IPO Training - Page 2

Yogi, you expect him to learn to do this on his own, without help from someone who's done it before?
That's what I've always hated about online videos - too often, they show the dog doing the exercise correctly, and not the dozens of steps it took the handler to get the dog there!

When I started IPO, I'd already done CKC obedience, and knew how to get a dog to heel, but the extremely focused heeling required in IPO was new to me, and I don't think I could have done it without experienced help from the club and its trainers.

Screw up this foundation work, and you screw up everything. When I asked a very experienced trainer for advice on getting my CKC trained female to do an IPO style heel, she told me to forget about it, and start over with a puppy!
Needless to say, I wasn't too happy with that advice...

Having retrained spoiled horses in the past, and not being the sort of person who gets rid of a dog because it turns out to be not what I was hoping for, I kept at it. She will do a pretty passable heel now, but loses interest pretty quickly when I try to eliminate the treats.

Ss nobody but the owner is able to teach the dog to focus . Put the dog in a sit when u he looks at u feed him when he looks away a little tension on the lead . 2 movement . Soon the dog learns when I pay attention I get a reward . He is not dealing with a dog that is fighting him or is showing aggression . I reckon he is just rushing to the next step just like anyone who can't heel there dog it's the easy part of training . Sit look at me get food. And if u mess it up just go back to the start the only thing it does is take longer and remember always reinforce a wanted behavior . This can even be do with an older dog with food drive and if drive is low make your dog hungry and he will work for food . Iv seen people start with a ball but the drive level is to high my advice is start in a low level drive . Also iv seen dogs go days without a ball how many days have u seen a dog go without food

True, but someone needs to teach the owner how to do it.

I remember watching a friend of mine trying to do this with her male showline. She was complaining about the dog not taking the treats gently enough - almost snapping at her fingers. What she didn't realize was she was causing the behaviour herself, by drawing the treat away.

When you're new at this, you NEED someone around to critique you and help you see what you're doing wrong. It's hard to see the overall picture, unless you've got someone filming you with a camera!

Ss when I started I used a mirror . People over complicate the easiest of things. I think clubs a great don't get me wrong but for certain things but u can't teach someone to have patience . If u wa to do sport something's u need to work out on your own or else u will always be dependent on someone else. If u can't work out why a dog is biting yo finger well that says a lot to me . It mad u can teach a dog to heel without even moving and people still can't do it

I like to use Food on my dogs for training too...I use Whole Hot Dogs...and you can start by just sitting in a chair and have your dog on leash...Then let him come and find out you have the food...then just let him "nibble" at the Hot Dog...Depending on the dog it can get a little hurtful to your hands...but just keep pushing the Hot Dog thru your hands so a little sticks out allowing your dog to nibble it...
I would do this at least a few times until your dog will nibble at the Food fairly consistently...then get up...with the dog still on leash...and just stand still and let your dog nibble at the Food some more...
Then begin to take a step of two while the dog nibbles...Then begin to increase it...

**This is all saying that your dog likes the food and will work for it...

~Bob~

All dog's will work for food if hungry enough that one drive all dogs have simply food to survive .one of the few things a dog can't do without

Yogi - if a picture/video is worth 1000 words, then being shown how to do something in person is worth much more. That is why there are training groups in all fields and why journeymen personally oversee/train apprentices.

Getting help and guidance from a group of people is very valuable - it increases learning and decreases frustration.

EXACTLY, Koots!

Even though I've trained one dog for BH, I still value other people's input on my training. Though now that I know what I'm doing, I don't need it nearly as much.

(I am a girl)

I don't live in the US, I live in the Netherlands.
My dog can heel and can focus, but combining those two is what I'm not able to do myself. I'm trying and it's starting to work a little, he looks at me for a second and then looks away again. I prefer not to use food as this makes my dog do stuff only when getting treats. Not anymore, I either praise him with words or with toys.
He is very smart and learns stricter rules very fast, as I normally wouldn't stop and tell him to look at me and sit when on a walk, but I do now. When he sits down he immediately looks at me, if there are not too many distractions. Family, a cat, a dog he knows and plays with and rabbits, those are the distractions which take him longer to focus on me. Traffic etc, are things that don't bother him and so he will look at me right away.
The heeling he does, is far not as good and perfect as the heeling they expect at IPO he keeps a little distance between my leg and him. Where as in IPO most dogs touch the leg when heeling.

How did you ever get your dog to focus a 110% and always on you?

Practise, practise and MORE practise. Also, corrections are needed when the dog looks away! (Of course, you do this only after the dog completely understands what you expect from him.) I notice you don't mention that (corrections).

You need something the dog really, really wants in order to get that focus. So, you either must use treats or a toy/tug for him to focus on. Gradually extend the length of time before he gets the reward.

If using a tug or toy, ONLY use that item for training, so the dog doesn't get bored with it. Play with the dog to make him want the toy really, really badly.

This is where temperament comes in. A dog that doesn't have a lot of drive may decide 'the heck with it' and ignore the toy or treat, which will make it VERY difficult to get the sort of focus needed for IPO.

This is another reason to take the training slowly. When you first start to ask for the focus when the dog is moving, only do a step or two at a time before rewarding.

As for the dog touching your leg when heeling, this is NOT correct positioning. The position of the hand with the reward in it does a lot to control the dog's position. If he is heeling wide, you need to correct your position. He needs to be close, but not too close, and definitely not wrapped around your leg.

For me, holding my hands in the right position (both leash hand and treat hand) and delivering the treats without dropping them or getting nipped is one of the hardest things to do.