skip to main |
skip to sidebar
You should NEVER use the recall word ("COME", or whatever word you choose) to call your dog to discipline him, correct him, tell him what a bad dog he is, or for any negative reason. Bad deeds MUST be caught IN THE ACT in order to correct. If you still need your dog by you for a negative reason, give him a firm SIT command and go get him.
For example:
Imagine this, you see your dog "Major" outside digging up your newly planted daisies. You first quietly say "Major, Come here". Major, doesn’t respond. You then yell "MAJOR - COME HERE!". Major still doesn’t come, so you go over and grab him by the collar and yell "I told you to Come Here!" and give him a smack.
Major being a smart dog, makes a mental note "Come Here" means "You’re in trouble and about to get punished".
Next time when he is outside, and you want him to come inside for dinner you go out and say to him "Come here", he responds by running away. "Dumb dog" you think and go and grab him and drag him inside so he’ll eat his food. Then you say sternly "How come you don’t ever COME when I call you?!" Major makes another mental note (Hmmm: seems to me my memory of "COME HERE" is still accurate – don’t want to respond to that – after all, "COME HERE" means I am in BIG TROUBLE!)
Remember, dogs know ONLY "dog language" when they come to live with us. WE must teach them our language. In the above examples, Major did not learn OUR translation for the word "COME". He learned "COME" meant "angry owner – I’m in trouble now. Better scram out of here!" We want Major to learn that "COME" means "Get your buns to me in the fastest way possible – NO EXCEPTIONS!"Major needs to understand that COME means GOOD stuff – ALWAYS!SitStayFetch.net
Kind regards,
Daniel StevensClick here to learn the truth about Dog Food Secrets.
SitStayFetch: Consultation
Hi Daniel,
We have a challenge for you; I hope you can help us.
We have a one year old border collie named Zippy. She is very active and we do a lot of play and exercise with her. Our problem is that every time we are in the kitchen opening the silverware drawer or any drawer that makes noises, she goes crazy. She runs around in circles, bolts to our living room and then makes more circles! If we do any kind of paperwork, tearing paper or tearing out checks she does the same thing. When she does this we can't get her attention at all, she just goes berserk! She is such a good dog, she knows all kinds of tricks and is good on commands except for this one problem.
I hope you can help us on this.
Please answer.
Carol
---------------------------------------------------------------
SitStayFetch Reply:
Hi Carol,
Thank you for your email.
First of all, I recommend that you desensitize Zippy to the things which make her go berserk.
You can do this by having her in the kitchen with you (unleashed) and spending a minimum of 10 minutes a day opening the drawer and closing it. Do this quietly to begin with, but as the days go by do it progressively louder, until you are really clattering that cutlery! You will have to completely ignore her reaction and act as if she is not there, act calm, because if you give her any attention you will probably just exaggerate her excitement and ruin the objective of the exercise.After you have done the silverware trick as above, spend 10 minutes ripping paper in a casual and neutral manner. Do not even look at her if/when she reacts to the paper tearing. In fact, initially, it might pay to continue the paper ripping until she calms down if it is possible. Then make sure you reward her for any positive behavior, to reinforce what you want from her.In psychology they refer to this treatment as “Flooding”. It is the same concept as making a person face their fears, or neutralizing an exciting task by having to do it all the time. Consistency is the key with this training. After a while you can move on and have someone make her sit on a short lead while you continue the desensitizing process using the cutlery and paper ripping as described previously. Again reward her for any positive change in behavior, she may not change her behavior instantly, but if there is a slight change, stop what you are doing and reward her, even if it is just a “Good Dog!”If it is possible, make a tape recording of the noises which she reacts to. Play them to her quietly and as often as possible when you know she can not hurt herself. If she is really noisy, it might be a good idea to inform and warn your neighbors about what you are doing.That should do the trick, just keep persevering and you'll get there!Best of luck, SitStayFetch.net Daniel Stevens---------------------------------------------------------------Carol's Reply: Hello Daniel,Thank you so much for the suggestion. We have started doing what you suggested and it does seem like it is going to work. Like you said, be consistent. I will let you know later on how we are doing. Again, thank you.Carol
SitStayFetch: Consultation
Hi Daniel,
I have a four year old labrador who loves to bury food. Every time I give him a biscuit he runs out into the yard, digs a hole in the corner of the garden and buries it. He never seems to go back for the buried biscuits but comes back to me and cries for more. My wife and I have uncovered literally hundreds of decaying biscuits when we dig the garden. Its such a terrible waste as well as being a little yucky. We are almost at our wits end. How do we stop this behavior and what leads him to do it anyway?
Yours,
Larry.
-------------------------------------------------------------
SitStayFetch Reply:
Dear Larry,
Burying food is not that unusual at all. In fact, it is in your dog's nature to bury items such as bones for later consumption. Its been long recognized as a form of hoarding or food storage that is inherited from the wolves. Because your dog has a readily available supply of food from you, there is no need to dig up the food stored in reserve. And so it rots.Other than restricting the amount of biscuits that you are feeding him, the easiest solution to your problem is to restrict access to the yard until after he has eaten the biscuit. Alternatively you could try burying chicken wire under the surface of the dirt so your dog can't dig. Take a look at my book SitStayFetch and go to the section entitled Dog 202: Common Dog Problems Solved.I hope this helps!SitStayFetch.net Kind regards, Daniel Stevens and the SitStayFetch TeamClick here to learn the truth about Dog Food Secrets.
"The SitStayFetch books have been a tremendous help to me in gaining more control over my two dogs Neo & Molly especially as they were rather defiant at times.
Both dogs are very loving, fun and loyal but I've had to get a dog behaviorist out in the past as Molly's a rescue dog, has a nervous disposition and a habit of going bonkers through fear by barking, growling and trying to nip/bite. I think she was abused before I got her as she is extremely scared of children and doesn't particularly like strangers and other dogs. She loves the family and those she knows but it was/is really worrying so the fear biting section has been great for tips on dealing with that.
They know now who's the alpha and don't try nearly as much nonsense as they used to. Obviously I'm not expecting them to change overnight, I realize I have to be rigorous in the re-training but so far they're coming along great!
I really wish I'd heard/got the SitStayFetch books years ago, in my opinion no dog owner should be without a copy. They're brilliant, very easy to understand/follow and the results are amazing! Please find attached my photo of myself and the dogs."
-- Kirsty Halleran (UK)SitStayFetch.net
Kind regards,
Daniel Stevens and the SitStayFetch Team
Click here to learn the truth about Dog Food Secrets.
