mensachicken
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Registered: Oct 2000
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Posts: 443 |
quote:
Originally posted by foo fighter
As far as discipline goes, I use a stick to "reinforce" the word NO!
you mean you hit him with a stick? or used to?
ouch.
there should never be a need to hit a dog in order to teach it something. your dog is doing nothing wrong, really, when he chews things... he's just not making the distinction between what is okay to chew and what is not.
by hitting or otherwise punishing him when he chews, you're telling him it's bad to chew. but it's not bad to chew. for dogs, especially puppies, it's necessary.
you need to get him something like a nylabone or a kong or something (don't know what you meant by "chew toys" so maybe you already have one of these items--it has to be something substantial (not a stuffed animal or squeaky toy)). then, when the dog chews something inappropriate, simply tell him no and then give him something to chew on that is okay, such as the nylabone. as soon as he starts chewing on it, praise him to the heavens. eventually, he'll leave your leg alone and stick with his own items.
he's probably teething (i don't know how old the dog is), but even if he's not, he needs to chew (to strengthen his jaw, clean his teeth, etc etc.).
think of his chewing like his peeing... it's not wrong. he just has to know when it's okay to do it.
as for training a dog--three hours is an awful long time, especially for a puppy. you should try and stick to 15 or 20 minutes, MAX. do this maybe once or twice a day and your dog will retain much more than he will over 3 hours.
my dog is 3.5 years old (http://www.alientomato.com/satch.jpg) and i "clicker trained" him (ie, no hitting or yelling, very little talking at all, actually) in 15 minute sessions every day.
he can sit, lie down, lie on his side (i say 'right side' or 'left side' and he goes the correct way), rollover, play dead, tap with his paw whatever i point at, touch whatever i point at with his mouth (for instance, i point at something and say "touch" if i want him to use his nose or "tap" if i want him to use his paw), shake hands, spin (chase his tail), heel, come, go (head off in the direction i point), stop (wait for me but don't come), stand (get up on all fours), turn thelights off and on ("lights"), go under or over whatever i point at (commands are under and over), stay (for up to 45 minutes or so, even with food two inches in front of him), leave it (walk away from whatever he's walking towards), take it (take whatever i want him to carry), and a few other tricks.
if you use clicker training, your dog's retention will be greater than traditional training (once he learns something, you rarely have to cover that ground again, regardless of how old the dog gets and when the last time you did the trick was).
mc
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Help name my new dog.
08-12-2001 03:43 PM
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Hmm
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