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What makes you say "that's a well trained/well mannered dog"?

2K views 28 replies 12 participants last post by  Moriah 
#1 ·
I'm a bit peeved at my pup at the moment as he's going through a difficult teenage rebellious stage (including on-leash tantrums which I've read a lot of threads on and we're working with the trainer to fix), so to put a more positive, future-facing spin on my day, I thought I'd ask what makes everyone here look at a dog and think "that's a well trained dog".

For example, at the park yesterday I saw a man walking with his large breed mix dog, who was heeling but off-leash. The park was busy, and he was next to a fenced dog park full of dogs, but his dog never broke his focus, or strayed from his owner's side. In my head I was like, wow, that's a nicely trained dog, I hope we can get our dog to that point someday.

So my question is, what do you look for in a dog to consider it well trained/mannered?
 
#2 ·
My boy is nearly three and what a difference from his crazy joyful youth! I loved my pup then even if it did take more work to keep him in line. I love him now, though, a big thoughtful guy who is calm in nearly all circumstances. (OK, I admit that little bitty dogs hold his attention more than I'd like. but no one is perfect). I don't walk off leash partly because we don't want a chance that something might go terribly wrong.

A well trained dog is confident and calm. It is focused on it's owner without looking obsessed. It can be around food without overt begging. Yes, we like to go to outdoor patio restaurants with our dogs. It will has a protective side but still follows the lead of the handler is situations.
 
#3 ·
Haha our boy is making us happy and cracking us up about 95% of the time. The other 5% of the time, I'm just standing there thinking "how did I get a Tasmanian Devil on the end of my leash?"

I agree, I think following the lead of the handler is definitely the one of the main things I look for. To me, there's nothing cooler than a really well trained dog.
 
#5 ·
To me well mannered and well trained is a dog that focuses on it's owner and responds immediately to any commands given. You can take it anywhere you want and it's accepted. For example, my collie was with me at a parade that ended up with going into the high school football field, all of us up into the bleachers. As we were all crowded up to go in there were three dogs, mine and two others. The two others were jumping up and down and spinning in circles while mine was in heel position watching me, walking when I walked, sitting when I stopped. The other two dogs were denied entry and the owners furious when my dog was allowed in. She was well mannered and well trained.
 
#6 ·
I'm a bit peeved at my pup at the moment as he's going through a difficult teenage rebellious stage (including on-leash tantrums which I've read a lot of threads on and we're working with the trainer to fix), so to put a more positive, future-facing spin on my day, I thought I'd ask what makes everyone here look at a dog and think "that's a well trained dog".

For example, at the park yesterday I saw a man walking with his large breed mix dog, who was heeling but off-leash. The park was busy, and he was next to a fenced dog park full of dogs, but his dog never broke his focus, or strayed from his owner's side. In my head I was like, wow, that's a nicely trained dog, I hope we can get our dog to that point someday.

So my question is, what do you look for in a dog to consider it well trained/mannered?
The bolded, my dogs are rarely leashed and this is expected and natural behavior for them.

Did you ever consider the possibility that your dog is not going through a rebellious stage but is acting out in frustration at being leashed?

"When dogs are routinely kept from experiencing the world through behaviors that function to their benefit, over-reactivity is inevitable."
https://iaabcjournal.org/2016/10/01/train-sit-reconsider-relevance/
 
#7 ·
Leash laws preclude me EVER trying that, but I will say that my dog and I have a bargain: She behaves herself on a walk with the leash attached to her leather collar (vs wearing a prong), and I won't put the prong collar on her. I could never trust her with that during the adolescent stage, but I experimented sometime after her second birthday and found she just defaulted to more or less keeping pace with me when I tell her, "Let's walk!" even without any kind of training collar. The "let's walk" means she is not necessarily heeling, but I am A-OK with that unless I explicitly asked her to heel. I let her be a dog and sniff, she doesn't pull past the end of the leash in any direction, I give a verbal reminder if required, we are both happy. If we approach another dog or people and I need her close, I just put her in a heel while we pass. I carry the prong with me in case it's needed, but she's done very well without it.
 
#8 ·
OP-Are you training your dog off leash? I find it easier to train the dog off leash than on leash unless I'm in a location where safety dictates the use of a lead. I've used an e collar a bit for positioning and attention in focused heel and off course reward. You mentioned your pup is an adolescent, so is mine. Keep training and you'll get there.
 
#20 ·
Yes! Pretty much all of our training is off
leash, unless we're practicing something like on leash heeling. Not counting just regular obedience we practice on daily walks.

He gets some off leash time every day at the park, beach or forest, but I'm in the same boat as everyone else where he has to be on leash most of the time because of laws/traffic and crazy electric bicycle riders.



