Call me thick...how do you force a retrieve?

I think it's fine to teach dogs manners and if that means not barging through the front door, especially if it's on a busy road, then that's what most sensible people would do.
What I meant by not liking going through doors first and eating first and ignoring any attempts at getting your attention (even just for a stroke or cuddle) etc are when it's part of a rank reduction method, and that in doing those things you are somehow communicating to your dog that you are alpha, which is a total nonsense imo.

It`s where you ram the object in the dog`s mouth and hurt it if it tries to let go.

That's horrible, is it common? No offence to peeps who gundog train, but I'm very glad I didn't take it up to help with Maggie's prey drive. There don't appear to be many positive trainers in this field (although I clearly have only my very limited experience so hopefully I'm more wrong than right on that one).

Not neccesarily gundogs, I've even known of dumbells actually being tied in a dogs mouth, but I am going back a long time

Hi,

I hate training discs. I only found out recently what they were and how they are used. Last week, I took Ellie to training adn whilst she was doing recall, a woman who hadn't been before who had a nervous dog threw the discs on the floor when the dog barked.

Ellie wouldn't have taken any notice of another dog barking as she knew I had liver cake in my hand. When the discs hit the floor though, so did Ellie. You'd have thought I'd have beaten her with them to see her reaction.

I've never used any of these methods with any of my dogs and will rather take the time to train positively and slowly to make sure my dogs enjoy what they';re doing.

For someone else to use a device which had such a negative impact not on her own dog ('cos it didn't take any notice) but on mine is inconsiderate and downright il-mannered at best and cruel wrt the effect it had on other dogs in the room.

I'm looking forward to seeing the same wolman this week. If she has the discs with her again I won't keep my mouth shut again.

Laura xx

I particularly dislike any method that is based on Domination. Dogs do not want to dominate humans & a truly dog on dog dominant dog doesn't deal aggressively with the lower dogs in the dog pack. They can stop an altercation with a look, low grumble, they do not wade in to a fight.

As to the going through dogs first etc, again based on the incorrect studies done on captive manmade packs in zoos & sarfari parks.

Anyone who has to use human domination over dogs methods to train will someday find out that it's a very dangerous path to travel. Any dog trainer"behaviourizt"call them what you like that gets regularly bitten/attacked certainly isn't showing their"domination"over the dog-just in fact the opposite

imo thats a bit ott
i wouldnt go in all guns blazing,she would of taken 'advise' and been told to use them,and prob didnt think of the effect of the discs with another dog,hows about explaining nicely to her that it freaked your dog out,and maybe show her another way to deal with it?

I have training discs and I have used them. IMO, they shouldnt be used to try and intimidate or scare the dog but more jolt the dog out of it's own little world, back into a world where you exist. I bought them initially when Jed was a pup. He had terrible recall when dogs were around and as soon as he saw one, he was off. I threw the discs towards him, the sound interrupted his thinking and I was able to call him back.

I have also used corrector sprays. My main reason for using this was because Jed would go nuts at the gate at the neighbouring kids, resulting in them being afraid to walk up the shared drive. One day when he did it, I sprayed and it was enough to stop him doing it again.

I think such items can do harm if you use them incorrectly or overuse them. Jed only has to see the can of corrector spray and he doesnt like it so it stays firmly out of the way, as do the training discs. If I continued to use the spray, knowing it was having a detrimental effect then i'd be in the wrong at that point. Same as the anti-bark collar I have. It didnt stop Flynn barking, only served to make him nervous of the field in which he usually wore it so now I dont use it.

One method i've heard of but would never try is to wrap barbed wire around a dummy to stop a dog with a hard mouth. Surely it would put the dog off picking up anything?

Awe why would any sane person do that I couldn't ignore my dogs once when they approached me! and the secret best bit about our doggies are the wonderful cuddles they give!