[Lexus]

So lets take a survey, what do you train with and why? It can be as simple as "I give a treat and it works for me" Just pick the main technique you use in the poll, and you can explain if you incorporate anything else in your post. If you use more than one technique equally, than pick two.

 

[Lexus]

I use primarily Positive reinforcement training with Lexus and swear by it. I don't always have my clicker with me, but everything done is always rewarded with happy verbal praise, treats, and even a pat or two. Lexus is a sensitive dog, and while I tried for a short short while voice corrections, it was too harsh for her, and she looked beaten down.

So our best bet is to richly reward the positives and for the most part ignore the negatives. Unless it falls under the catagory where I catch her into something that she shouldn't be into, then she gets in a LOW voice "Nine, shame on you" . Poor thing slinks away....have never smacked her though, and never need to, the tone of my voice in enough for her.

 

[TracyJo]

I've run the mill on different training techniques. Currently we are using HEAVY Positive Reinforcement and minimal leash correction. Have found that the clicker is invaluable to introduce and shape new behaviors! Plus it's a lot of fun

 

[2dobies]

In the nearly 3 years that I have had Darmok, I have taken her to at least 4 different obedience training classes, ranging from the Petsmart puppy class where only positive reinforcement using treats was used, to a private trainer who was so into his ex-marine roll that he thought you should scream "NO!" at the top of your voice while jerking a choke chain everytime the dog did something "wrong". (This 12 week class started out with 13 dogs, and by the end of the 4th class, there was Me and Dar, and 3 other dog/owner combinations!) I dont think that the variety of different techniques actually hurt or confused Dar, because they were spaced apart by several months between ending one class and beginning another. What works the best for us is the totally positive reward, either praise, pets & hugs, or food. The only time I really have to yell at her or get upset with her is if she intentionally does something that she knows she is not supposed to do to sort of "test her limits"---and thankfully, that phase of her puppyhood seems to be over!

 

[Molari]

Patience and repetition and lots of love have worked for me. On a leash I let him correct himself.

 

[frznbuns]

Well, the trainers I have used, did the praise and treat thing.. now Spirit will do just about anything you want him to do.. he just loves you and wants to please you..Raven on the other hand is very slow to respone.. she will do the command.. but has like a wind up to it...Gypsy has a mind of her own and is good at her commands but the treats do help.. Iris is still learning so treats are still in for now.. but now I do mix it up so that some times they get a treat and sometimes it is just praise and no treat..

 

[Kratty]

Positive Reinforcement with treats and toy play. My girl has already finnished 3 classes and we were about to start our fourth and last advanced class, but it just got cancelled. Big Bummer, have to wait until the first of the year for the next one.

The classes focus on treat rewards. When starting a new command, it a simple process we use. Use the treat as a lure which becomes the hand signal, reward the behavior. After she has the hand signal down, attach the command word to the hand signal. Then remove the hand signal and use only the command. We allways act like a vending machine in the beginning. Reward each correct behavior, then we become slot machines, reward intermittently. It seems that if she doesn't get the reward one time, she will do it again to see if she gets it the next time. This helps to reinforce the correct behavior.

We train every where, alot in public places now. Every new place we go, it takes about 10 minutes of going through the basic commands to get her going and then we are doing our advance training. We constantly like to work with lots of distractions. Lately, shop owners are letting us bring her into their shops, which we do our business with them and do a little training work there.

We also use toy play as a reward. She loves fetch so much, that we are able to use that for training. If she does it correctly, we get to play. Anything that motivates her, I use.....

What I have noticed is that she wants to work and if she does not have a so-called job, she gets bored. We have not been in class for the last 6 weeks and I kinda gave her a break from training. We still did training on our own, but not as often and formal. I do see a difference in her, getting alittle bratty and pushing the envelope at times. Once we start doing the training, she is back in line.

 

[CoAl-s-Mom]

I use a combination of praise, treat and compulsion (leash corrections).
I use praise and treat the most, but IMO some things are worthy of a good old fashion leash correction. An example of that would be the last time I took Cole to the vet he was very excited to go greet a little boy. Had I not given him a leash correction he would have flattened the poor little boy.

 

[Carrie]

I train using operant and classical conditioning based methods. I never use a leash correction but lure, redirect unwanted behaviors and reward for what I want. The dog learns what gets him the good stuff and what doesn't. I want training to be nothing but fun. And if there's anything unpleasant or too serious, I don't think the dog has quite the spring in his step or the bright, enthusiasm that I want to see in my dog. I will use "eh, eh" or "quit" for behaviors which he knows....but that's more behaviors in the house say...like when he's not using good manners and he knows better...not for training skills as such. But I keep my voice low, calm and serious.

to a private trainer who was so into his ex-marine roll that he thought you should scream "NO!" at the top of your voice while jerking a choke chain everytime the dog did something "wrong".

That sounds just awful. A good leader who is respected by dogs is not loud, emotional or violent. I believe that more important than collars, methods (within reason) and any equipment is......our relationship with our dogs. If you don't have the respect and working attitude from your dog and you, training becomes a battle. Coercing, intimidating, getting a dog to comply because it wants to avoid punishment is NOT the way to have a well trained or happy dog. Conversely, having a dog comply to earn a reward/praise will make a more reliably, better trained and happier dog.

When I call Lyric to come and do an automatic front where he sits in front of me, he bounds to me and plunks his rear down with gusto and his front legs sort of pop up for a second. Then he's told, "heel." And he springs up and flies around back of me and again sits and those feet levitate several inches off the ground before he is in place. It's cute and it shows he's enjoying himself and looking forward to a yummy treat and praise.

