I'm getting a puppy. Any training book recommendations?

[Shotgun]

Train early, train often (but not for long periods of time) and be consistent in your training and correction. Importantly, be the Alpha dog in your relationship. If you can get your dog to whoa, come, sit, stay, and heel on command, every time, despite whatever distraction may be present, then you will have a well behaved dog. Lost my hunting lab in December. She was well behaved and a pleasure to hunt with. You could put food on her feet or nose, and she would not eat without permission. The Monks of New Skete book is good as are the Woltors books. But, the books will not work any magic. Training takes time, and there is no substitute for that.

[UNM1136]

Glad to see Ellis mentioned. I have seen "The Power of Training Your Dog with Food" and "The Power of Playing Tug With Your Dog", and find them very worthwhile. I regularly refer to "Training the Recall" and both volumes of "Remote Collar Training". Careful buying them second hand, as Ed can be an ass when he thinks he is "protecting" his intellectual property. Michael Ellis' videos through Leerburg are a staple for obedience training in our dog club. You can get them streaming at a slight discount from his site, but I prefer having DVDs. I try to pick one up every 6 months to a year depending on finances. An unexpected necessity that I stumbled across with Ellis' Leash Pressure DVD.

I never considered an e-collar necessary for good dog training, but now that I have learned to use it correctly will never train a dog without one again.

Many dogs will function well with purely positive training, but like children, if they don't have clear consequences for incorrect decisions there will always be a stimulus out there that interests the dog more than obeying a command. Positive punishment has a place in dog training. It is admittedly a little place, compared to positive reinforcement, and properly used, negative punishment and negative reinforcement can be helpful as well. I have a hard headed dog that is interested in what he is interested in, and it took one session of negative reinforcement on a low setting to get the dog to recall properly under mild to moderate distraction in situations he had months of blowing me off before. Despite what the purely positive folks say, there is a place for the e-collar and prong collar in dog training, they are certainly not abusive if used properly. With my dog they function more as communications devices; rather than the hideous punishers the purely positive crowd would have you think they are. They are certainly less punishing than choke chains, fur savers, and martingales when used properly. They also allow clearer communication with the dog than throw chains, etc. My dog was getting out of the yard regularly, and the e-collar helped that when used traditionally. Afterwards I didn't want him vaulting on the wall to look over it, so I waited for him to charge the wall and simply told him "no" as he tried to vault up it. He is not reliable yet, but his attempts to look over the wall dropped about 75% in two days with no punishment. He understood what I was trying to tell him, and only failed when he got too excited to remember. A good book that is getting harder to find that explains the proper use of the prong collar and correct introduction and use of the E-collar is "Training the Behavior" by Gary Patterson. It is very specific to schutzhund training, but obedience is a big part of the game, and many dogs enjoy tracking when they learn how. As far as bitework goes, my club has pits, mastiffs, and a jagdterrier.

I have a 20 pound chihuahua mix that doesn't have very good manners, and is very dog aggressive. Who ever had her before me tried to correct her bad behaviors improperly with an e-collar, and she is therefore very collar wise and will not behave normally when she has one on. The prong collar, on the other hand works well with her and my vet congratulated me for loving my little dog enough to control her, even if it was with a prong collar. Little dogs are allowed to get away with a lot, and in my opinion are frequently spoiled rotten and more likely to act out than my 75 pound Mal.

Please don't misconstrue my position on punishment. If your dog works well purely positively, than that is the direction you should go. I have been around working dogs enough to know that at some point their interest will be piqued by something that makes them suddenly "go deaf". With a dog that I am allowing to bite people, I cannot take the chance that he will ignore me, so we systematically push distractions and correct him when necessary when he makes a bad decision. I punish my kids when necessary, and 95+% of my dog training is positive. I am a little skeptical about a purely positive dog's reliability, but I believe the right kind of person can make it work 99% of the time. I also believe that many, many people overly or improperly punish their dogs and frequently don't know what they don't know.

pat

[JohnO]

My female GSD came to us at 8 weeks wearing a Herm Sprenger Prong Collar. Until the little tank came home she has worn that same 2.5mm collar. I just added links as required. She would have been challanging to walk on leash without the prong collar because of her drive. She quickly learned that it isn't comfortable to pull into the prong collar. Plenty of dogs pull into choke collars to the point of hurting themselves with little or no effect. When I asked Leerburg about going to a bigger prong collar or adding links they suggested adding links. As they said more pinch per inch.

