Puppy training classes…questions

[lvoss]

He should not be learning to sit for a treat, he should be learning to sit when cued. A good obedience instructor will have you practice all 3 body positions and reinforcing them but stand is frequently forgotten by owners and instructors. When working Pippin remember to reinforce all 3 body positions. Reinforce not just getting into the position but also holding the position.

[lvoss]

I should add that I like teaching finger or hand targeting early on and heavily reinforce that so I don't have to do as much food luring. I don't want food to become part of the cue to do the work.

[Basenjimamma]

Thanks guys for your input..I needed that for sure. Will tell our trainer the things I need help with for sure..now I know. :)

[DebraDownSouth]

LOL I also found stacking trays to be great. :)
http://www.happylegs.com/sizes.html

[renaultf1]

@DebraDownSouth:

LOL I also found stacking trays to be great. :)
http://www.happylegs.com/sizes.html

Now you've done it. Queue the members from across the pond to equate happy legs to torture devices. :rolleyes: ;)

[Basenjimamma]

I've seen those…guess I need them?

[DebraDownSouth]

I swear they make stacking training a snap. I love them. LOL and it isn't a TORTURE device, lol.

Although speaking of across the pond, do you watch Graham Norton? I laughed til I was sick over his bit on American's FANNY PACKS. For us, fanny is the buttocks. I had no idea it was the front bottom for y'all. Part of his rant was about the confused Pilgrim changing the concept of fanny.

[Janneke]

@Basenjimamma:

I've seen those…guess I need them?

No, those are torture devices :rolleyes:

[tanza]

LOL… I have used Happy Legs for years... and would not say they are "torture" devices... depending on the people that use them.... I have never had a baby puppy freak out with them... it is all the handler...

[Nemo]

I didn't really have a problem with sit and stand in the show ring. I took some advice on this forum and if Zoni sat as default without a cue at home, I asked her to stand. If she was standing, I asked her to sit. I tended to ask and reinforce stand more heavily than sit for a while though when we were starting out. After she got used to showing, I really didn't have to worry about it. She knew what the routine was.

[agilebasenji]

Dogs are really clever little creatures, especially basenjis. Your pup can learn sit, down and stand. The other thing is that the collar/leash should cue the expected behaviors. So you'll want a different collar/leash for obedience class versus show class. I've trained all my basenjis sit and have finished 2 basenjis as an amature owner/handler and put all the points on Digital and Zest! while showing in agility at the same time. (Hubby showed Jet the trying and we did have a pro handler sometimes on him, but he also learned sit vs stand and what his job was based on external cues.)

[tanza]

Great point… they do learn the difference between collars and what each means.. since most of us use a thin choke chain for the show ring and that is the only time on that collar... they figure out pretty quickly that collar means "Show Time".

[agilebasenji]

yes, and it's just fun to have different sets of collars and leashes. There are so many pretty ones out there now a dog HAS to have several.

[Basenjimamma]

Very good ideas..So I have a show chaincollar for Moses..i.e huge gauge and all..I mean bigger than I want for Pippin..What do y'all recommend as far as a good starter collar/lead for me and him? Should I go chain or just nylon? Ideas would be nice.

[tanza]

If for show, you want small thin/fine chain. If you look at pictures of show dogs, you can see how small the chain is… ususally for a full grown male 16" is about the normal size, 14 for a puppy to young adult depending on how fast their "jowls" develope.

For general use, I use nylon, usually the martingale types and a good leather lead. I like the thin leather leads (1/4 to 5/8) that are around 5'.

[agilebasenji]

I always used chain for show collar, White Pine nylong martingale collar/leash for everyday, wide leather martingales for therapy work. The agility collar/leash differs for each dog.

[Basenjimamma]

Awesome, thanks Gals…I will "go" shopping..

[tanza]

@Basenjimamma:

Awesome, thanks Gals…I will "go" shopping..

And when you return… people can ask you... "why do you need all those collars and leads for one little dog?".... :D

And in fact I just ordered some new leather collars and new leads from my favorite leather maker... He makes awesome show leads... and the quality is excellent.

http://www.masterspride.com/

[Basenjimamma]

Tanza..what loveley leather goods..I will probably shop there too..:) WHat size do you get on your show leads? Same as your general leads?

[Nemo]

The show lead needs to be much thinner than a typical lead, it's more like a cord. You need to be able to ball it up into your hand. I think typical length is around 36" but some like shorter and some like longer. I used to have a 42" but never used it effectively. I went down to a 36" and really like it, much less to deal with. I had trouble throwing it over my shoulder when I was stacking on the table with the shorter one but that's just handler issues on my part. :rolleyes: