dog training help

[thistlebloom]

Wow. Frustrating room mate in the extreme! Ridges comment on using the collar on her cracked me up. There are people who "get" animals , and people who will never "get" animals and how to interact with them. She sounds like the latter.

I agree with Reds recommendation for using a crate when they come in. Crate training is so useful for so many reasons!
If they come in (one at a time) and go right to their crates for 15 minutes or so, then are allowed out of them calmly and one at a time it will make a difference in their attitude and ability to listen to you. It is very hard to tackle training three at once though.

I'll bet Jared will have some really good ideas on this one!

 

[MontyJ]

You might try spending a few minutes with them outside, just before you bring them in. Play with them for a few minutes and bring them in with you. Sometimes just reducing the amount of change (difference from outdoors to indoors) is enough to calm them down some. Try to calm them before opening the door.

Our Sadie Jane (border collie/blue heeler) gets so excited when I come home from work she would wet on the floor. Now, when I come home, I open the door and she knows to come outside with me before I pet her. If she is very, very excited, she will stay stock still on the floor and won't even come to me for a minute until she gets herself under control enough to make it to the door without dribbling. It's very funny to watch.

 

[NwMtGardener]

Great advice so far from everyone.

It's tricky dealing with roommates - you've got to get along!! Can you ask her not to put the dogs in or out? If its only you who is handling this situation, you'll be able to be more consistent with them. Sounds challenging with the roommate home all day though. Oh, another thought that Monty reminded me of: changing the routine is a great idea, when they come into the house, can you leave their collars on for a while?? Give them a half hour, or whatever it takes until they're very calm, then go spend some quality quiet time scratching ears, rubbing bellies or whatever, and quietly take their yard collar off. Might help.

I hate it when people babble to dogs. 4 or 5 one word commands are really so much more effective. Or ignoring the bad behavior.

 

[canesisters]

Yes, GREAT advice - thank you!

I've got a 'plan' that might work.
I'll spend a little time outside with them as often the weather and my 'get home' time permits.
I don't have access to crates but I think that confining them briefly is a good idea. So I'm making 2 short leads to go on their 'indoor' collars for a while.
When they come in, I'll trade collars. They're not supposed to wear the radio collar inside because sometimes the wiring in the house can pick up the signal and suddenly there are 'unsafe' zones inside.
They'll wear the indoor collar and short lead and go from the back door into the living room (adjacent space) to lay down by the sofa and get a small chew bone.
Perfect time, by the way, for me to make my 'Hi I'm home and checking in with you' calls to Dad and such.
Then at some point during that 'decompressing' time I'll remove the leads, have a little 'Mommy' time with them (brushing, etc) and then in a (hopefully) no big deal way, just get up and go on about the evening...

What do yall think? Worth a try anyway.

NMGardener, the whole RM situation is complicated. Yes, she is very challenging. Some of it she can help, some of it she can't. The dogs are company and security to her so she lets them in and out several times a day. And it IS handy that they aren't left out in bad weather all day. I'm hoping that if I can be consisntant when I AM the one handeling them, then they will learn yet another set of duplicate behaviors.
I don't mind the babbleing - I do it myself. When GIlligan and I are sprawled in the recliner I'll babble on asking how his day was and what did he do and acting like his sighs and blinks are an actual answer. It's the expecting them to understand and respond that makes a horn sprout out of my forehead!

 

[so lucky]

You might try spending a few minutes with them outside, just before you bring them in. Play with them for a few minutes and bring them in with you. Sometimes just reducing the amount of change (difference from outdoors to indoors) is enough to calm them down some. Try to calm them before opening the door.

Our Sadie Jane (border collie/blue heeler) gets so excited when I come home from work she would wet on the floor. Now, when I come home, I open the door and she knows to come outside with me before I pet her. If she is very, very excited, she will stay stock still on the floor and won't even come to me for a minute until she gets herself under control enough to make it to the door without dribbling. It's very funny to watch.

Wow! Monty, that is so touching, that Sadie Jane takes a moment to gain her composure so she doesn't dribble on the floor. It reveals a lot about how eager to please, and very intelligent, she is!