In anticipation of the new puppy and knowing he is projected to top out between 85 & 90 Lbs I purchased a Herm Sprenger 3.2mm prong collar. My female is wearing the 3.2mm now and I have the 2.5 mm for the male until he gets big enough to switch to the 3.2mm collar.

Also Highly recommended is a good quality Leather Leash. Stay away from everything else. Leather is so much easier and to hang on to. Everyone who is serious about training and knows what they are doing is using a leather leash.

Electronic Collars are a fantastic tool for training and security. I have an E-collar from Educator Collars (The Boss). It was the recommended model from my trainer. I added the 1" contacts to reach through the thick neck mane on my female. I will be adding a second collar for the male when he gets older. My female is very obedient and goes most places with me off leash. However I have her wearing the E-collar just in case I need to correct her. That correction which can either be an electric stim or just collar vibration is enough to get her attention.

The E-collar also has a light that you can set to blink or continuous on. If you go out at night with your dog and it's off leash the light is great to keep track of them. I added a secondary beacon to her E-collar as her neck fur is so thick most of the time the E-collar light get obstructed. I added one of these and it works great. https://www.chewy.com/sportdog-locat...E&gclsrc=aw.ds

I recommend you get your puppy out into the world as much as possible. Places like Agway, Tractor Supply, Lowes, Petco... exposing the dog to as many different types of stimuli will help with it's development. I took my female to a "Touch a Truck" event in town. She got to walk around lots of people, met tons of kids & got her picture in the newspaper. Last summer there was a 4 week in a row concert series in the park near me. We walked over to each and she walked through the crowd and even got to play ball (retrieve) on the outskirts of the crowd.

I've taken my female with me everywhere. She is also well accustomed to gunfire as she has been with me to numerous classes. I figure the round count she has been exposed to is well in excess of 10K. She started out slowly with me at my club range and has always been kept far enough away to protect her ears. In her Distraction class when someone is pounding on a big piece of sheet metal or in Schutzhund training when the blank gun gets fired she doesn't even blink an eye.

[NickA]

I haven't used or read the Mike Ritland books, but he was recently on the Jocko Podcast and seemed to have some very good insight into the canine brain. I plan to buy Team Dog soon for use with our new addition:


Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

[StraitR]

@pangloss The only dog book I've read and used is one you're currently reading, which is "The Art of Raising a Puppy". I read the first edition in 2008 before we got our Golden Retriever, who took to the positive reinforcement style very well. He'll turn 10 this year, and can still be taught anything using the same methods. It's a very owner and dog friendly form of training, and I will likely do the same with every pup/dog we get moving forward.

As a side note, our Miniature Long-haired Dachshund was/is completely indifferent to their method of training. He's kind of a entitled asshole though, like most little dogs spoiled by too much Momma lap time and baby talk.

[pangloss]

Train early, train often (but not for long periods of time) and be consistent in your training and correction. Importantly, be the Alpha dog in your relationship. If you can get your dog to whoa, come, sit, stay, and heel on command, every time, despite whatever distraction may be present, then you will have a well behaved dog. Lost my hunting lab in December. She was well behaved and a pleasure to hunt with. You could put food on her feet or nose, and she would not eat without permission. The Monks of New Skete book is good as are the Woltors books. But, the books will not work any magic. Training takes time, and there is no substitute for that.

