What are the traits of a "highly trainable dog"?

Yes, in a way. Bruce was the most laid back dog I've had and not motivated by food either. He was really hard to train - but once he knew it he was as steady as the day is long. I think he'll make a great guide dog.

He'll need to be steady, sensible, safe and good at snoozing in cafes or work places - so if that's what you need @Emily_BabbelHund then I'd go for a Bruce type personality.

Of course, the most laid back puppy can turn out anything but - see Mollie!

 

We have a Mastiff x from Spain at our dog class. Initially he was scared of everything and interesting in nothing. His owner (who has 2 English Mastiffs too) has worked really hard with him and he is now a devoted tug-player and is a happy, sociable dog. He has become a little too spirited on his recall and will prance around the arena at the moment. But as she said, it is nicer to see him being "naughty" than the scared dog he was. Good luck with you beach trips.

 

Interesting and hopeful news. One I'm taking out is quite fearful so that will be the main focus, just to get him to accept new people. The other doesn't seem afraid but seems very "flat". But I've seen that a lot in the shelter dogs, I think they kind of go into themselves sometimes in the shelter environment. It's one reason I've asked to get her out for the day to see if it doesn't chipper her up a bit, poor girl. I'm kind of thinking an afternoon at the beach with a dog will chipper me up a bit too.

 

I wanted to train Finn to be a guide dog. He could 'help' me by doing some things for me for example getting the laundry out of the washing machine. As I have a terrible bad back (syringomyelia) that would have been helpful for me. When he was a pup he liked to do the laundry...but very playful....
We were in puppy class and the school trained also dogs for guidance. So I asked what to do and they told me to start clicker training. I tried to do that, but was no success. I can't say it was due to Finn, I myself was to blame. I had to bow so often to give him the treat, i couldn't do that for my back was killing me. Then they wanted to tie Finn at the gate so that i didn't have to hold Finn and do the bows they wanted me to do. I couldn't do that either, so I stopped the training! I had written in the past about it here on the forum somewhere..

Now Finn is learning to be a scent dog. He is doing very well together with my oh. He has to search for humans. It is recreational. He loves it and so does my oh. He gets little pieces of 'frikadel' a Dutch kind of sausage cut into very tiny pieces. He will do anything for it!

 

Yes I know what you mean about "flat"...can make it a bit difficult knowing what you'll end up with as it can take some time to come out of that. I've mentioned it before but our rescue took nearly a year! We had no idea how playful and loving she would become

 

Our rescue took about two hours. He was the quietest dog in Battersea Dogs home - then POW!!

Hmmmmm - I'm beginning to see a theme here - excitable owner, excitable dog!

 

Yep, I think this is what happens with me and the mastiff crosses, except in the opposite way. I'm a fairly internal, quiet person (except ironically when 1x1 I talk too much - you may have noticed ) and tend to have very chilled dogs. I think the mastiffs go nearly comatose around me!

 

Stanleys amazingly trainable. He just "gets it". At his training place they said every now and again they get a dog that shocks them with how clever they are and Stanley was one of those. BUT it also has its negatives because he outsmarts me regularly and he figures things out on his own.. I.e. Opening doors. His new doggy day care lady couldn't believe it when she popped him out for a wee and he was sat staring up at her for his treat a minute later

Poor Stanley's got a useless trainer though so he'll never reach his full potential. I just don't really want him being anything but a nice, well adapted pet but that's my inexperience and laziness really.

 

"Drive" is what our dog breeds were developed for by selecting those that performed well at a job and breeding from them to get a better and better dog which is pretty much why we have breeds that herd, breeds that guard, breeds that retrieve etc. etc. today. In our modern dogs some just have a greater desire to perform their role than others of the same breed. A dog with 'high drive' just ha more desire to do whatever now, or do it for longer or just do it! Is 'high drive' desirable in a dog I'm training not necessarily as they can be hard work and can have trouble switching 'off'. High drive is often blamed for a dog bouncing around on a lead when it may be well be an under developed lack of control from the dog which is a training issue.

 

I think the term 'drive' is horribly misused. Frantic does not equal high drive (although lots of people do refer to frantic dogs as high drive dogs). I also think people dismiss dogs as 'low drive' dogs far too quickly instead of thinking about how best to motivate them.

I like Denise Fenzi's definition of drive - it's a dog that is focused and so can be motivated by something specific. A dog that is going bonkers for something specific has a drive for that something. A dog that is going bonkers without focus, is just bonkers.

Drive is also useless if it can't be channeled. So if the dog is so driven by something it can't operate in the presence of that something, that's useless. And it's also difficult if the drive is only generated by something completely out of the handler's control.

 

I could have wrote this word for word. Same applies for Duggan. He pretends to run away so he can get recalled for a chunk of sardine.

 

Well said!

I should probably also explain that I heard the word "drive" ad nauseum when looking at Rottweilers this summer. The breeders in those cases seemed to use it to refer to how bonkers (to borrow your word) they could get the dog hanging on the end of a choke line while lunging after a squeaky toy.

 

Well, toy drive is very, very useful and if the dog is going bonkers with a focus on a toy, then it does have a focus. Although the choke line doesn't sound good. And neither does just demonstrating drive without it being channeled.

 

True, those dogs were indeed focused. For show Rotties, it's a thing they do during shows for some reason. To me, it feeds into that whole macho attitude around Rotties when I know them as cuddly teddy bears. But that's another issue from drive.

Personally, I preferred the Labs showing as they just trot around the ring and gaze adorably up at their people wanting a cookie.

 

Um....I haven't found the training of your average teenage Labrador to achieve that level of handler focus surrounded by a lot of other dogs, an audience of people, in a strange place, with the floor scattered with bits of food (from the previous classes) to be quite that straightforward.....but I get what you mean.

 

Here is the weirdo of a dog who doesn't like treats. I fixed her fresh grilled chicken this morning before picking her up from the shelter. She wouldn't even get it near her mouth. She's a toughie! I had no clue whatsoever how to even start her on basic commands. I had her in a cafe for an hour and wanted her to sit, but since I couldn't lure her with the chicken, she just stood there until she finally got bored enough to lay down and I just praised and petted her like crazy.

She did, however, adore riding in the car. When you're big enough to look out the window while sitting on the floor of the car, life is good.

 

And just to be clear, this was a volunteer stint getting dogs out of the shelter for some fun - I didn't adopt her. Anybody want a REALLY BIG dog?

 

Some GR in there?

Bruce was like that - food did nothing for him. But he'd do anything for praise and a but scratch!

I've asked for a GR next!



My

 

Brave woman! But I'm looking forward to hearing about the differences in training.

No, I don't think she has any GR. I think she is simply a very runty and badly bred Spanish mastiff. And I don't say that to be insulting at all as I think she's a beautiful dog, it's just that she looks like a SM but shrunk down.

One of the non-dog ladies at today's walking group where I took her said, "Oh, she looks like a Labrador". To which I replied, "Have you SEEN a Labrador?"

 

Ah she's lovely and does have a look of Coco's friend Loki about her. But titchy.