Introducing Frodo

[jazzsue58]

Hi, I'm a mum living in Horley, Surrey, UK. Right near the lovely Mole River so lots of doggie walks!

I grew yup with dogs, but until 18 months ago the last time I had a dog of my own was 27 years ago, before I got married. Kids are now fast growing up (youngest is 13) and as I'm now separated from my husband I wanted a canine companion again.

Choosing a 12-week old dalmatian pup from a non-registered breeder was, I now realise, great for keeping me fit but not exactly a smart move for someone with minimal recent doggie experience. Frodo is now 18 months old and still a handful - especially as I had a haemorrhagic stroke last year and have been diagnosed with amyloid angiopathy. Currently, he's attending beginner/pup behaviour classes, but I'm really confused with all this "reward them for being good, ignore when bad" stuff, as there are times when he really needs some form of Cesar Milan punishment. Sometimes I feel forced to muzzle him although he hates it, as he can be good as gold but then suddenly start barking and lunging at people and dogs. Hopefully coming here will help!

 

[tigerlily46514]

WELCOME!!
So sorry to hear of you recent health problems, hope you are doing well and hanging in there. That would have to be tough to deal with at times.
And sorry the energy match between your and your new dog seems to need some working on. That is the key thing, to match up, is energy level of dog to energy level of human, but, one can find ways to work around discrepancies.
Amazingly, just teaching dogs tricks can be one tool in learning how to help a dog with issues!!
so do stick around here and learn how to teach a dog tricks!! Any trick will do, just to get started, cuz it's the learning itself that helps.

Most of your remarks above, are being addressed in your other thread.....
Yes, there ARE many theories on how to help a dog with issues, but, not all of them are good for dogs, and most of us here strongly dislike Dog Whisperer . ("DW"). Now, i strongly SUPPORT his nonstop, strong emphasis on exercising dogs, but, oddly, so so many of DW fans seem to skip that one good point he makes about providing enough exercise every day, and just focus on yanking dogs around instead....odd.


If i could cast a vote for your future with your dog,
i'd so so happily recommend you put "dog whisperer" on child-block out on your tv set,
and instead,
watch "It's Me or The Dog" with Victoria Stillwell.


For real, please re-think the DW, i can see how you, like so so many ppl, have been convinced force is the only way to teach things, or that force and fear are the best ways to teach things, but, it's not.

Picture if YOU were trying to learn how to speak Russian,
and every time you messed up, you got hurt or scared/intimidated/frightened.
It's been proven, fear does NOT increase your ability to learn anything,
and usually reduces your ability to correctly process information.


kicking small animals teaches them NOTHING, except to fear you, and possibly, to trust you less as an unpredictable creature.
After you kick a dog, the dog is left in pain, and still has NO IDEA what it is you DO want the dog to do.
Dogs WANT TO please us, teaching the dog what we DO want, is far more effective, more moral, more helpful way to teach a dog what you DO want him to do.

Many of us here are 're-formed' DW fans, so do stick around here, you are not alone. We all live and learn,
and YES!! YES!! YOU CAN HELP YOUR PRODO!! but, kicking him, yanking him, scaring him, intimidating Prodo, is NOT the way to help Prodo learn what it is you DO want him to do instead...


Here is how i see Dog Whisperer:

 

[tigerlily46514]

btw,
i rescued an abused adult dog,
who BIT ALL HUMANS who touched him, or startled him. (even me) and glared at all the rest of the humans.

now, my dog loves all humans, and greets them all with a waggy tail.
He does therapy work at a local nursing home now, and LOVES all these loud strangers leaning over him, petting him, etc.


In helping my dog learn to stop biting all humans,
never once have i ever ever hit him, kicked him, or even yelled at him. I worked so hard to NOT scare him, to not intimidate him, but instead,
worked to get him to never ever fear me, but instead to trust me. completely.

still, it didn't take too long, not really, to help my dog learn first, to trust ME,
and then, to learn to trust and follow my cues to get him to stop biting everyone.

and zero kicking nor scaring the dog was ever involved. not once. Zero punishment of any kind, not ever.

YOU can do it, too. It CAN be done. Hang in there,
and never give up on your dog. but DO keep your mind open to considering new ideas on how to help Frodo. I'm guessing, by now,
you have already discovered, that yanking him around, yelling at him, making "PFFFT!" noise, jerking Frodo around, nor even kicking Frodo-----
did not prevent Frodo from doing exact same thing next time.....and did NOT change one thing in Frodo's mind, about what to do when he does see dogs or ppl.....

there HAS TO BE a better way, right? since all the yanking and yelling has not stopped Frodo from doing what you don't want him to do....

 

[tigerlily46514]

and btw,
one thing i find laffable in DW's "theory"
on why dogs react/misbehave, etc
"the dog is manifesting the human's secret, unresolved inner issues"
is pure bunk.
DOGS HAVE THEIR VERY OWN PERSONALITIES.

Dogs are NOT imitating their human's personalities....as Prodo is demonstrating, with his very excitable self.

True, if we freak out, it's possible, our dogs can freak out too.
but,
my dog has reacted, when i was so calm, i wasn't even paying att'n.
and my dog has been calm,
when i was sweating bullets and skaking, very very tense and worked up, yet,
my dog was calm. Buddy is not sharing my brain, he is his own self.

