Thread: Bo

I use whit whit whistle for sit......seems to be ok in the bush and deer not too fazed..... my unsit (cause sit is a one way command) is either come back whistle or double cluck of tongue which is her...lead on...signal.
Bo is now a teenager...EXPECT few weeks of dopey disobediance......go with it ,it will pass. all part of the growing process.

That is one cute pup
Well done on the training, it sounds like he is going great

Neat looking dog, sure sounds like he likes farm life with all the critters about.

Originally Bo was going to be an outside dog but my wife seems to think otherwise and he's been allowed to come inside which has added a new dimension to his training. Something of concern is that if I discipline him for something naughty like chewing on something he shouldn't or doing a wee on the floor he seems to understand, usually it will be a short "no!" and then place him outside for a bit and he's slowly getting the picture, but.... When my wife trys to assert any kind of authority over him he displays signs of "piss off woman, I don't care what you think! " and will sometimes bark or growl at her or snap his teeth. At first it was kind of funny, and I must admit I still find it amusing that he will listen to me but bark at her if she tells him off.
I know this is undesirable behaviour though and I assume he is "testing" her to see how serious she is. Any advice on dealing with the issue? It seems counter intuitive for me to have to step in and discipline him but it seems she follows the exact same procedures as I but he doesn't care when it comes from her.

i guess hes figuring out the pecking order

Originally Posted by northdude

i guess hes figuring out the pecking order

This, next time he does something wrong get her to grab his scruff and forcefully but gently take him outside, should assert her dominance over him

she needs to tip him over on his back and growl like she means it...like when you leave toilet seat up/towel on floor/dont shut door.... SHE is THE BOSS......Bo needs to learn it and respect it....if Bo pissis all over himself when tipped up...so be it....dominance in pack,pee is submission 101.
thats what I would do.... from what Ive seen n heard of your good lady...she will do fine....if bossing folks around at 3AM in snow storm to feed calves is easy..Bo has no show....MAYBE she is holding back as doesnt want to upset you...or muck up your training...let her know its ok and you back her judgement.

my Mrs agrees and says you naughty lad for laughing......dog will be picking that up as its ok signal....

Another reinforcement for her is to get her to feed him from a bowl on the floor. He will try to rush in and scoff it but she needs to restrain him herself until she gives him the ok. We use the command "wait" while putting food in the bowl the the command "ok" when the dog is released to eat. He will realise his dependence on her goodwill pretty quickly.

The other thing is that in the family heirarchy the dog thinks he is junior to you but senior to wifey. You need to correct this too and make sure dog understands he is bottom of the ladder. This may mean that if he threatens her that you as pack leader must discipline him immediately at any instance. Eg immediate restraint a tap on the nose and kenneled as well for a couple of hours cooldown. Don't let it escalate or a lead pill may become a reality, especially as kids are around too.
In addition wifey should take dog for walks etc always on lead and under full control until such time as he fully understands she is equal boss to you Ryan.

Yea he will wait for food if I put it down and tell him to wait but if she does it he doesn't seem to care and just rushes in and starts scoffing it. Will do that though get her to feed him and make him wait for a while

Yes. Some sort of a lead perhaps looped around a chair from dog and back to her hand may allow her to maintain her own control over him at feed time. This isolates you from the dog and gives control to her. Its hard sometimes because dog has much of his fun out of doors with only you having the leverage with reward over him. wife needs to have forms of leverage and reward over him too but in the end it often seems difficult to have women be strictly consistent in enforcing commands on pet dawgs

Looks like others have covered it well above, I would say she just needs to get harder and physical if required. Enough to get the message across that she is dominant. If the pup still isn’t responding she just needs to keep escalating until it’s enough. It will probably require her getting physical. As mentioned, you as the pack leader can step in aswell but the dog still needs to learn your wife will kick his ass if you are not around.

I went through the same dilemma as you when I got our pup around all the totally different training idealogies. What I did find though is one type of theme around how to handle situations and how dogs think etc that just made sense. Once I found that I started identifying quite a few different training guidelines use the same methodology just portrayed in their own way. The deer dog blueprint was one and was gold for me. A youtube channel called “fowled reality duck and goose hunting” by brookstone kennels in the states has awesome waterfowl training videos that run the same methodology which has been awesome for me to see the crossover using the same thinking but for two different types of work. My girl isn’t a bush machine but the blueprint gave me the knowledge and fundamental understanding of training to then develop my own plan and apply the principles to any situation based on the individual dog. It was awesome in me learning about always having full control too which is basically what the blueprint is and translates to everything open country and day to day not just bush stalking.

I’ve had people tell me the methodology doesn’t work with their pets. In my opinion the fault is with the trainer in this case not the methodology. You can apply the same methodology in different ways and techniques based on what the individual dog is like etc which is how we get to the “what works for me” point I reckon.

I also think the real test comes when the dog goes through its teenage period leading up to a year old and then when the dog is fully trained and starts pushing more and more with confidence. Pups are easy and just absorb and learn/do what you ask/expect in the initial stages.

Some of my random 2c from my learning so far haha.

Cool updates and cool pup

Its funny what you guys are saying about feeding them we do that as well sometimes with a lot of things on your mind you put there food down and walk off go back a bit later and he is still sitting there looking at you and still hasnt touched it

The other reason for that is to discourage dog ftom eating dead things elsewhere .