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Location: East Midlands, UK
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 8,775
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Originally Posted by
smokeybear
So everytime they hear the word OI now, that tells them they are going to get punished?!
No it is an alarm call - wake up please, I want you to come to heel, or whatever command I follow up with.
To give an example ... we are walking past the chicken runs in the field at the back of our house. Tai cannot get at them, but he thinks it's funny to run at the wire and make them fly up and squawk. A couple or so years ago I trained him very easily and quickly not to do this, but he has started doing this again, so last weekend I walked him up and down a couple of times past the runs on a nice slack lead. First pass, he turned his head and pricked up his ears, all ready to take a lunge at them, so I give him a firm tug on the lead - nothing severe, just a horse lead rope attached to a normal leather collar, not a choke chain or a slip lead - and say "no" at the same time. We turn and come back, and this time he takes a look, but no tensing of the body ready to make a run, just an interested look. This time, I just say "no", and we carry on. Third pass, he turns his head and looks, no ear pricking, no tensing. We turn, and do a fourth pass, and he is walking nicely to heel, on a slack lead, I say his name and he looks up at me and I tell him he is a good boy and off we go on our walk, with Tai off lead.
Coming back, we do the same thing, but no lead this time. As we approach the runs, he tenses up, head comes up, ears pricked, he's about to make a dash, when a sharp "oi" stops him in his tracks, he turns and looks up at me and I tell him he is such a good boy and make a huge fuss of him.
It doesn't have to be an oi, or a no, it could be a hey, or a tsst or whatever noise or sound you fancy.
This assertiveness works with my boys. It worked with Hal as well, it may not work with other dogs, but I don't have to concern myself about other dogs, and if what I am doing is cruel, then so be it, I am cruel.