[Mahna]

For those of you who have taken your bassets to obedience school, I was wondering if you had any recommendations. Bogie was housetrained when I got him, and he never makes a mistake with that, so whatever his previous owners did worked. I have taught him to sit down, and he is about 99% on that one, but when he's being stubborn, he doesn't listen. Since they are so stubborn, what sort of approach do you recommend to take with him, inside and out of the classroom. I have recently switched him to a collar instead of a harness, and instantly he's been walking better. I am also starting to work on the bed thing too. The problem I am having with that is he never sleeps on the bed when I am going to sleep, he just goes there for naps sometimes. I don't really want to crate him at night because he gets up and moves around, sleeps allover throughout the night without bothering anyone. As soon as I am ready for bed, he jumps off and goes to find a different spot.

The obedience trainer is completely against the Dog Whisperer, but I've never watched the show or read his books, so I don't know that take. He says correction and scolding are the last approach to take.

In the long run, I plan on going through some of the basic agility training with Bogie to see how he does at it. Whenever we are outside, he seems to take a lot of joy in hopping over snow piles and fallen trees, so I think he would enjoy agility, for fun, unlikely real competition. I don't want to tire out his little bowlegs too much.

Thanks a lot!

 

[Poppy's Mum]

:blink: Have PLENTY of patience! My little girl is just wonderful, and I have mastered sit, down and stand which is a joy to behold! But that's about it... She (like her Mum!) is VERY pig headed. I took her to a dog trainer, but she didn't really understand Bassetts at all, but I'm not too worried...

Good Luck and I've found the key to it all is FOOD!!

Jaimie
xx

 

[Missjoy]

I second the idea to use food. I have not yet taken Maggie to obedience school, but I plan to soon.

I would work on the command "come" as I think it is one of the most important. I think Maggie thinks that "come" means "good treat" because she always gets lots of love and a good treat (sometimes little cubes of cheese when we are at the dog park) when she comes to me. Others at the dog park have commented on how well trained she is for 8 months, but I think it hinges on the fact that a basset will respond to food over pretty much any other distraction!

 

[Kaira]

What I've experienced is that bassets doesn't like hash words or me being irritated.
If they sensed me becoming irritated or impatient, they would become passive and
just sit there looking away, absolutely refusing to do _anything_. The trick was to be
patient and be okay with them not understanding what to do, or doing things wrong.
But keep in mind that bassets tend to be stubborn, so patience and firmness is important.
Bassets usually need more repetitions than other dogs bred to work closer with their
owner.

The dog trainer should keep in mind that different dogs need different methods. You
will soon find out which method that works for you and your dog.


That being said, I don't care much for obedience training. I just stick to the everyday
obedience.

I see that some of you recomend treats. Does this overide your dog's olefactory organ?
When Mr. Runcible has found an interesting scent, food becomes uninteresting.
Food, other dogs, cats, me - everything really.

 

[lala]

Ernest did two rounds (puppy and advanced puppy). He will sit, stay, leave it, down, come and wait.

He does not shake hands and thinks that tricks are not that interesting.

It takes a lot of reinforcement and many small treats to get them interested.

The place we went used clicker training and on occasion we still use the clicker. He'll come running now when he hears the clicker.

We're about to do another round of obedience to reinforce no jump and down. We both need it.

Clickers are great, treats are great, dog whispering depends on your dogs breath.

lala

 

[Mikey T]

he doesn't listen. Since they are so stubborn, what sort of approach do you recommend to take with him, inside and out of the classroom. ... I am also starting to work on the bed thing too. The problem I am having with that is he never sleeps on the bed when I am going to sleep, he just goes there for naps sometimes. I don't really want to crate him at night because he gets up and moves around, sleeps allover throughout the night without bothering anyone. As soon as I am ready for bed, he jumps off and goes to find a different spot.