 

[Dobe_Paws]

I found clicker training to work the best for us. Ava seems to enjoy training so much more because it's easier for me to show her what I want from her. We both have a lot of fun with it and training becomes like a fun game rather than boring drills.

 

[R D]

Operant conditioning (sometimes with the clicker, sometimes without) based methods have worked best for me. Training new behaviors is 100% positive. "Figure out what mommy wants" has become a huge, fun game to my dogs. I do use verbal correction and no-reward markers with things like manners and behaviors that they already understand. I'm a physical person and there is a lot of contact between me and my dog, whether it's tugging on his mane to get his attention or playing rough with him.. Even in training there is a lot of physical contact and demonstration, I'm more 'touchy' and invasive with my Border Collie than I am with my Papillon, who has his limits as to how much I can handle him until it becomes no fun.
I'm a volunteer trainer for a local animal shelter, too, and with those dogs or -any- dog I do not know well, it is 100% positive training. No verbal correction and certainly no physical correction.

 

[Twinkletoes]

i use treat training combined with verbal and physical praise and i ignore any blips in his training and just reward the positives ..its what works best for me to build his confidence. i certainly dont use an physical force when he doesnt respond to a command or does something he knows he shouldnt ..i have found a low-tone voice is enough to stop him in his tracks

 

[Jedski]

I use both collar correction and heavy praise with Jeddah. It just really depends on the circumstances. If we're out walking, and she is showing any sign of aggression to another dog, I give her a little flick on the prong, which is more to remind her, "hey eyes on me!" And this also brings her out of that little coma like stare she can having going on at times. But, in saying that, once I've regained her attention, I give heaps of heavy chest pats. I've tried to avoid using food treats as the praise has been really successful.

I have found that by the time I find the treat in my pocket with the house keys, the poo bags, my ventolin puffer, and various other bits and pieces, five minutes has gone by, and she'd have no idea why I was giving her a treat!

 

[hotpursuit]

i am by no means a pro at training but, i feel positive praiseing with that ummm high low goood girrrll with some lead correction is the best ive seen. i have not done much nor do i know much bout the clicker so i wont comment on it. TREATS this is my big no no, while a ton of people use this method and in some breeds it may work well, i feel from understanding a doby's breed and traits, there is no reason for it, my first doby was extremely obediant and he never got treats while we worked, they are honestly out to please there handler. chillin in the house he got his treats then.

i do see people useing corrections alot of time in the wrong manner... this ones a classic, your dobe doesnt want to come, when you finally get ahold of her, you yell at her for not comming...lol now the dog is surely not to come.

 

[hotpursuit]

I use primarily Positive reinforcement training with Lexus and swear by it. I don't always have my clicker with me, but everything done is always rewarded with happy verbal praise, treats, and even a pat or two. Lexus is a sensitive dog, and while I tried for a short short while voice corrections, it was too harsh for her, and she looked beaten down.

So our best bet is to richly reward the positives and for the most part ignore the negatives. Unless it falls under the catagory where I catch her into something that she shouldn't be into, then she gets in a LOW voice "Nine, shame on you" . Poor thing slinks away....have never smacked her though, and never need to, the tone of my voice in enough for her.

i use nine for the simple gentle corrections, but dont over use it, then for my last doby as i will probably do with my new one is a fooey, this is a little firmer and she knows from hearing it she just made a dangerous/serios mistake, but again this is very rare....imho you cannot beat verbal praise, they live for it and i enjoy it to. i talk to my doby like im making googley baby sounds when i praise...

 

[melbrod]

Treats, tennis ball reward (yipee!), I used the clicker a few times over a year ago and he really seemed to respond, but, since I'm not training "professionally", I kind of let it slide. I found an old one yesterday, clicked it, and guess who came running, ears at full alert! About the only time I've actually used NO was what I call the power NO. Dog is off leash, threatening to get into serious trouble--Loud, low pitched, "I mean it this time" NO! Then when the dog jumps ands looks (he's never heard that tone before) I call him in with those happy, high pitched baby joy sounds (think Richard Simmons) something like "Come SEEE me, come SEEEE, look, look, come SEEE!" Comes running every time.

Another thing I do, which I've never really "trained" the dog to pay attention to, is a relatively loud, high pitched sort of yip-bark (said once) that projects over a distance. I use it for the message "you're too far away; come back and join the pack." They really respond well without any training, not necessarily coming to a formal COME position, but coming back in close by. I kind of wonder if the sound might sound like some sort of communication bark a pack leader might use to a straying member.

 

[Burns]

I use verbal praise and treats. Red is EXTREMELY food driven and will do anything for a tidbit, no matter what it is. I've been trying to wean him off of so many treats by only giving them sporatically (but still giving verbal praise every time).

 

[sebsyd]

Verbal praise and treats seem to work best for my two. I used a clicker on my last girl and was not successful with it, so I didn't even try with these two. I try to inforce the positives and almost ignore the negatives (that is if you can't hear me spewing forth curse words). Seems to be working.

 

[melbrod]

Red is EXTREMELY food driven and will do anything for a tidbit, no matter what it is. I've been trying to wean him off of so many treats by only giving them sporatically (but still giving verbal praise every time).

Psychologists say the sporadic reward system produces the strongest perseverance. Once a dog knows what he's (sorry feminists) expected to do, if he's used to being rewarded every time and the treats stop coming, he'll quit. If the reward only comes sometimes, he'll keep hoping--and working harder each time. Just like gambling--the "victim" is always thinking "next time I'll win".

 

[lovemydobie]

Understanding timing, consistency and motivation when training is key.