By Jane Killon This book was published in 2007. I'd say it's a "beginners" book in terms of difficulty. My trainer had told me to read it – I wondered why!? Difficult though Charlie is, I don’t consider him “impossible”. Well, not all the time anyway! ;D ;D ;D But, actually, Charlie does have some characteristics of a “when pigs fly” dog. These are dogs who are less “biddable” than some. I did giggle a bit though, because the author uses the example of a Labrador as the opposite of a “when pigs fly” dog. So she says things like “while a Labrador might be fascinated by his owner, simply dying to know what she wants him to do next…a when pigs fly dog spends his time working out how to leg it to have some fun without his owner…”. I don’t think she has owned a Labrador – not one like Charlie, anyway. ;D The book doesn’t contain much that is new, for me anyway. I’d still recommend it though. It’s great for getting rid of excuses for not succeeding. Whatever you think your difficulty is, the author views that as no excuse whatsoever for not being able to train your dog. I found this refreshing and quite motivating. The basic “system” put forward is to put 90% of your effort into getting your “when pigs fly” dog into a frame of mind to learn, and 10% of effort into actually teaching the behaviours you want to see. And no beating about the bush regarding how hard you have to try – all the time – to get and keep your dog’s attention. There is a big emphasis on play, and a lot of things that I agree with (such as not confusing a “closed down” dog with an obedient dog) which I again found refreshing. I think it’s a bit old fashioned in places (101 things to do with a box – yawn) but, on the whole, well worth a read I think. And a “must read” for anyone who has ever thought “how do I become more interesting to my dog”?
Re: When Pigs Fly! Training success with impossible dogs Hmm, sounds interesting, Julie, thanks for the recommendation. Might have to have a go at it, definitely feel like I have an "impossible" dog at times.... :
Re: When Pigs Fly! Training success with impossible dogs I'd say it might be useful for you and Simba, yes. Particularly given what you've said in the past about comparisons between Simba and the Border Collies you used to have - very relevant, I'd say. You might get on with it quite well.
Re: When Pigs Fly! Training success with impossible dogs It sounds really good. I like the thing about "90% of the job is getting your dog's attention". So true and something so many people don't truly get or act on. We have this book in our dog club library - must borrow it!!
Re: When Pigs Fly! Training success with impossible dogs I remember Annabelle recommended this book a while ago and I never got round to buying it, might be worth a read, thanks for jogging my memory Julie x Lisa, I'll fight ya for the most 'impossible dog' award x
Re: When Pigs Fly! Training success with impossible dogs Great and timely recommendation, JulieT and one for my wishlist. Taking on a puppy and a rescue lab in a relatively short space of time, I am already seeing very different characteristics in terms of "attention" which I now see has a huge bearing on training
Re: When Pigs Fly! Training success with impossible dogs If you have a game bag and a tennis ball, it is very difficult NOT to have the attention of a Labrador ;D ;D
Re: When Pigs Fly! Training success with impossible dogs [quote author=Stacia link=topic=8291.msg117189#msg117189 date=1413450676] If you have a game bag and a tennis ball, it is very difficult NOT to have the attention of a Labrador ;D ;D [/quote] Unless someone else has a tennis ball and another labrador in which case it can be quite tricky indeed ;D
Re: When Pigs Fly! Training success with impossible dogs [quote author=bbrown link=topic=8291.msg117214#msg117214 date=1413460217] [quote author=Stacia link=topic=8291.msg117189#msg117189 date=1413450676] If you have a game bag and a tennis ball, it is very difficult NOT to have the attention of a Labrador ;D ;D [/quote] Unless someone else has a tennis ball and another labrador in which case it can be quite tricky indeed ;D [/quote] Yes - I find myself in an escalating arms race of tennis ball attractiveness. Or playing a weird stone-scissor-paper game with dummy beats tennis ball unless accompanied by tennis ball launcher...
Re: When Pigs Fly! Training success with impossible dogs Ordered! Apparently I have to be my spaniels whole world and he should always be near me. I knew it was true but even so - gulp!
Re: When Pigs Fly! Training success with impossible dogs [quote author=JulieT link=topic=8291.msg117229#msg117229 date=1413463599] [quote author=bbrown link=topic=8291.msg117214#msg117214 date=1413460217] [quote author=Stacia link=topic=8291.msg117189#msg117189 date=1413450676] If you have a game bag and a tennis ball, it is very difficult NOT to have the attention of a Labrador ;D ;D [/quote] Unless someone else has a tennis ball and another labrador in which case it can be quite tricky indeed ;D [/quote] Yes - I find myself in an escalating arms race of tennis ball attractiveness. Or playing a weird stone-scissor-paper game with dummy beats tennis ball unless accompanied by tennis ball launcher... [/quote] Unless wearing rabbit skin...rabbit skin trumps EVERYTHING! ;D
Re: When Pigs Fly! Training success with impossible dogs Now I have a vision of Raquel Welch in her fur bikini walking a whole bunch of labradors
