I was curious about the pros and cons experienced trainers have seen training a dog to:
1. Notice other people and dogs. Give a woof or two and look to their handler for guidance.
or
2. Ignore other dogs.
or
3. Is there some middle ground?
I have been studying the stop barking/socialization threads on the forum and have been wondering about the pros and cons of giving a warning 'woof' vs. ignoring dogs and peoples. I think the term is dog/people neutral.
So far, I have been finding it most effective to teach Ole to woof once if he perceives a threat and then look to me for guidance. He seems to be proud of his status as a watchdog. Each day, he seems to get a bit more confident that most things are not threats, so he ignores them.
When I see some of the high-level trainers work with their dog, the dog ignores everything except the handler.
Thanks
1. Notice other people and dogs. Give a woof or two and look to their handler for guidance.
or
2. Ignore other dogs.
or
3. Is there some middle ground?
I have been studying the stop barking/socialization threads on the forum and have been wondering about the pros and cons of giving a warning 'woof' vs. ignoring dogs and peoples. I think the term is dog/people neutral.
So far, I have been finding it most effective to teach Ole to woof once if he perceives a threat and then look to me for guidance. He seems to be proud of his status as a watchdog. Each day, he seems to get a bit more confident that most things are not threats, so he ignores them.
When I see some of the high-level trainers work with their dog, the dog ignores everything except the handler.
Thanks