
Here's some background to why we had to put a halt on training for a while....
Like I mentioned, my dogs both developed food sensitivities that manifested through digestional distress and the other through skin irritation.... The first culprit we believed was the food. Because my GSD was a pup at the time, my vet believes he developed an allergy (now we believe may be chicken) to the food he was on (Hill's Science Diet) so we decided to switch both of them. We switched to Pro Plan via the vet's recommendation, which solved my Aussie's diarrhea... But my GSD started having diarrhea. So again we have just switched foods trying to find one that works. For this reason, we stopped training with treats because we wanted to narrow down possible causes for the allergens and I wanted to be as strict as possible on their diets until we found the right combinations that worked. We started to do some training using tennis balls since both are very play-motivated..... Which worked with stuff like "stay" and "leave it".. But it was almost impossible for me to teach "heel" and I struggled teaching loose leash walking and I'm losing my dogs' focus and attention.
I know this isn't a food forum, and I don't request any advice there since we are still doing the trial-and-error search for a food that works for them..... My request is where can I start back with my training? I don't have the slightest idea where to pick up.
I'm thinking I'll have to start over from the very beginning; re-teach sit, down, stay, come etc? Any suggestions? How long? I'm also very overwhelmed when it comes to order and structure.... Because of the infrequency of our training and level of difference in commands, I don't know how much to retrain.
I'm inexperienced and making an earnest attempt to learn, so excuse my ignorance!
Thanks in advance ?
They know a variety of commands, some are sharp and some are lacking (and some are nonexistent). Some are reliable in distracting environments and some are only reliable when I have a tennis ball in hand.....
Here's some background to why we had to put a halt on training for a while....
Like I mentioned, my dogs both developed food sensitivities that manifested through digestional distress and the other through skin irritation.... The first culprit we believed was the food. Because my GSD was a pup at the time, my vet believes he developed an allergy (now we believe may be chicken) to the food he was on (Hill's Science Diet) so we decided to switch both of them. We switched to Pro Plan via the vet's recommendation, which solved my Aussie's diarrhea... But my GSD started having diarrhea. So again we have just switched foods trying to find one that works. For this reason, we stopped training with treats because we wanted to narrow down possible causes for the allergens and I wanted to be as strict as possible on their diets until we found the right combinations that worked. We started to do some training using tennis balls since both are very play-motivated..... Which worked with stuff like "stay" and "leave it".. But it was almost impossible for me to teach "heel" and I struggled teaching loose leash walking and I'm losing my dogs' focus and attention.
I know this isn't a food forum, and I don't request any advice there since we are still doing the trial-and-error search for a food that works for them..... My request is where can I start back with my training? I don't have the slightest idea where to pick up.
I'm thinking I'll have to start over from the very beginning; re-teach sit, down, stay, come etc? Any suggestions? How long? I'm also very overwhelmed when it comes to order and structure.... Because of the infrequency of our training and level of difference in commands, I don't know how much to retrain.
I'm inexperienced and making an earnest attempt to learn, so excuse my ignorance!
Thanks in advance ?