Training: What is in hand - Page 2

To the OP:

You currently have one 5mo male, one 5mo female and another 9mo male (hopefully there aren't more!), and you have NO knowledge about dog training, other than some basic commands?

You need much more than some forum advices.

Best of luck.

Maybe not everyone is a mixer, but if you are a complete novice, clubs are the best place to start unless you have a mentor, which CountryGSD presumeably does not if he's asking on here.

MNJ

To Swarendu:

I have two CKC regestired german shepherd dogs!!! I also had a question concerning training, not questioning how many dogs i have or my intelengence!!!

To all the others that answerd positively, Thanks I have looked into it

"I purchased a male dog from Tracy Reid (Reikenhaus German Shepherds) born June 3/2016. The dog was being bought as a breeding male..." - what about this pup, then?

YOU didn't question about how many dogs you have, actually it was me who was interested to know if there were more!!!

Regarding your INTELLIGENCE, I didn't question THAT, only your KNOWLEDGE about serious dog training, and your ABILITY to raise three pups together.

It's obvious that you ARE a novice. So it will really be helpful for the dogs (and you also) if you consider getting out of the forums and join some training classes, where YOU will be observed handling the pup(s), and YOU will be coached how to train them.

This is a serious advice, no disrespect was intended.

Operant Condition is just one good way to train a canine. But like any other method , the method not done correctly can cause problems. I won't get into the specifics . I would have to give a seminar as opposed to a post to supprt my statement. . But, operant conditioning is not new ! 40 years ago we utliized Operant or Instrumental Conditioning , as it is called . Technically ... there are two manners of this type of conditioning. Hence the confusion in the two descriptive names , Instrumental Conditioning and Operative Conditioning- they are almost the same but not entirely.

I would reccommend a must read book . Published years ago , writtten by Karen Pryor : ' Don't Shoot the Dog ' printed in paperback . I would say one of THE classic books if you want to fully understand clicker training ! It is extremely easy easy reading . I would state emphatically , any serious dog trainer should have read this . I have often seen Professionals , even high enders, that really do not fully grasp teaching concepts. Simply because a method or technique , is a one size fits all otion when it comes to teaching . Every dog and every person is different,  leans different and should be taught differently . Understanding  'the concepts ' allows anyone the opportunity to customizing teaching according to each dog and individual makeup.Teaching is not a ' do this'  or  ' do that ' endeavor and that philosophy is not best for this result or that result ! In the dog world it is a given : peopple create [ training] problems not the dog !

The other comment to the OP : especially with the new terchnology , use your i pad , or your phone and video how and what you do with your dog. One of the most important aspects to learn is that : you are as much  an integral part of the teaching and learning process for the dog as the dog itself.

So before you start 'dog training' have a clear understanding conceptually of what you are going to do as well as specifically what you BOTH are going to do.   Again : if you want to understand  clicker training :     " Don't Shoot the Dog " , by Karen Pryor . BTW positive training isn't always motivational training and motivational training isn't always positive trainng .......And for those well educated in the aspect of teaching a dog then this you know to be empirical . 

@countrygsd -
 

The videos mentioned are great resources, supper long and sometimes hard to get through in a single setting :) but dont let that discourage you.

One mistake i see a lot of "new" trainers do, is assume they "know" what a high value food reward is based on their thoughts and personal opinion but in reality, to the dog, the food being offered is “okay”.

A trick I stole from somebody (honestly cant remember who), is that I grab a whole bunch of different foods like: hot dogs, carrots, fish, boiled chicken cut up, cheese whiz, dried chicken liver, ect (sometimes you have to be creative)… I have a helper hold my dog at one end of a room then I lay a few of these treats out on the floor across the room. Then I ask my helper to let the dog go and I take mental notes on which food the dog goes to first. I then repeat this exercise a few times, with each time moving the food in different order. After few sessions of this, I generally have a group of food items that the dog really likes above all other items offered. These are the treats that I use in my training. I revisit this “finding food my dog really likes” routine every few months. For me, this method has really helped me determine what foods hold high value to that dog.

 

Good luck!!!

@Centurian

I would reccommend a must read book . Published years ago , writtten by Karen Pryor : ' Don't Shoot the Dog ' printed in paperback . I would say one of THE classic books if you want to fully understand clicker training !

Thats a fun, educational read. Have you ever read "Contingencies Of Reinforcement: A Theoretical Analysis - BF Skinner"? This is one of the mian sources in which marker training is based on.

Thanks again for the great replies!!!

Susan Garret the agility lady is also a great source of info to get a dog working in drive thru games.

 

Amongst many other things she shows how to get a dog running full speed at distance into a crate purely motivationally.

Cutaway When im training a dog it never eats out of a bowl I only feed out of my pocket.this way u become its only source of food which means your very important to the dog . The dog gets fed when it works . It's a grate way to bond with your dog u become like the mother dog learns very quickly to stay with u because he doesn't get food when he is away from u. Great for making positions in training because dog is always wanting food . He works for his dinner not for a treat. When he understands the game if he decides not to work he goes back to the pen hungry no food till the next day very quickly he understands working equals food .and that means not going hungry is the highest reward . Not chicken liver or anything else