Obedience training some quesitions

[Justaguy]

Well I found a trainer that seems to what she is doing according to her reviews and is coming by on Friday to start Jack on his basic obedience skills. Besides the basic skills are their any suggestions that maybe are a bit different for this breed that you recomend?

Anyone interested in Long Island Im using Doggie do right.

[Cassidy's Mom]

How old is Jack? Has he had any training yet? Do you practice NILIF with him?

[Justaguy]

No training at all except for sit which we taught him. I rescued him on thanksgiving. He's around 6 months. What is that NILIF?

Thanks

[Cassidy's Mom]

NILIF is about establishing pack leadership by controlling the resources - making him work for the things he wants: Nothing in Life is Free

I would be working on name recognition with him (an immediate whiplash type head turn when you say his name would be ideal), and reinforcing eye contact. I also like to work on impulse control, this is a great game for that, and it's appropriate for any age:

"It's Yer Choice" - YouTube

"It's Yer Choice" - YouTube

[Justaguy]

Interesting for sure. I do something like that myself. Won't let him out if the crate or outside unless he sits. I do the same with his food. Won't put it down until he sits patiently. As for his name he pretty much got it but still needs work with all. I'm going to view the video.

Thanks

[Cassidy's Mom]

This is all sort of basic foundation stuff vs formal obedience work since a lot of it is training default behaviors, which I think are very important. In addition to doing what I tell them to do, I want my dogs to do a lot of things automatically, without always having to be told, like basic manners kinds of things. The reward can be access to what they want (eating a meal, for example, if they sit calmly while you put the food bowl on the floor, or getting to go for a walk, for sitting while you attach the leash and then remaining in a sit until released while you open the door), or a tiny treat (for responding to a name cue, or spontaneous eye contact). The more you reinforce behaviors that you like, the more he'll start to offer them.

If I walk to the back door with my dogs and just stand there and do nothing they both automatically sit and look at me because they know that's what "makes" me open the door for them to go out.

[Justaguy]

What your doing takes a lot of training and patience which I unfortunately wouldn't be able to do unless I pay for it. Your dogs sound like they behave better then my children lol.

[Cassidy's Mom]

Oh, but you CAN - it really doesn't take a lot of time! A couple of short sessions a day (5-15 minutes at a time) is plenty to shape behavior. It's better to do it yourself than to pay someone else to do it because it should become part of day to day life. My dogs eat every day, so I simply used part of their kibble and a few extra minutes to train impulse control at mealtime. It doesn't have to be a big deal. I don't have any extra time in the morning before work, so I'd do it in the evening when I got home. And when Halo was a puppy I took long lunches for a few months so I could come home and spend time with her. I'd portion out some of her lunch kibble and we'd play the It's Yer Choice game with it. And then in the evening whatever I didn't use for training treats went into the bowl, and we worked on having her stay in a sit while I lowered the bowl to the floor.

The great thing about default behaviors is although it takes a little longer to do things at first, while the dog figures it out, once they get it they've got it. They don't unlearn how to behave in a way that earns them what they want, as long as you're consistent. Now that we've been doing this for years If I don't feel like waiting for them to sit and make eye contact before opening the door to let them out, or to come back into the house, I don't bother. I'll open the door and immediately use my release word ("okay", which is generally not recommended) and let them walk through. But no matter how frequently I do that, if I DON'T open the door when we walk towards it they may wait a second or two, but then they offer the sit and watch.

[Justaguy]

Thanks for the tips and advice. Im probably going to start Jack and the rest of my kids on it and see how it goes..

[Justaguy]

So far its been 3 weeks and I must say Im definitely impressed with how quickly he picks things up and so is Jacks trainer. She says he's extremely intelligent and likes the work. Picks thinks up real quick. He does great with the sit, heel and even the stay command while he is on the leash. Problem is when he is not on the leash good luck. He might sit a few times here and their but thats about it. I know it takes steady practise and he's only a pup so Im not really sweating it but any tips on how to get those commands to work without the leash on him?

Thanks