Turns out, my dog is NOT an extension of "me",
but is his own separate being,
with his own lil views on things.
My dog IS his own unique individual self.

I know some spazzy high-strung, tense, fearful ppl with laid back, relaxed dogs . I know some laid back, relaxed humans,
with high energy, spazzy, hyper dogs.

dogs do not share our brain or attitudes or personality on all or even most things....not at all.
AS FRODO HAS SHOWN YOU,
DOGS HAVE THEIR VERY OWN PERSONALITY,
which can be unlike your own!! (i'm assuming YOU do not get spazzy when you see dogs or humans).

My dog was afraid of vaccuums and of plastic bags way back when.
I am not afraid of plastic bags. HE was. I am very very calm around plastic bags at all times.
see?
Dogs DO have their very own brains,
their very own lil quirks and ideas. When Frodo can not control his excitement at seeing new ppl or new dogs,
Frodo is NOT imitating YOU!! SEE? Dog whisperer has done so so much damage to so many ppl's understanding of dogs......

 

[tigerlily46514]

Around here,
most of us use CLICKERS!!
clickers are how they train tigers and lions at circuses....

IF A CLICKER CAN GET A 700 POUND TIGER TO OVERCOME HIS FEAR OF FIRE,
it's sure worth trying on your 50 lb dog....

clickers is how they train those one ton wild beasts at SeaWorld to do just eggggzactly what the human wants....


NO WAY to yank a killer whale around....
NO WAY to "scare" a killer whale, to show that whale "who's boss" around here!!

.....NO WAY to get a killer whale to think of YOU as stronger than him.....yet, with a clicker, you can get that giant wild beast to do just exactly what YOU want...

PLUS, you don't get your own self upset, yanking your beloved dog around, either. You wont' feel crappy after kicking a small creature, if you begin positive only training...

 

[tigerlily46514]

hope you DO stick around and re-consider how to best approach Frodo's issues that you want Frodo to change. You CAN do it, yes, you can!! and both you, and Frodo,
will both learn a lot along the way.

 

[Dogster]

WELCOME!!!! LOVE Dalmations!!!!
I always wince at the moments when he kicks dogs. The dogs seem to react at his kicking, not anything else. DW was hurling that husky all over the place. HEY!!!! Dogs have feelings too!!!!
I don't think Buddy would have been *succesfully* rehabilitated if Tigerlily used the DW method. Positive reinforcement is the way to go!!!!!

 

[Ripleygirl]

Tigerlily has really said what needs to be said with Caesar... You can get a much better positive success rate - permanently - with positive methods of reinforcement - you do not want a dog that obeys because he is scared of you - you want a dog that wants to work for you. You will only get this by positive reinforcement... I am not saying no use of muzzles - if they are needed at the moment then use them but, and this is a big but - make sure the muzzle is introduced and used in a positive manner - never use a muzzle just slapping it on after a dog has done wrong aggression wise. Introduce it with lots of praise and treats and make the dog used to it when they are calm and doing good and treat when they wear it and do good things. You should be able to progress from this, the muzzle give you, the human, a mental calming technique that your dog cannot harm while they wear it, it is not a tool to use instead of positive reinforcement to minimise the negative aspects of what the dog has learnt to do. Use it with your other positve training. Take the time and put the effort in but do not use Caesars techniques because you are creating fear and not trust.

 

[bekah1001]

Welcome! I love his name. Sorry I don't have as much to say as Tigerlily did

 

[mewzard]

hello!!! OMG you live so near to me compared to most others on the forum - I'm in Reading, Berkshire!!

with positive methods of reinforcement - you do not want a dog that obeys because he is scared of you - you want a dog that wants to work for you.

This is key. believe me with big dogs with a mind of thier own, forcing NEVER works!
Off to find your other thread!

 

[tigerlily46514]

JazzSue, do come back, and feel free to ask any questions at all! Especially if you are unsure that positive only training works, or how it's done, etc.

Like i said, many of us here are reformed DW fans,
you are not alone.

 

[Dogster]

Yup!!! Reformed DW fan, right here!!!! I will NEVER go back there....

 

[sara]

I have a very fear aggressive dog. and before I was totally reformed, i used a pinch collar on Oliver... It made him fear strangers... If I ever use a correction with Ollie, even a verbal one, he becomes distrustful.

Positive training has never ruined a dog, but correction based training has and does on a regular basis.

Oliver also will lung at strangers and dogs, but he is an awesome, and smart guy, whom I do alot of trick training with. And he loves tricks so much, I'm able to use trick training as a way to distract him from other dogs. It puts him in a happy place, and when he's happy, he cant be aggressive.

 

[bekah1001]

I love this website!!!!!!!!!!! I used to be a big DW fan. When I found this site I didn't even know what a clicker is. Now I can't stand DW and I'm now a huge kikopup fan!!!!!!

 

[Dogster]

Me too!!!! High five, Bekah!!!!

 

[Ripleygirl]

I have had sooooo many conversations on dog walks in the park with people who are massive DW fans - I have always pointed them in other directions, whether they wanted to listen or not - tried to put the value of clicker training in theirs heads - I now still do this but also point them to this site too!!!! And to Kikopups videos! It is great to have a place where you can come and know that others on here are so, in the same opinion as you with positive reinforcement training and really practise what they preach!!!!! Love it!!!!!