Dog training resources?

[GorillaMedic]

We just adopted a beautiful 5 year old hound/shepherd mix who hasn't had any formal training. She's smart and seems to pick up quickly, and she has a good personality. She needs, at a minimum, obedience training; however, I'm much more interested in having her reach her full potential as a useful member of our household, whatever that looks like.

I'd love advice on training her, training methods, resources, etc, and on any thing to watch out for or make sure I do.

[Texican_gal]

Read the book Culture Clash by Jean Donaldson. It will help you understand the dog brain.

Don't let anyone tell you to "use a newspaper" or a can with rocks, or a stupid spray water bottle, or anything like that, to get your dog's attention or to make them FEAR anything.

Don't fall into relying on a crate as a convenient doggie prison.

[saddlebum]

Richard Wolters wrote a number of books on dog training that are quite good. As Tex-gal said do not use a newspaper or those other silly things to get the dogs attention or in disciplining the animal! I also don't use a crate as a prison. There's nothing wrong with training a dog to 'kennel' but there's a time and place for it. I also don't use treats to 'reward' the dog for doing something right. Others will use a rolled up towel or a tennis ball. Use affection, petting & words of praise etc. Opinions on this vary, but the need to carry around treats (or other items) all the time to reward the dog (IMHO) is quite silly. YMMV.
Training a dog can be very rewarding.
Good Luck!!

[barnetmill]

First thing is to make sure you have a good dog. All of the training in the world will not make some dogs worthwhile. In nature worthless wolves or coyotes get culled by nature. Good breeders at least neuter and if the dog should be put down will do it. But most do not.

If I can not get a dogs attention when I speak, I have little use for the dog.

Also assuming you have a good dog understand exactly the behavior of your breed and what you can expect of them. I really only demand the dogs do two things. Come when called and leave something alone when I tell them to.

I did take one of mine to the pet smart training and I was disappointed in that they were teaching that the dog is your little baby instead of I am alpha and that I am boss. They would only show a few things so you were suppose to come back for additional courses. Really a racket.

[Orangudan]

The book "Don't Shoot the Dog" is a short easy read and a good place to start.

[wfbont007]

Some of the best resources for dog training: leerburg.com

[Air Pirate]

If you can get any books by Bill Koehler they're worth their weight in gold. All of our shepherds were trained via his methodology. Don't ask for them at Petco though...if they've even heard of him they'd probably accuse you of being barbaric, but nothing is further from the truth. He was all about teaching a dog via its own consequences. It was good enough for Disney!

[H60DoorGunner]

First thing is to make sure you have a good dog. All of the training in the world will not make some dogs worthwhile. In nature worthless wolves or coyotes get culled by nature. Good breeders at least neuter and if the dog should be put down will do it. But most do not.

If I can not get a dogs attention when I speak, I have little use for the dog.

Also assuming you have a good dog understand exactly the behavior of your breed and what you can expect of them. I really only demand the dogs do two things. Come when called and leave something alone when I tell them to.

I did take one of mine to the pet smart training and I was disappointed in that they were teaching that the dog is your little baby instead of I am alpha and that I am boss. They would only show a few things so you were suppose to come back for additional courses. Really a racket.

Agree with Petsmart training.

But I don't agree that there are bad dogs. There are only bad owners. If you can't get a dogs attention, it's because they haven't been taught to pay attention by their previous owner. The only deciding factors in dogs, are what do you intend the dog for (because they are tools), and how much time do you want to spend training them.

Any dog can come and leave when commanded. They don't even have to be "useful" dogs to do that.

[H60DoorGunner]

We just adopted a beautiful 5 year old hound/shepherd mix who hasn't had any formal training. She's smart and seems to pick up quickly, and she has a good personality. She needs, at a minimum, obedience training; however, I'm much more interested in having her reach her full potential as a useful member of our household, whatever that looks like.

I'd love advice on training her, training methods, resources, etc, and on any thing to watch out for or make sure I do.

#1, buy a crate. Not to be used as a "baby sitter", but as a safe space and occasional timeout.

You can't whip a dog and have it do what you want, especially a 5 year old dog. You need to build respect between you and the dog. Just like a child, they need a family, and someone to be in charge of them. Take your dog for walks frequently (as in every day), play with your dog. Only you feed the dog and walk the dog(at first anyways), play with the dog. Once she recognizes you as the master, then you can commence to training.

Start with training your dog to go to her bed. If you say bed and point, and she even looks at the bed, reward her. A pat on the head is sufficient. If she walks toward it, reward her...all the way to when she goes to her bed and lays down every time. Everything else can be trained in this exact same manner.

Switch the rewards up. Sometimes a doggie treat is good, sometimes throwing her ball in the back yard after a good training session is good. Don't get visibly angry at your dog, because they don't speak human and it will only hinder training. Being stern is ok...I'm sure you know the difference.

The most important part of the entire thing is to have SET IN STONE rules in place, and to be consistent. If all you want is a dog that comes and leaves at command, that's easy. But before you actually start training, determine what you and your family want her role to be, and certainly not "whatever that looks like"...she's your dog, you decide *exactly* what it looks like. Make sure everyone in the family understands that only you do the training, and what the rules are with regards to the dog. There can be no deviation, else the training becomes exponentially more difficult.

EDIT: Remember, your dog came from previous owners who probably didn't teach her the same things you want her to do. Maybe none of them. That isn't your dogs fault, but bad habits take more work to erase, than good habits take to form. Take the time that's needed, and your dog will be exactly what you want her to be.

Also, about 20 or 30 minutes max at first for training sessions, but only after your dog is actually ready to start training.

I would also recommend very specific hand signals to accompany commands. For example, I use the raised fist (like a patrol halt signal) for the command "sit". I use my left hand for all signals. I do this so I can give commands silently when needed, and can still draw and use my pistol at the same time.

[barnetmill]

Agree with Petsmart training.

But I don't agree that there are bad dogs. There are only bad owners. If you can't get a dogs attention, it's because they haven't been taught to pay attention by their previous owner. The only deciding factors in dogs, are what do you intend the dog for (because they are tools), and how much time do you want to spend training them.

Any dog can come and leave when commanded. They don't even have to be "useful" dogs to do that.

I never used the term bad dog. Bad is a moral term. But there are some dogs that are born unsuitable as pets. Some dogs are ruined by their treatment from humans.

There is really no shortage in the world of dogs and cats. It is best to choose wisely.

[SheepDog68]

An hour spent training will save you 10 hours of work and frustration later and anything you can do to understand how dogs think and how their pack mentality works will help you gain ground.

For me we are a pack! The new dog/pup comes in as low man on the totem pole and finds his place in the pack under the watchful eye of his alpha leader!

Each dog is an individual and their abilities vary as does their intelligence! Keep that in mind as you help them learn to be a productive member of the pack.

I use hand signals, words and "nature" sounds for commands. Signals and sounds are useful when you wish to move without others knowing you're there. It also usually impresses the average soccer mom and whatever you call the male of the species they hang out with!

SD

[Little Bill]

I highly recommend this:

http://www.amazon.com/Art-Raising-Puppy-Revised/dp/0316083275/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1459095073&sr=1-1&keywords=monks+of+new+skete

especially if you're training a German Shepherd, but really for any dog.

The monks of New Skete are a group of Christian monks in upstate NY who have been devoting themselves for several decades to the art of properly raising and training German Shepherds. And especially with how to forge that human-canine bond where the dog recognizes you as his master and obeys willingly and even joyfully.

You may find it's the only training resource you'll need.