New foster Sophia need some advice

Behavioral Issues

  • Clicker training is used by many animal groups.
    We saw Cheeta's clicker trained to lure course at their zoo.


  • Lovely pics of the pretty Sophia, hope she finds a great forever home when her adoption comes up.


  • @sharronhurlbut:

    Clicker training is used by many animal groups.
    We saw Cheeta's clicker trained to lure course at their zoo.

    Lucky for the animals. Trainer's are starting to realize the benefits of clicker training. Training has come a long way in a short time. While some animal trainers still use the hooks on elephants, things are changing-very slowly though.


  • West Coast Flea, how is Sophia doing? Is she "Bunny" on the BRAT Rescue page? :)


  • hi there
    sophia is doing great, she stopped the humping behavior almost a week ago, the getting used to each other part is over and we finally meshed :)

    unfortunately or fortunately ( im not sure which) :) she is leaving here tomorrow to go to her new home.

    yes sophia is bunny on the brat page

    her daughter is venus who i believe is still on the page as well

    its going to be sooo hard to hand her over to someone she doesnt know when the brat volunteer comes to pick her up tomorrow,

    im not really sure how im actually going to be able to just hand her over to a stranger, makes me cry just to think about it.

    but im sure she will be very happy once she gets over being thrust into a new environment with new people for the second time in less then a month

    i just wish there was a way to make that easier for her, if i could do that then i wouldnt mind letting her go nearly as much. :)


  • Her new home will be so very happy to have her!


  • @westcoastflea1:

    who is the ultimate judge of a good training method and a bad training method?
    )

    Well, science, and the dog. We judge training methods by how effective they are. Does the training method work? Does it harm the dog in any way? Does it harm the human? Does it TRAIN the dog? Meaning, does it teach the dog what we wa nt taught? Or does it intimidate the dog so that bad behavior is somehwat suppressed but not necessarily changed?

    Good training is simple, effective, and teaches what we want taught. Bad training is confusing or intimidating, teaches things other than we want taught. A good example of this might be:
    Your dog tries to eat your cat all the time. You are at your wit's end. So you go out and buy a remote control shock collar. Every time the dog so much as looks at the cat, you shock the heck out of him. The dog changes hgis behaviour. He begins snarling aggressively at your child who happened to be in the vicinity when he was shocked for looking at the cat. He has 'learned' that your child triggers the scary shocks. He is no longer looking at the cat. He doesn't try to chase the cat. Instead he growls, shows fear of your child and concentrates on that.

    So is the training method good or bad? You say above, "Who is to judge?" Well, I will. The training method is bad. The dog has indeed stopped trying to eat the cat but he has not LEARNED to not eat the cat. He has reacted to an aversive and has changed his focus. He is confused. He has learned the wrong thing.

    Cesar Milan is admired by many people who are ignorant of dog training and animal behavior. He appears to get results. But I ask, what exactly do you want to teach your dog?

    There are clear and correct methods for training animals. Aversives and punishment are not as useful or clear as positive training methods. Period. That is not opinion. That is science.

    It is good that you have learned SOMEthing from Cesar. Learning to read dog's body language is very important. As is setting your parameters for behavior. Other than that, though, I would urge you to read up on animal behavior and dog training. Educate yourself, esp as a BRAT foster home, and you will be much much more equipped to deal with the idiosyncrasies of dogs in general.

    Best of luck.


  • thank you :)


  • no problem at all.

    I noticed you are in maine. If you ever need training help, an extra set of eyes in assessing your situation with a dog, please feel free to ask. I am about an hour from you (Gray, right?) and I can easily pop over and see what is what and help with ideas.


  • hi there
    thank you so much for offering that would be so helpful since im new to this
    are you by any chance the woman who came to pick up sophia/bunny last night?