The obedience trainer is completely against the Dog Whisperer, but I've never watched the show or read his books, so I don't know that take. He says correction and scolding are the last approach to take.[/b]

The reputation of bassets being stubborn or hard headed is the old school coercive training methods ( al la Dog Whisperer, Kohler dog training method etc) general do not work well with them see http://www.flyingdogpress.com/difficult.html

The bottom line is dogs do what works. In order to effectively train a dog you must do so in a manner that It is in the dogs best interest to do what you want him to do. The old school way is to punish the doing for non-compliance, so compliance is gained by avoid unpleasantness, newer methodology reward compliance, in general reward based training works better with bassets,


not sure what you mean by "work on the bed thing " . I will guess here. Old school thinking suggest that dog that are allowed on the bed furniture, eat before humans, go through door ways first etc, are dominate and this will lead to aggression or other behavioral problems. Lets get to the nitty gritty the whole concept is wrong, there is no evidence that so called dominance reduction strategies work. Debunking the Dominance Myth

It quickly
became “common knowledge� that domestic dogs are naturally dominant or will become so if
their people tolerate certain behaviors. These dogs, it was claimed, will constantly challenge and
test their owners until they are forcefully shown human leadership.
So-called dominance exercises were — and in some circles still are — widely recommended to
prevent the dog from taking over the entire household. These exercises include not feeding him
until after you’ve eaten, letting him through doorways only after you, forbidding access to
furniture, and not playing tug-of-war.
In reality, there is no evidence that these procedures prevent dominance aggression or any other
behavioral problem. In fact, one study found no correlation between playing tug-of-war or
allowing a dog on the bed and the development of aggressive behavior.[/b]

So if the bed thing is to prevent dominance then don't bother, if it is to prevent dog hair on the spread well good luck.


On of the best ways to establish leadership, having the dog listen to you is something akin to a NILF (nothing in life is Free ] program, Take 1/2 to 1/3 of the dogs kibble and reserve it for training. Dog sits treat. etc. Also this can be done for any time of reward. dog want to go out. Must sit first at door way. Sit politely to get petted. This has nothing to do with dominance reduction and every thing to do with eliminating rude obnoxious behavior and replacing it with a better one.

LEADERSHIP BASICS

How Much Does Your Dog's Cooperation Weigh?

TEACHING SELF CONTROL


One of the arguments against using food is that the dogs will only work for food is specious. It is made by people that do not know how to effectively used food as a reward and not as a bribe.
REWARDS, LURES & BRIBES
"What is the difference between a reward, a lure and a bribe? Explanations & tips. "

Why Food Treats?

Luring

So, during early stages of training, we reduce distractions and we give the animal something really worthwhile on which to focus, such as food, in this case, a food lure (it could be a target, too). That does not mean the we will always train in a sterile environment or that we will use always use the food lure. We must also be unambiguous, precise, and accurate on lure presentation - thus mechanical skill and planning is necessary. I think you can safely say that if your use of the lure causes the animal to move out of a favorable position, you are not using it right.
...I think those who are posting me are expecting me to give that exact point, hard and fast, to always remove the lure. I keep saying that training is simple, but not easy. The idea of removing the lure early is simple, but exactly when to remove it for greatest efficiency and reliability, is not easy. If training were all that easy, most pet owners would be about as good at training as most professionals, which is probably not the case. Besides, we all like the challenge, right? We wouldn't want it to be too easy, right? ......... Right? Please say I'm right[/b]

Food On or Off the Body? Yes!

 

[Mikey T]

In the long run, I plan on going through some of the basic agility training with Bogie to see how he does at it[/b]

See How do you get into...
with link on healh considerations and how to find a training facility.

I don't want to tire out his little bowlegs too much.[/b]

If done properly and in moderation agility can be part of conditioning program that will add mass and strength to those legs which could go a long way in preventing problem as the dog gets older

FITNESS IN YOUR BACKYARD
" Exercise has benefits for dogs too! Some simple ideas for keeping your couch potato in reasonable shape."