First training session

[wixter]

I'm just happy if my dog will sit when she's told, walk to heel, come when she's called, stay when she's told to and stop doing whatever it is she is doing when she's told "no", frankly. I've been a lot more lax with Lola than with any dog before, which is me being stupid - lulled into a false sense of security because she's a midget-dog, probably. I really do know what I SHOULD be doing, but she amuses me so much that she gets away with murder. Actually, this thread reminds me that I really ought to work a bit harder with her than I have. I know what to do, thanks to dog training classes with other dogs - and she's wildly social - it's just me that has been lazy.

Right, hard work starts on Monday. Bad luck, Lola! Actually, I think dogs enjoy being trained.

[Caramomo]

Oh yes they definately enjoy it and it improves our relationship with them and makes them happier dogs cos they know how to do what we expect of them.

[wixter]

I think it makes them happier because it stretches them, gives them something to do, stimulates them. Half an hour a day divided into ten minute bits of teaching "sit", "stay" and "recall" is enough. Done everyday, they learn soon enough. Dear me, I've been lazy. Lola will sit alright, but expects a treat for doing so (lazy me), she's pretty good at stay and recall without a treat. As for walking to heel, she and I are both poo at that!

[Sianny]

I've bene trying to give fusses for sits and etc and actually say FUSSES!! while I'm doing it but you should see his livid face.. "WHAT! NO TREATS!?!?"

Sometimes. I ask him to sit or somefink and he will sniff the air at me in a really snotty way like "no treats, no entertainment" - cheeky beggar! DOes Lola do that too?

[wixter]

No, she simply thinks the word "sit" is synomous with a treat, entirely my fault.

When I say that with the walking to heel, we are both poo at it, what I really mean is that I'm poo at training her to walk to MY heel. If I were to walk to hers, Usain Bolt would have a serious rival on his hands. Or feet.

[Sianny]

But that's the way many puppy classes/books teach you to do it is with a treat so we're just doing as we're told (unlike a schnauzer!). It's only this forum that's taught me "jackpotting" where the dog never knows what it's getting.

We should do a forum book

[wixter]

Read the books, Siannie, and then having absorbed them, throw them away and rely on your own common sense, intuition and a bit of what you read. Being a slave to a dog-training book will lead you to a hiding to nothing. Dogs are dogs. Books don't tell you all you need to know, nothing does, but experience tells you a bit more than the books do, trust me.

[Sianny]

Puppies for Dummies is a book I'd reccomend as a starter, as a preperation thing but then as you said, DIVE IN! And revisit for game ideas and schtuff

[wixter]

That was a series of books originally designed to explain to people about how their computers worked, Siannie. Dogs really aren't quite the same thing, no matter how much the publishers have decided to expand the franchise to cover everything they can possibly think of to make money.

Learning about your dog can NEVER be done from a book. You can learn interesting stuff as to, for example, why they do that funny turning around thing before lying down (Desmond Morris, in the 80's) or that it's pretty stupid to feed a dog chocolate, or being a slave to your dog is foolish (in case you'd not worked that out for yourself). Read them, fine, then chuck them out, learn how to train your dog from someone who knows how to train YOU to do it, and learn from experience.

[Sianny]

Definitely - was written by a Sarah Hodgson, who wrote "The Perfect Puppy" and it was a useful tool as a starter, but the main and desert of my Ralphy journey has been shared advice and experience and my connection with him. When he broke down and I had to start from scratch, the only thing I read was the Ttouch technique to learn some massage techniques to help him relax. The rest of the rehabilitation was advice from people on here and my intuition - I really couldn't agree more.

I'm training my OH at the moment ;)

[on-the-coast]

But that's the way many puppy classes/books teach you to do it is with a treat so we're just doing as we're told (unlike a schnauzer!). It's only this forum that's taught me "jackpotting" where the dog never knows what it's getting.

We should do a forum book

If Schnauzers are so differebnt - well, someone should write a book
A forum book?
now Schubert is on his rare in-house visits and I have to protect my phone line
cheers

A

[Sianny]

LOL - bless him too - does he make long distance phone calls?

[wixter]

There's a great deal to be learned about dogs, and especially the idiosyncrancies of Schnauzers, on this forum, that's for certain. Very little, in my opinion, to be learned from books apart from basic training tips.

I have found it tremendously reassuring to know that not ALL of little micro-dog's oddities are specific to her, although some clearly are. It has also been a help to me that at my very advanced, indeed well nigh Methusulah-like, age has enabled me to have had a bit of experience of lots of dogs, lots of breeds and lots of not entirely different naughty-dog behaviour endemic in ALL dogs, regardless of size, shape or colour.

Read the books, learn from them. Then move into the real world.

[on-the-coast]

And I am an ignorant, self-assured, yet hopeless and helpless dog owner
who would have drowned and gone mad without the timely, fantastic and overwhelming support by this forum.

I promise I will become a wise, patient, cool, calm, relaxed and knowledgable dog owner

and will have another Schnauzer one day (once I have saved enough money) and give all that knowledge and skill to the next dog.

How does that sound???

[on-the-coast]

LOL - bless him too - does he make long distance phone calls?

TRying to call some of the lovely Schnauzers, blessed with patient, caring and smart owners in the UK!