I'm sorry to hear about your hunting lab. Those commands are a good set of goals. My last dog would sit and come, but that was without really ever working with her. Your caution about books is well-taken. If books could work magic, I'd be a much better shooter by this point! I (or my parents when I was in college but still called their house home) have always had dogs, but never accomplished anything in the way of training. We had a Brittany Spaniel that was smart enough to chase wounded wood ducks out of briar patch, and she helped herd a cow once, but that's pretty much the height of canine accomplishments in which I've been personally involved. Anyway, at this point, I'll self-declare as not knowing what I don't know, so breaking out of that category is a top priority.
@UNM1136 and @JohnO, I don't have any strong opposition to punishment. The Ellis video that I watched last night seemed to make a good case for it. I've also spanked my daughter, so logically, I'd have a hard time arguing against punishment for a dog. The range of settings on the E collar seems like a good idea to me. I don't see the downside in having options.

I've started thinking some about places to take to get her good exposure to lots of people. Lowe's was one of the first places that came to mind. Last year our town had some sort of function every Thursday night in May. We went to some of those, and they would be perfect for taking a dog. Hopefully that'll happen again this May.

In other news, our cat is in kidney failure, so there a decent chance we might actually be petless for a couple days. Sigh.

[Medusa]

I appreciated this thread. We think we’re adopting a 50 lb mutt from the local shelter, if all goes well. She’s adorable and smart. She’s an adult and has been at the shelter 6 months and so I know she’ll provide some challenges. I have time and energy to train her.

I grabbed one of the monks’ books. I want to crate train her and wondered about her being around shooting. How far is a safe distance for her dog ears? Though I’ve had many dogs it’s been decades and I never had a dog around firearms in the past.

[UNM1136]

I appreciated this thread. We think we’re adopting a 50 lb mutt from the local shelter, if all goes well. She’s adorable and smart. She’s an adult and has been at the shelter 6 months and so I know she’ll provide some challenges. I have time and energy to train her.

I grabbed one of the monks’ books. I want to crate train her and wondered about her being around shooting. How far is a safe distance for her dog ears? Though I’ve had many dogs it’s been decades and I never had a dog around firearms in the past.

I have someone I can ask. The layout of our range allowed me to park there, a little ways from the line, and leave him in the crate, with the van buttoned up. Then I opened the rear hatch, then I moved the van closer.

Bird dogs are taught with shotguns, SWAT dogs are trained around SBRs.

My dog has no issues with gun fire, but fireworks he despises with unless I am with him.

pat

[JohnO]

In anticipation of the new puppy and knowing he is projected to top out between 85 & 90 Lbs I purchased a Herm Sprenger 3.2mm prong collar. My female is wearing the 3.2mm now and I have the 2.5 mm for the male until he gets big enough to switch to the 3.2mm collar.

I made the size prediction above based on what the breeder told me. Well "The Tank" AKA Panzer is now 18 months old and a lean 105 Lbs. Extremely good natured, protective and fearless. He watches over his adopted sibling (our female) who can take care of herself just fine. She bosses him around until he doesn't let her. When he grows weary of her "bitchiness" he stops her in her tracks. He lets her think she is in charge up to a point, then stand back!

Here is a good depiction of the size difference. Female on the left 75 Lbs. Male on the right.



How we roll. I've taken to keeping the dogs anchored to me when in high traffic areas. Meaning high probability of other dogs. There is a two dog dynamic (protection and jealousy) that kicks in and I'm taking no chances they will get away from me. Wilderness instructor belt, locking carabiner and Ray Allen Biothane leads (all weather & stronger than leather). My front right pocket contains the e-collar remote (not a dip can). AMTAC Northman blade in side pocket for the astute observer. Male on point female in perfect Fuss (heel). Two gallons of ice & water on my back. The heat & humidity has been brutal.



Why locking the doors at home is optional.

[nycnoob]

The book: Don't Shoot the Dog!
was written by Karen Pryor

She runs a traveling expo with really great dog trainers who can
demonstrate their techniques and answer questions. You are encouraged
to bring a dog. I do not own any animals, yet I got so much out of it
that I went for several years in a row.

Here is the link to the event and the next three dates:


https://clickerexpo.clickertraining.com/


Cheshire, UK October 25 - 27, 2019
Seattle, WA January 10 - 12, 2020
Louisville, KY March 13 - 15, 2020

There are also links to dog training classes (she specializes in positive reinforcement only/clicker)
and certifications for dog trainers.