 

[NwMtGardener]

Haha, your post on the remodeling forum just made me think of a new way to slow them down - put that linoleum in!! heh, is that mean? We used to get a good laugh from our old chocolate lab - the wood floors were terrifying to him as he got older, and we have runner rugs everywhere, except in the kitchen where its nice not to have dogs underfoot. Well sometimes i guess he thought the runners were too narrow to turn around on, so he would slowly BACK UP all the way to the next big rug. What a goof.

 

[Jared77]

Sorry I got in on this late I've had some limited internet access.

Here's what I'd do if it was me. Its a couple step process but it will make life MUCH easier in the long term.

First off Id start with training them to sit at the door. You sit, put the invisible fence collar on, and when given a command to get out of the sit "release" or whatever you want to say then they can go out. Start with one dog at a time till they know the routine. And just because you open the door does NOT mean they break the sit and get up. They only get up when given the command to get up and THEN can go outside. They break, shut the door and re-sit them and try again till they get it right. Soon you can stand there with the door wide open and they'll be holding that sit position. That's the ideal.

Each dog gets that. Same coming back into the house. I'd put a leash on one of them, make them sit, open the door, keep the other dogs back (I know easier said than done) bring the leashed dog inside, SIT. Invisible fence collar off, wipe paws, whatever else you need to do, then give the same release command and treat/praise. The dog who's let in gets the chewy or whatever your giving them now to keep them calm. Again they load each other up just like kids so you have to break it down into steps and each dog gets the steps then you can start doing it together. Before you know it you've got all 3 dogs sitting for collars on and collars off at the door once they come in and not moving until they get their command to get up and go.

As far as them exploding out of the house, have them sit close to the door. So when they are given the command to go, its just a few steps out so they can just run. When coming in you have them on a leash so you dictate the speed and how they enter. They'll get it, they just have to realize the rules are different now.

When you give whatever word you want to use for a release command give the dogs name and then the command so each dogs knows who your talking to. If you just say "release" I'd expect all 3 dogs to get up. But if you say "Rosie release" then only Rosie should get up. If the other 2 get up, you return them to their sit, and go from there. Don't have to be harsh, just reset them and go forward from there.

When you introduce the 2nd dog or 3rd dog you have to remember to praise the 1st one for holding the sit while your getting another dog ready. When its 3 dogs, dress the 2nd praise the first. Then dress the 3rd, praise the 1st and 2nd for holding their positions. Then its release and out they go. Same thing coming in. Praise between each dog for holding their positions while working on someone else.

The smarter the animal the more they understand the delayed reward system. They know that if they hold ____ behavior for _____ long if you do it gradually they know they'll get their reward. So its ok to make them wait and as you work with them, they'll learn the reward is always there (be it praise, treat etc) but it may mean holding the behavior just a little big longer but I'm still going to get my reward.

That's how we train very complex behaviors by breaking them down into very small components and chaining the behaviors together. Sit, hold the sit while collars are exchanged, paws wiped etc, then hold it while the other dog comes in. Then another dog comes in. THEN we get our reward. The praise in between each dog is a reinforcement for them for holding the position they had. You go too long between reward/reinforcement and the dogs may get up because they are not used to holding a position that long under those kinds of distractions. So by praising them they know they are doing it right and your working on stretching the time that they hold each position.

But they still know that even when its all said and done they get their reward. They know its there. You've trained them to believe if they do X they get Y. Then its do X.........wait........Y. Then it becomes do X.........wait...........distraction..........Y. Notice how Y is always there? They know that. That's why they do it because they want Y. You take Y away and you'll lose behavior. There's no incentive to do X because Y is not there. Its very demotivating.

As far as your roommate goes, tell them stop getting them excited. That's all that is. The roommate is getting them all wound up so when they come in they are looking for trouble. If they want in, they'll sit at the door. They'll see it, and can let them in. Don't get them all geeked up and unleash them into your house.

It sounds like a lot but its really not. I'm sure you've already got sit, so work with it. Or Down. Your choice. Just chain those behaviors with making them wait and holding the position you put them in and you'll stop that wild crazy behavior.