Re: A Sad Story....But getting better Really happy to read an upbeat post from you. Does Shandy walk well on a lead? If he is reliable, in quiet areas, you might try a harness and an extendable lead? Obviously, how safe this is (for you, him and others) will depend on lots of things, but if my dog is restricted to lead walks (he was injured and we were on lead walks for a long time), I do find in the right place eg a long, straight bridle path with high hedges at both sides so I can see other dogs and people coming a long way off - I can give him quite a lot of freedom on an extendable lead without him doing anything he shouldn't.
Re: A Sad Story....But getting better Glad to hear things have been going well. You must feel encouraged after such a traumatic time.
Re: A Sad Story....But getting better [quote author=Shandyboy link=topic=10111.msg156705#msg156705 date=1429097461] Shandy is also a lot better with the sit command but sometimes seems to forget it when we are out and about. Once I command him the first time and gently push on his backside, he seems to remember and there after we have few problems with it. Is this normal??? [/quote] It all sounds very positive so far, John. Well done! As far as sitting is concerned, I have one who will sit readily, whether it's for crossing the road, playing games, waiting for food or rewards or being told to sit because of a possible tricky (spooky for her!) situation. The other one will not sit to cross the road (not even then for a treat, but will wait before crossing) and usually only obliges for rewards, food or a game of hide and seek! It's work in progress ... I hope!
Re: A Sad Story....But getting better I've found the "Look at me" command very effective (some people just say "Look" or "See me", some people prefer shorter commands but "Look at me" comes naturally to me). If we come across something bad/stressful/too enticing, I want Snowie's automatic response to be to look at me. I want him to know that by looking at, great things happen -- like a treat, or I throw his ball, or he gets let off his leash, he gets to eat his food. When I put his food bowl down, he now immediately looks into my eyes before I even have to say "Look at me" followed by "Okay, you can eat". When he gets to run free on a walk, he knows he must sit and look at me first before the leash comes off and he can run off. It's the one command I practice a lot, it's an easy one cos there are so many great things that can happen, and looking at me is such a quick thing to do. When I was reading about this command, the idea was that a dog responds well to visual cues, so he/she should always be looking at you to know what next is going to happen (just look at those Cruft's videos, those dogs walk at heel with their heads permanently looking up at their handler!! Shame, poor Snowie has bumped his head once or twice on a street pole while trotting along and looking up at me!). I find that, by taking away his focus on something I don't want him to be focused on, I have much better control over him. And if that thing could in any way make him stressed, it's better he's not focusing on it at all. If I thought, for example, that a dog racing towards us would stress him out, I'd make him rather focus on me, making him walk at heel while looking at me. Or if I thought those road workers would stress him out, again I'd rather he was looking at me to see what great thing would happen next (like a treat!). Just this morning we were in a pet supplies shop that has a doggy daycare attached, and Snowie was so over-excited hearing all the dogs yapping. I'd just bought some treats, and when he saw those, he immediately sat and looked into my eyes in anticipation. Just that small space of time let me get control over him, broke the desire to yank me over to the doggy daycare (before the treats came out, he'd jumped up with his front feet on the sales counter in his excitement!). Having said all of this, I am by no means an experienced dog handler -- only this piece of advice ("Look at me") has worked well for me. Best of luck!
Re: A Sad Story....But getting better Hi John, progress is progress and that's great for you and Shandy. Have you ever clicker trained? I wonder if training his basic obedience might move on a little if you did, also maybe a 'non cued' look at me might help, I have been using this with our rescue dog and it's really helped with his focus on us. There is a section on the forum about it, sorry I don't know how to link it but someone will be along to do it please Great to hear from you. xx
Re: A Sad Story....But getting better http://www.thelabradorforum.com/index.php?topic=10015.0 Is that the one Helen ? Helens right John training a none cued look at me would help get shandy to focus on you automatically and training a look at me cue would help when there are major distractions. Any time shandy looks at you tell him Good or whatever word you like or click if you decide to try a clicker then give him a really tasty treat. You should find he starts looking at you a lot more. ;D
Re: A Sad Story....But getting better Brilliant that's the one, thanks Jen xx Hope it helps John and ask any questions you have about it x
Hello everyone. I hope everyone is well and their fury friends are fine. I'm pleased to be able to update everyone on Shandy's progress. I think its nearly 4 years since I last posted on this brilliant forum. Anyway, Shandy is still with us and has most definatley has made himself VERY comfortable in our home. His progress to date is; Is not always aggressive to other dogs. With a little encouragement he largely ignores them unless they bark at him first. Now loves my wife to bits and always lies right next to her. Often Goes to her for a love. Waits for her to go to bed before he comes through to his spot in our bedroom. Loves his walks. I have found a few places where I can walk him off the leash. I've noticed though he doesnt really wonder to far from me when off the leash. Generally is obedient and seems to understand my commands, but not always. Sometimes gets distracted. I am hoping our members could advise me on his ears. He always seems to get an infection in his ears after swimming or rolling in the grass. Mostly in his left ear and shakes his head like made or tries to rub it on the carpet.(He gers into some position when doing this as well, bum in the air etc) There are still some issues with Shandy which I think we may never get him over. It just shows that with love and kindness,and a lot of time a dog like Shandy can be helped. Anyway, working on recall now which is kind of working but needs more polishing. Kind regards to all.................John
Hi there John, lovely to hear from you, and thank you for sharing your update on Shandy. So pleased that things are still improving. You are absolutely right, it does take time and a lot of patience. It is so easy to slip back a few steps too. It is a gradual thing, and can take months and months. With Casper it has taken us literally years, and sometimes even now we can slip back a bit... Re: ears, I think you can buy products to wipe ears after a swim. The main thing is making sure the ears are dried after being in water. I used a cleaning agent from the vet on our older dog, but he very rarely swims. I do clean his ears on a regular basis though, more as a preventative.
Hi John, so lovely to hear from you and really glad to hear things are going so well with Shandy. Good job - you are doing brilliantly with him! Of course it'll continue to be a work in progress - all dogs are! But I was particularly glad to hear that Shandy and your wife have bonded so well. Made me very happy to read this post
What a wonderful update. You've both done a fantastic job with him. And I totally agree with Karen that all our dogs are a work in progress (mine definitely is ).
Hello John, how lovely to hear from after so long, you have obviously been very busy training Shandy You and your wife should be very proud of yourselves, not only for training Shandy but for standing by him even when times did get very tough for you. I admire that very much. Like Kate @Beanwood we are over 5 years down the line with our rescue boy Charlie, every day is a training day, he will never be perfect but we don't care because we love him. So very happy for you and your family. Keep up the great work and stay in touch please x Hugs to Shandy x
A lovely update. Well done indeed! Work in progress is a necessary term. Once you stop training, things go downhill, no matter what the age or background.
