i agree with the last thing Adam has said!!!

Barking and snarling are irrating but some dogs take it to the next level, very quickly.

Its hard to click a draw of breath if the dog
a, is drawing breath to attack
b, is so worked up clicker ect doesn't matter.

Adam

Of course it is. However, it doesn't involve hurting the dog and it's a quick and clear message that this behaviour gets that consequence. Had I wanted to use physical punishment I'd have had to try to catch him before I could do so and then what would he have associated the punishment with? Probably with me catching him rather than his behaviour of racing up and down the stairs. I could have yelled at him but I doubt it would have worked.

I use aversives when necessary. However, I'd rather look for behaviour I do want and reward that than look for what the dogs doing wrong and punishing for it. Aversives are a part of life though and I don't believe they can be avoided completely.

Not that I think dogs are doing 'wrong' things just things you dont want
Here are some ways

the most important - positive internuptor

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBvPaqMZyo8
Stopping counter surfing/food stealing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZCIeEUm_n8

barking at other dogs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3n_fPKPLA2g

check her channel and others, lots of advice there. It is possible to train anything positivly - and look at the dogs, they are full of joy to be doing what they are asked, the behaviours are 'default' which means they do them without her being there - she can leave the room with food lying on the floor and the dogs happily leave it alone because leaving it has been fun and rewarding for them

I've watched her vids and enjopyed them.

The thing that gets me is she is owning very motivated dogs (and has probably spent a long time making them that way) and she has spent a long time training them.

These are great things if you can manage it.

Adam

Yes she has amazing dogs, but if you look at some of her recent vids you can see her training the new pup right from the start
also if you read the story of Kiko you will see he was a very sick little rescue pup who was confinded to the home for his puppyhood so missed out on important socalisation, she used clicker training to overcome her fears and make her the confident little dog
Emily also work in rescues clicker training rescue dogs with issues
- she also offered to come over here and do a seminar for me - but I just couldnt afford to organise something like this. Her dogs are amazing, and so is she - but her methods work, I used her 'leave it' method for Mia and it wokred in less than 5 mins (with my ribbish timing, Mia not being clicker trained and a v food possesive x stray at the time)

For the clicking for agression thing
I have read and love the click to calm book
But I prefer 'control unleased' way of doing the things - rewarding at the distance before the dog starts to react, and teaching alternative games and things like the 'look at that game' so the dog learns to be happy and calm around other dogs

- of course real life happens and we still get some reactions from Mia when dogs arrive unexpected - but I see them times as my mistake and not Mias training, I get her out of the sitation then reward her when she calms a little

I don't know where this assumption came from that we all use clickers, and that our dogs never hear the word no or leave.

Mine hear the word no, leave, and whatever strange and random vocalisation I feel may get their attention quickly, which is followed by praise when they stop whatever it is that they were doing.

Storm's got the odd binbag when someone has been careless, and left it out, you'l never find me telling him off for destroying it, after the event, as I don't expect him to understand that he's beeing told off for something he may have done half an hour ago. Tbh, I don't get annoyed with him when he does it anyway, after all it wasn't his falt someone gave him the chance, I just clean up the mess and that's the end of it.

If there's something specific I don't want the dogs to touch, I get the object, or take them to it, teach them a leave it command, and then give them an alternative, which is equal to or more interesting than the object I don't want them messing with.

When I first got Nyle, he had issues with bones, he didn't want to release them. There was no toy that could persuade him to drop it, he'd run away at the first sign you were approaching, and would growl if you got close enough to make a grab at it.

Now, it probably isn't something most would advise people to do in that situation, but anyway, the first time he did it, I sat for half an hour on the floor with my hand in his mouth him with the bone grasped between his rear teeth, and me grippping it at the front. I just stayed there until he gave up, told him he was a good boy, and then gave him it back. I repeated the exercise every time he had a bone, and whilst its taken a while, the last time he had a bone, which was a couple days ago, he let me have it no issue, as he's learnd he will get it back, maybe not straight away, but at some point, and that he gets praised for letting me take it from him. Note that I wasn't trying to wrestle the bone off him, I just sat there with a loose grip on one end of the bone, and waited.

Maybe not the best or safest way to deal with it, but there wasn't an alpha roll or an e collar in sight. Which is probably how CM would have delt with that, by using unnecessary force as apposed to just being a stubborn git lol.

Btw, whilst I use food, toys or vocal praise as a reward, I don't actually use a clicker, I just never got away with it.

I also use a half check on one of my dogs, which is certainly not placed at the top of the neck, and again if you put your dogs slip lead there, and correct it, it will hurt, don't delude yourself into believing otherwise. If you don't believ it, then get someone to demonstrate it on yourself, I guarantee you'll get it then.

Rupe wears a half check simply because it's more difficult for him to get out of it.

Yip that's why Nyle where's his, though he's never tried to escape from it. Even when it is pulled tight, its still quite loose.

Still wouldn't place it that high up the neck regardless, there's really no need for it.

Rupe's tightens more than it should really but after watching in horror as he legged it down the middle of a horrendously busy road in sheer panic after something spooked him I make sure he's not getting out of it quickly. He's unlikely to panic like that these days but I figure better safe than sorry. It sits at the base of his neck though, never up near his ears. He also doesn't wear it while off leash as if he got caught up on a branch or something he wouldn't be able to get out of it.