I know a lot of you are dog lovers (proven by the copious amounts of 'post pics of your animals' threads) but I thought I would share with you all the epiphany I had today.
For those who know me, you must know Hemi and Thor - my pitbull mix and my doberman.
Both travel with me and work with me on occasion. For fun we went down and trained with an American K9 contractor a few years back and we'll be returning for a week in August. They have learned some neat search drills, recovery and simple bite techniques. I wouldn't say they are masters but they are good enough at what I wanted them to do.
Over the last few months I have really noticed a change in my dogs. Hemi, my once **** disturber high energy hell hound has become calm, dog aggressive and dominant.
Thor, the dog I acquired at the age of 4 has become overly needy, affectionate and submissive. He is also weary of children. He raises his lips at them which can be quite scary even though he's never snapped. He also barks at people he doesn't trust.
Both dogs are wonderful but far from perfect. I consulted the trainers in the USA and asked what I should be doing before I come back down. To correct the bad behaviours and sharpen their skills they suggested moving on to a remote dog trainer (aka shock collar).
I was very hesitant. I saw one used years ago and it was horrible and painful. These things have come such a long way! I tried one on myself. Not painful at all even on the highest setting. It's numbing and uncomfortable. Dogs also have a much higher pain tolerance than humans so I know I wasn't going to hurt my dogs. I also felt shock collars were for lazy trainers. Not true at all. These are precision tools which allow my dogs to obey me on a dime which is necessary for the off leash work we do often near other dogs and in public.
Hemi and Thor have a very high prey drive. Thor goes nuts if you even mention squirrel. One correction and both lie down and wait for me to release them.
All in all, we are still working with these devices but the improvements are insane! Now I don't need to worry about another dog distracting them while we train. THor chasing a rabbit or other small critter into traffic, my young nieces and nephews playing nearby and so much more. My initial taboo of these devices have been completely abolished. If anyone else is looking to do some intense training with their dogs - these devices are for you. I bought mine on sale at petsmart. Not cheap ($330 for 2 collars and 1 remote programmed to each dog) but worth it when you factor in what you can do with them.
For those who know me, you must know Hemi and Thor - my pitbull mix and my doberman.
Both travel with me and work with me on occasion. For fun we went down and trained with an American K9 contractor a few years back and we'll be returning for a week in August. They have learned some neat search drills, recovery and simple bite techniques. I wouldn't say they are masters but they are good enough at what I wanted them to do.
Over the last few months I have really noticed a change in my dogs. Hemi, my once **** disturber high energy hell hound has become calm, dog aggressive and dominant.
Thor, the dog I acquired at the age of 4 has become overly needy, affectionate and submissive. He is also weary of children. He raises his lips at them which can be quite scary even though he's never snapped. He also barks at people he doesn't trust.
Both dogs are wonderful but far from perfect. I consulted the trainers in the USA and asked what I should be doing before I come back down. To correct the bad behaviours and sharpen their skills they suggested moving on to a remote dog trainer (aka shock collar).
I was very hesitant. I saw one used years ago and it was horrible and painful. These things have come such a long way! I tried one on myself. Not painful at all even on the highest setting. It's numbing and uncomfortable. Dogs also have a much higher pain tolerance than humans so I know I wasn't going to hurt my dogs. I also felt shock collars were for lazy trainers. Not true at all. These are precision tools which allow my dogs to obey me on a dime which is necessary for the off leash work we do often near other dogs and in public.
Hemi and Thor have a very high prey drive. Thor goes nuts if you even mention squirrel. One correction and both lie down and wait for me to release them.
All in all, we are still working with these devices but the improvements are insane! Now I don't need to worry about another dog distracting them while we train. THor chasing a rabbit or other small critter into traffic, my young nieces and nephews playing nearby and so much more. My initial taboo of these devices have been completely abolished. If anyone else is looking to do some intense training with their dogs - these devices are for you. I bought mine on sale at petsmart. Not cheap ($330 for 2 collars and 1 remote programmed to each dog) but worth it when you factor in what you can do with them.
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