Training Pets

[Merika]

I was watching the Animal Planet where they have a show called Amazing Animals who can do all these neat tricks.

My dog will sit when you have a food item in your hand and come when you yell 'Treat'. How is the WORLD do those people train their pets?

Have you ever had a pet which did anything cool?

[RandomSkater]

ooooh, man. i so gotta record our dog and put em on here.

I think it depends alot on the consistency of the training and also how smart the dog is.

we have a border collie/black lab mix and he's a really smart dog.

We taught him to crawl on his stomach in about 8 minutes, to "stick em up" and play dead when we say "bang" *we hold our hand like a gun and he puts his paws up then falls over), to "wave bye bye", to "relax" where he lays on his side", as well as some others.

what's cool about our dog too is that he can understand words in a sentence, so we can say something like "why don't you sit." or "how about you go lay down" and he'll sit or lay down.
he also learned the name of the dog in the house behind us(rocky) from hearing the dogs owners call rocky's name.

[Merika]

I don't like to do the training thing. He can do a few things...but nothing spectacular. Just getting him not to jump on everyone would be a good thing. He gets so excited....and it's such a pain.

[RandomSkater]

A good way to train a dog not to jump on people is to knee them in the stomach when they do it.
It sounds cruel, but it doesn't hurt them and works really good.

[Duke]

We had a dog who would wait for his p00p to turn white then pick it up and throw it at the house. We never trained him to do that, he was naturally gifted.

[Merika]

Originally Posted by RandomSkater

A good way to train a dog not to jump on people is to knee them in the stomach when they do it.
It sounds cruel, but it doesn't hurt them and works really good.

He's such a BOZO....I'm not sure he wouldn't mistaken it for additional playing! The problem is that Sn00py and his friends (all around 12) played with him so rough....that he doesn't take a hint. He LOVES it!

We'll try that though and hopefully it will work. He's a great dog when he isn't acting like he took speed.

[Duke]

Isn't he still quite young Merika? If so, he might settle down a bit with age as well.

[Merika]

He's a year old this month. He does sleep more...but it doesn't stop him from being all hyper when he's awake. Sn00py takes him down to the jogging tracks and lets the dog pull him while on his skateboard till poor old Cracker is just too wore out to go anymore. That's how we settle him down.

[RandomSkater]

haha, that sound like fun

[Duke]

He'll prolly settle down as time goes by. He does sound like a fun dog though.

[YellowLioness]

I'm thinking about taking my puppy (when I get him) to TDI classes. In case you all don't know, TDI is Therapy Dog International. They have a place that's about four hours from my house that will certify.

These are the dogs that go into nursing homes and cancer wards to give people some enjoyment of their last days. Some children are so sick that they never get to enjoy a dog.

The type of dog I'm getting is perfectly suited, as they were never bred for hunting (animals or people), and thusly are very gentle.

I Think the key is to start training when the dogs are VERY little, and remain consistant. Puppy "kindergarten" classes are also very helpful. '

Merika, try to take Cracker to a "Canine Good Citizen" class. They teach dogs how to walk nicely on a leash, accept a friendly stranger while on the lead, not to jump on people, etc. It teaches general good manners that every dog should know. The owner also has to sign a contract stating that they promise to take good care of their animals.

Around here, you can get classes for like $55 for an 8wk course.

Since your dog is so hyper, you might also want to consider "Agility Training." Lots of hyper dogs find a great outlet with that.

For more information, you might want to look at the AKC's website...

I think it's www.akc.org or www. akc.com

[Duke]

I think it's a great idea to enroll your dog in some type of training, especially when so many of them live in large cities these days. They need to be more easy to handle when in crouds and less of a danger to kids, even an overly enthusiastic friendly dog is a danger to a small child.

[YellowLioness]

I totally agree. Trained dogs are happier dogs then their wilder counterparts. They feel more like they are a part of the family (perhaps because their owners have taken time to teach them right and wrong).

Not all dogs are going to be as easy to train as a collie or German Shepard- some dogs are slow, and others stubborn.

Random Dog Facts:

Afghan hounds have the lowest IQ of any dog.
German Sheps the highest

[Merika]

I think a larger yard where he has more room to run will be the ticket. When we take him up to the track at the middle school and let him run his heart out....it seems to curb his 'excited' nature tremendously.

Boxers aren't generaly very aggressive type dogs anyway....but we made it a point to always have him around the neighborhood kids. He loves them all and thinks they've come over just to play with him.

Other than just jumping up on people (we've used Random's suggestion to knee him lightly when he does that and it's helped tremendously)...he's actually a very good dog. He's a BARKER though!!!