Have I picked the correct form of training?

Hi everyone,

I am looking for opinions.

I am new to dog training. I have recently recused a neglected 8 month old male german shephard (pure) who was out of control when we first got him.

2.5 weeks ago I started training through dog tech. 1 on 1 training in our home. i have noticied a fairly large difference in Simba (our GS) since training started but I am unsure if I have selected the best method.

The company is called dog tech and they use very gentle whisper based training. Please dont get me wrong I am very against cruelty to animals and love dogs but I want a obediant dog that is pleased and happy to listen to instructions, also a dog that knows its place in the family if you know what I mean. My ultimate goal is to also be able to take Simba off the lead to play and wonder when I go for a walk without having to worry he will run off and never come back or worse attach another dog.

Simba, before finding us, never had boundaries set and has been suffereing from seperation. When new he wouldnt let me touch his back, i believe he was trying to be dominant. This is no longer and issue but after 2.5 weeks if solid training following my traniners advice 100% i just though I would be a bit further along.

I whisper walk Simba 10 mintues every day, tether him for an hour every night and spend lots of time together.

Hope ive included everything and again just looking for opinions on if i am doing the right thing. This method of trining is quite expensive in my opinion and the last thing I want is to spend time and money on a method that wont work or worse yet create work I will have to un-do down the line.....

When you say whisper training what do you mean? most modern trainers will reward good behaviour and ignore bad, why would you think he was dominant for not letting you touch his back? it would actually suggest to me that he has had a bad experience with people touching his back or he is in pain in that area.

It sounds like Simba has had a rough start in life, please take it steady with him it can take years to put right the harm that someone has done in those early months, and i would strongly recommend that you stick to reward based training

i believe this is the only company that uses this whisper method. instead of shouting or using a big strong voice the comand is whispered, they use consistent and reward based.

its still early days yet so im going to conitnue with this method, im finding allot of people havent heard of this before which is what concerns me.

is there anyone out there that can tell me more about clicker training? ive heard of it from a number of areas, if my current method doesnt work out then I might need to investigate.

ill keep this thread updated with how it goes and advise if I decide to change methods.

thanks for the kind words and recomendations.

it might help if you give us an example of a technique used

Hi, sorry Im not sure what you mean by tether him for an hour every night?
Kikopup on Utube has really good info on how to clicker train.
http://www.youtube.com/user/kikopup?...e=results_main

Or that he just doesn't like his back being touched. The OP has said he has never had any boundries set so if thats they case then OP's theory could be more correct.

Never just assume an animal is abused because it does not like to be touched. Some just don't like to be touched if they don't understand or don't trust someone.

How many dogs have you dealt with who have behaved like this please?

Lizzie has probably seen many as she deals with rescue dogs daily.

A dog with seperation issues is NOT dominant! Think about it.

rune

http://www.dogtech.com.au/dog-whisperer-tips

Sounds a bit like an Aussie "Jan Fennell". Some sensible bits, but quite a few bits based on pack theory. E.g. dogs being aggressive because they want to be "leader of the pack"

They also have the same idea re. franchises which is worrying, like Jan Fennell you don't seem to need any training/behavioural experience to start up
http://www.dogtech.com.au/franchise-opportunity

Personal opinion, but his whole website is a walking advert for his reputation, his books, his franchise opportunities...it doesn't seem to be half as much about the actual dogs. Personally, I would be looking elsewhere


(and unrelated to training itself, but according to the Amazon reviews, the book promotes buying puppies from petshops and mentioning how convenient they are! )

Hi. I assume the people call themselves Dog Whisperers. Unfortunately this term has become associated with bad training practices here as it is used by some appalling `trainers` who use cruelty.
I would suggest you read a couple of good modern books by world-class dog trainer/ behaviourists who use positive methods - then you can make up your own mind on training methods?
I would recommend The Culture Clash by Jean Donaldson
and
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Positive Dog Training, by Pamela Dennison
(yes they are awful titles but the books are very good!)
And well done for giving this dog a second chance.

The website also says something about 'reprimanding'........what type of reprimanding do you do?