h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I enjoyed that article a lot! Fingers crossed it works and people try it... And achieve lots with their dogs!

Thanks very much!

Yes, it does work. I use these methods on my troublesome foster dog. It not only gives him something to do with his brain as he's not a working dog, but helps us to bond and see me as more interesting than anything else he might want to be doing and keeps me out of trouble all at the same time.

I really enjoyed this article too. Thanks for a great read!

Thanks very much!

Oh, I'm a massive fan of misdirection! Why try to change a behaviour if you can avoid it altogether by directing somewhere else to start with? It solves the problem (most of the time) before you even have one... We've all seen animals 'lock on' to things and that thing will become all that is important... With horses it happens a lot too... And in a excited state they tend to learn less and react more, which is what we DONT want! That's when accidents happen (tea gets spilled!)

Have you tried TTOUCH work with your dog? I think you'd like it

I was taught a couple of TTouchs with my foster dog, but I really didn't see any benefit at all. And he's calmed down a hell of a lot without them. He was the inspiration behind this entry because he was a nightmare.

He's got better, but still has very bad habits! Somewhere along the line he's been hit, so he's very defensive with his teeth, and often nips to get the attention of other dogs or people. I'm still working on thinking up a trick to deal with that one!

The lead work and stuff as well as the body work can be really useful in terms of getting and keeping attention, increasing overall awareness etc... Though if it didnt work for you, it didnt work!

hmm... Thinking of ideas on the nipping... *thinks hard*

Let me know if you think of anything!

This book has a lot of good reviews, and a readers' forum at the bottom of the page: http://www.amazon.com/Cesars-Way-Everyday-Understanding-Correcting/dp/0307337332/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-2549615-9227310?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1173433883&sr=1-1

Perhaps someone there can recommend something?

hmm, not sure I like Ceser much. Although he's done really good work and always seems to get results, I don't like his use of the check chain. Most dogs don't need them. Funnily enough, a trainer did recommend that Fred (my foster dog and inspiration for this entry) would benefit from one, but that he didn't think they should be used by anyone but professionals. ie, not me! My timing with the half check is not good enough. My club doesn't allow them because of the risk of damage, and Ceser never seems to teach owners how to use them properly. I realise that could be editing though, so I've put a search on ebay to see if I can find a second hand copy.

Thanks!

Neck chain!? I'm pretty sure he's against those. Where did you see a reference to a neck chain?

Because I work mainly with horses, I've not had hands on experience with dogs, but do you use or have you used halters? to help control the head and redirect attention etc? What do you think of them as an alternative to a check chain (I assume this is a chain that either fully or limited tightens and releases?)

I've seen him use them on his programme. I think it's possible they are on the dog already, so he's just using what is already there, rather than introducing them, but it stopped me watching him for a long time. Even now I only watch intermitantly.

Robyn, a check chain (also known as a choke chain) is a chain that tightens with nothing to stop it except the dog's neck. I use a half check on Fred because we can't work him without it - we only use it when we're training. A half check is a normal collar with a loop of chain - the idea is that it does tighten, but it's restricted in how much it can tighten, and can be adjusted so that it doesn't tighten at all, which a check chain can't.

Ideally the dog learns to listen for the 'chink' of the chain and so doesn't need the correction of it tightening, but of course you've got to teach the dog that 'chink' is followed by something unpleasant, which with a dog that's all over the place is rather unlikely. It's something that most dog owners won't be able to do, and check chains can damage a dog's neck if used incorrectly.

Here's a picture, and a rant that's even better than mine.
http://www.dog-school.co.uk/Choke%20Chains!.htm

I don't agree that Fred would benefit from one, because I think that any more unpleasant sensations for him would simply make his agression worse.

This is a half-check, which I'm still not happy about using, but he was uncontrollable without it and it doesn't tighten enough to hurt him. The amount of people that have them fitted wrongly is astounding actually.

Oh, as for head collars, I used one for a dog who died earlier this year. I didn't have as much knowledge when I got him as I do now, and he was a persistant puller on the lead. He hated it, but by the time I'd learnt how to unteach all the years I'd been accidentally teaching him to pull me along, he was too old and unwell for me to want to put him through it.

I wouldn't use one again in that way, although I would as a training aid. I can't use one on Fred though, not until he stops biting! He walks fine on a loose lead, just needs reminders every now and then, when it's just us walking the streets!

Sorry about that, Eco Worrier: I didn't know he used choke chains. I just like his attitude that a dog is a pack animal and, if treated as such instead of as a human, it'll be much happier and easier to live with. Your piece on using a dog's natural inclinations made me think you might like him if you hadn't already come across him.

It's ok, he does get results, and although you can't tell from telly he seems to spend more time dealing with the owners than the dogs, which is half the battle.

Choke chains or not, any thing that gets the idea across to owners that DOGS NEED EXERCISE AND STIMULATION is a good thing. 25% of dog owners don't take their dogs out at all. Sadly my mother is one of them, although she's better in the summer.

Indeed. I feel very sad for a lot of the dogs I know, who spend most of their time sitting around on their own waiting for their owners to come home, then getting fed and then ignored for the rest of the day. I can't help but wonder why people have dogs at all, if that's how they're going to treat them. Many people round my way have border collies, which are particularly intelligent working dogs who need a great deal of stimulation and exercise, but instead they are treated like ornaments. What a waste.

It is, I feel awful for my mum's dogs! Every time I go to visit I take mine, then when I'm putting their leads on to come home hers are begging to get out as well.

Yet even in places where you'd think that people would know better (ie dog message boards) there are people going on about how they feed their dog twice a day because it's what they look forward to most so they like to let them have something good twice a day.

So sad that that's their highlight of the day.

I've just been browsing your other entries. What a lot of fascinating reads!

It is sad! In the wild of course it would be, because they'd spend all day looking for food. And of course, my dogs do enjoy being fed, but they get much more excited when I start looking like I'm going out. They do look fed up if I take them out, we drive around in the car for a bit, and then come back home again. I'm trying to get them ready for the long drive down to Devon at the end of the month. Which I can't wait for!