JulieT, mine and Dexter's Treat&train arrived yesterday. Tried it out this morning, so far excellent response. I also purchased the car crate make that you recommended on another thread, mine is the large single one, it's absolutely brilliant and worth every penny of the expensive price tag. Wag wag, lick lick, that's Dexter saying thank you.
The cheapest that I found the Treat&train in UK was £103.27 on eBay. Includes DVD and training manual and target stick. 4 X D batteries not included.
I know this isn't the treat and train, but it might be an alternative "budget version" I just spotted on offer on zooplus?.... http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/pet_supplies_specials/black_friday/dog_toys/448793 At £30 it looks a more viable option for those of us who have to work at getting doggy things under the OH Radar.
Actually, the video is quite funny - I think they are selling it as a "slow feeder" but it is essentially the same just a different "button" I guess?
My OH is the kind of man who believes me when I tell him that my hair cut and colour (in a London Covent Garden salon) cost £20.
@drjs@5, that looks good. Dexter would have had a major blow out on that slippery floor though, he'd not be as sedate as the dog in the video. I like the idea of placing the the control in different places but I think he'd chew it and also the handle on the machine, I'm sure he'd have it over. I'm not knocking the machine just some observations to be aware of. A good idea and cheaper to at least try. Dexter pawed the Treat&train with real frenzy but it didn't budge, gave up and layed down quietly whilst a two year old petted him. At £30 the one on zoopla wouldn't break the bank. But the Treat&train has many more options and functions.
I really do want to purchase the treat and train, has it made a big difference in training down stay?
Yes, it has for me - I hadn't done an owner out of sight stay before and Charlie did it one shot using the Train and Treat. I disappeared into the house for a good 2 minutes and he was perfect. It's a massive leap being able to reward your dog while you move away. Taking away the Train and Treat didn't alter the behaviour. It's a sort of way to get behaviour that otherwise you have to take in tiny, rather painstaking steps. Of course, if you don't remove and fade the Train and Treat you'd become dependent on it very quickly, so you've still got to have a plan to move on.
I'm home on my own six days a week. I do have clients coming in, Dexter is getting very good at stay whilst I go through one door to the porch and take off my coat but when I'm answering the door to clients it's too much distraction. This is one area I'm using the Treat&train along with getting people not to speak to him when they first arrive. This is proving more difficult with clients that have dogs as they just get him all excited by speaking all excited to him, whilst saying down and still petting him. I'm going to get really tough with them from now on. I explain what I'm training to them and why but it falls on deaf ears. The Treat&train is also taking the treat stimulus off me at times, like target practice and is making it much easier to end the session as he's not focused on me for the treats only the command. I don't use the Treat&train for everything, I still will use hand rewarding. I also don't leave the Treat&train out, it's only for training times.
Another area I'd like to use it is in the car crate. I saw JulieT video of Charlie in his crate and was going to ask about what she was using. I'm guessing it was the Treat&train. Dexter is fantastic in his car crate until I operate the back window wiper, he barks at it. I haven't started this yet as need a clear plan of action. My thoughts are: 1) have Dexter in the car whilst stationary 2) treat for being quiet 3) operate the wiper 4) wait for barking to be stopped 5) treat after quiet for a while Not sure if there's anything else I could add in as want to get it as right as possible from the off. Any advice JulieT, please.
Why is he barking at the wipers do you think? If you have a go pro, tie it in the boot so you can video his reaction to the wipers. I imagine that he is probably scared of them and wants them to go away. This isn't the same problem as an over excited dog, with rubbish impulse control, whining because he wants out of the car so his off lead walk starts. You might want to do a fair bit of work with the car stationary, and if you can reach him, from the back seat say, a Treat and Train might not add much. It might, if you can't reach him to give him a treat. Start thinking of ways to decrease the impact of the wipers (since you can't really move your dog away from the wipers). You do this by breaking down what the wipers consist of - movement and noise. So you could create movement without noise, or vice versa.
Oh thanks Julie, I don't have a go pro and glad I asked before going ahead. I'm not sure if it's the noise or movement but he settles quickly once they stop. He is very settled in his crate otherwise, which he wasn't when harnessed on back seat. I'll set them working which they do intermittently if I switch them on and get in the back seat and watch (after I check out the movement/noise) then I'll treat him from back seat. Could I try him outside the car on leash with the wipers going so that I can work on decreasing the distance? You have me thinking now, breaking it down. I think it's probably the noise that alerts him as sometimes he's been laying down resting. I was apprehensive of starting Treat&train as he's otherwise happy in the crate and was worried I'd make a rod for my own back. I'll devise a plan so that he can learn that the wipers are not the enemy.
Otis is still very young so he has lots of energy, but we have trouble getting him to settle while we're relaxing for the night in our tv room, which is completely separate from our kitchen and dining area (on a separate floor). I'm wondering if this would help?
Our puppy was like that, one problem using Treat&train for that is the food during the evening may lead to having to get up in the night. As our pup loved to settle in his crate, we got another for the lounge. Then when getting up to get a drink we could close it so he remained settled rather than follow us about as we knew he was tired it was much easier for him to give into sleep rather than keep being a hooligan or crocodile.
