Thursday, July 10, 2008

Day 1 Video-Training Begins as Gigi and Jack Meet

This is Gigi's very first morning after her owners left us. I set it up so Gigi and Jack had never met. Jack, my dog, was not expecting to meet an unfriendly crated dog in the sunroom, but I wanted Gigi to see (not Leon as she had met him) but one of my dogs for the very first time.

You will see that Jack is surprised at the greeting he gets, and talks back to her a bit before sitting and helping me. Jack hasn't started many aggressive dogs with me, so this was a first for him being involved from day one. Leon is the calmer of the two, and Jack is the one that usually will get even the nicest dogs to reacte.



Gigi did, and then we commenced training her on crate behavior while here. It's important to get Gigi used to all the rules of the house. The first rule being that you don't aggress in the crate. We are introducing the quiet command here while using the e-collar on very low levels for a correction when she does not quiet.

You can see her twitching her neck as if she thinks there is a mosquito on there. She's very ramped up at that point, and whether it was the metal training collar or the e-collar or a flat collar, she wouldn't be very happy that she's being told what to do, when what she really wants is to go after the other dog. We have another video where she is calming herself down and realizing she is not getting away with it today.



The thing is Gigi has gotten herself in a circular cycle because of her fear. She hasn't given the other dogs a chance to show that it really is possible to be with other dogs, and NOT be attacked assuming you aren't attacking them first. This is a gradual step by step progression that starts in the crate, and ends (depending on time) with the dog being able to be off leash around other dogs and distractions.

The e-collar is a great tool for starting off leash training quickly. Off leash is a reward first of all that a dog recognizes. It is a reward for listening when told to do something. Or not do something as the case might be. This also allows the dog to take on responsibility for themselves, while also able to transfer the responsibility for protection to their owner/handler/trainer. Then the dog isn't worrying all the time and on the look out.

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