  • nope! not at all. :)

Suggested Topics

  • Hi from IL…Need some advice

    Behavioral Issues
    1
    0 Votes
    1 Posts
    1k Views
    No one has replied
  • Help, we need advice re training classes please

    Behavioral Issues
    47
    0 Votes
    47 Posts
    19k Views
    thunderbird8588T
    Helena, we still have a long way to go with Kwame but i feel more relaxed about him now. The support from people has helped along with the advice. It was such a relief not to go to classes with him on saturday, i felt like a load had been lifted off my shoulders. I guess i felt we should keep going because Malaika has done so well with them. It took a while to become apparent that the enviroment was wrong for him. Kwame and Malaika do try to avoid having the leaders on and occasionaly on the walk will try to wipe them off on our legs ;) however i feel they are worth persevering with as the effect is so dramatic and our walks are transformed. I am keeping the harness in mind though if neccasary, it's good to know there are options.
  • Need good advice on serious topic:

    Behavioral Issues
    67
    0 Votes
    67 Posts
    31k Views
    BarklessdogB
    Yeah our dogs do similar things to each other all the time, but usually in order to steal someones spot on the couch. Our dogs act like their is something outside, then when the other dog comes, they steal it's spot on the couch or with someone.
  • Advice needed

    Behavioral Issues
    15
    0 Votes
    15 Posts
    6k Views
    thunderbird8588T
    @sharronhurlbut: With rescue dogs, we make walking them together a big deal..several times a day. Letting them sniff the "leavings" of the other, and just getting them out together and moving. It might help. Sharron, thanks. Yes we do walk them together as well as seperately. They do seem to get on well but i don't think they have sorted out who is the dominant one. I can't say at this point either. When play fighting he certainly makes lots of noise, whilst she is silent. He looks to be in charge sometimes, however if she silently draws her lips back and stares at him he backs off or lets her clean in his mouth/ eyes etc. If Kwame wants to sleep, she is a terrible torment and pokes and prods him, he gets very whipped up and goes for her but it's like water of a Ducks back.
  • Confidence Needed…

    Behavioral Issues
    6
    0 Votes
    6 Posts
    2k Views
    RivermoonR
    I did all the right things with Apache when I got him too…took him to outside malls, parks, the beach..had people of all shapes and sizes meet him and was going to handling class after handling class. Everything was going fine. The fourth show we were ever in we got excused from the ring because he became a bucking bronco on the table every time the judge came toward us. The judge tried 3 different times. I was so frazzled by his actions and couldn't get him under control, so we got excused. Later that day he stood fine on the table for some of the breeders. I have no idea what set him off, if it was the judge or the fact that I had had him to the vets the week before the show and they took a skin scrape while he was on the table. To be on the safe side, I never put him on the table at the vet's again...they had to examine him on the floor. Luckily they were more then willing to do that. I wasn't going to take any chances putting him back in the ring anytime soon, especially since I was so nervous. At handling classes and at home we did what you're doing. He would go up on the table and be fed treats. I would put him on the table at home and just treat him for being up there. We gradually had people in class and at home start going over him all the while treating him. On top of all that, I also had/have a problem with noise sensitivity. Some boys threw a huge firecracker right next to the dogs at handling class one day and since then Apache startles at sudden noises. Almost three months passed before I entered him in another show. This one was inside too, something we had never done. I held him out the first day because the noise really had him jumpy, so we just sat there all day getting him used to it. The second day I decided we were going in. I was the only class dog entered, so there would be no points..but that was fine...I needed to see if he would stand still for the judge. I was more nervous then I'd ever been and it will be a show I always remember for the simple fact that he was REALLY good on the table. Every once in a while he would still get a little fussy, either getting up onto or while on the table.....but would settle down quickly and let the judges go over him. Anyways, it took a while, but I finished him.:D So, hang in there!
  • How do we integrate a new dog

    Behavioral Issues
    5
    0 Votes
    5 Posts
    2k Views
    L
    Thank you so much for the advice! We have never kenneled our dogs before,,,,,,,,,I think that is why we are so hesitant to do that but like you said,,,,,it could be very very stressful taking our two then adding a third at the inlaws where the only animals they have around are a few feral cats that hang around the shed in the back yard. ARRRGGGGGGG!!!!!! Who knew you could stress and worry so much about furbabies!!!!!!!! I swear they ARE just like children!!!!