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#11 ·
I do 99% of training off leash also.The better to be in tune with each other.It's more of a partnership ideally,which is obvious when you observe them together.
In town when my dog has to be leashed I drape it over my shoulders and it really makes a big difference in how we communicate with each other.We are both much more attentive and responsive.
 
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#13 · (Edited)
I know a owner of 6 crazy but good dogs. The husband not really dog Savy at all said that in the past they had a lab pup that they would go anywhere without a leash even the vets office. The dog was just very calm and mellow and would walk at a heel off lead anywhere. They never did any formal training it just sort of happened. He said he has trouble walking any one of his current dogs even if on a leash. They are all different some dogs you have to work on off lead heeling. Some doesn't take much work. The dogs with a higher prey drive I would imagine to take more work until that drive can be channeled. I work on off leash training in the yard or when out areas I feel safe and enough space to do so.
 
#18 ·
So my question is, what do you look for in a dog to consider it well trained/mannered?
Dogs that can be in a busy setting, around other dogs and people, mindful of their handler, not requiring a leash.

The first time I went to a trial and was surrounded by that type of trained dog, I was terribly impressed and decided I wanted that for myself.
 
#21 ·
Dogs that can be in a busy setting, around other dogs and people, mindful of their handler, not requiring a leash.



The first time I went to a trial and was surrounded by that type of trained dog, I was terribly impressed and decided I wanted that for myself.


I agree! It still impresses me every time I see it, maybe because I see the opposite so much more often!


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#19 ·
I would have to say that almost always when I've gotten comments on my dogs' behavior it's been when they're walking politely on leash. Things like "wow, I wish my dog was that well behaved", or "how did you get her to walk on leash like that"? I spent a lot of time and a lot of hours training leash skills with Halo at a regional park near my house. The paved paths next to the lake are heavily used, with runners, mountain bikers, families with small children, and lots of people walking dogs, many on flexis, which the owner apparently slapped on the dog so they didn't have to bother to train leash skills. (Sorry, pet peeve! When you're on a 6-8 foot wide path your dog does not need to be 15 feet away, people.)

And while I did work hard on that, the thing I'm most proud of is how well Halo has done in flyball. "Well behaved" doesn't really apply to the sport since it looks like barely controlled and very loud chaos to a casual observer, but to be able to be off leash in the ring with 7 other dogs, 8 handlers, 2 line judges, 2 box judges, a head judge standing between the lanes, several people at the judging table next to the ring, and sometimes spectators too (with or without dogs), and still do her job with intense focus and enthusiasm every single run....well, that's pretty impressive, so we do get comments on the training it takes to get there.
 
#22 ·
well trained/mannered
1. Off leash trained, completely voice and hand signal controlled absolutely everywhere in any imaginable situation;
2. Patient, as patience is trained) and handler oriented;
3. Socialized to the extent of having good knowledge of people and other dogs;
4. Tolerant of other animals;
5. Absence of any bad habits like stealing food or sleeping in your bed when you are not at home.
 
#27 ·
I can't believe how the two dogs can pass each other so well over those narrow jumps, and just the sheer speed. So cool!
If you look at the video of Halo's team, those white poles in front of the first jump are at the start/finish line, there are 6 feet between the line and that jump. The poles have sensors, which record when the exiting dog crosses the line and then again when the entering dog crosses. If the entering dog crosses that line before any part of the exiting dog does, it's an early pass, and the lights on the tall pole between the lanes will change from green to red. When that happens, the early dog needs to run again at the end of the lineup, or they can choose not to and forfeit the heat.

The goal is for dogs to pass each other as close as possible to that line without being early, which is an art that can take a lot of practice. You need to know the speed of your dog relative to the dog that it's passing into. Since our teams and lineups change from tournament to tournament depending on what people and dogs are able to attend, (our club usually races either 2 or 3 teams of dogs, some only race one and others as many as 5 teams), I keep a list of my passes into various dogs on a note in my phone because it would be impossible to remember them all! Since Halo can run anywhere in the lineup, she typically runs 2nd or 3rd, but sometimes in the start position and sometimes as anchor. We aim to release our experienced dogs when the returning dog has hit the box and is in the air over the first jump coming back, so what changes is how far back we're lined up. I usually release Halo anywhere from 30-40+ feet back from the start line.

With green dogs we usually start them much closer and release them later. Ninja, the start dog, and Halo have both been racing for years, Voodoo and Ruckus are green dogs. Even though we lost this heat the fact that both Voo (who has chasing issues we've been working on for awhile), and Ruckus (who struggles to bring the ball back all the way), ran clean was a huge victory. Also, Halo's pass into Ninja and Voodoo's pass into Halo were super tight.
 
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