I made a promise to myself when I started this blog that I would always be honest, which is why there were two very emotional and raw posts last week.
I was extremely disappointed in Delilah last Monday and in my abilities to train her.
In two short months, on May 26th we will celebrate the five-year anniversary of Delilah’s “Gotcha Day.” Which means I’ve been working with her for a very long time, as I am not one of those people who get a dog and think by some miracle they will know exactly what is expected of them without any training.
We went through all the training classes with Sampson and he did marvelously, I figured we had this in the bag. I quickly realized Delilah would need formal training.
We enrolled in classes. Sara reminded me last week when she yelled at me to quit writing bad stuff about Delilah on the blog, of our first class. Our classes were stubborn meets stubborner and I don’t know which of us was which. That first class I had to practically lay on Delilah to get her into a down. I’ve since (thanks to all of you) revised my training philosophy and will never again lay on her to get her into a down.
My walking friend also made me realize that she hasn’t been working off-leash for very long at all, just over a year. It was only January of last year when we started walking the trails.
Saturday I went to pick up dog food and spoke with Sandy our raw food mentor. Somehow we started talking about Delilah and I was explaining how excited Delilah is around food and how she jumps backwards all the way to the place where she gets fed, never once taking her eyes off her food bowl.
Sandy just stood there, nodding her head up and down with a huge smile on her face.
“What?” I asked, “Why are you standing there smiling?”
“Embrace who she is, someday she won’t be able to do that” was her response.
I get that, I really do. I already see the white in Sampson’s face and it makes my heart hurt. But I want the best of both worlds, I want a dog that can run around and have fun but listens to me when I need or want them to.
Is that even possible?
Yes it is possible. Just keep working it. Not sure I ever wrote this but Storm used to bolt. No kind of tasty treat could keep her if she was determined to go. And the stinker could slip out of collars like Houdini. But a million recalls later, she is reliable off lead (and of course we have ecollar insurance 🙂 ). Good luck. I know you will find the way.
No I don’t think you ever did. Did she bolt on the e-collar or just when she was off it? Does she recall now without the collar?
Thanks, I will figure it out!
No she never bolted with ecollar, just when we had her on lead )or off with no collar). But now after a hundred million recalls, it doesn’t matter if she has collar on or off. Still when out in the forest she always has ecollar on because we are not sure if chasing a deer would just be too tempting. That is why in hunting pictures you will always see her with the collar on. At hunt tests of course you can’t use it and her recall is perfect.
It’s possible:
That video shows about 40 seconds of our training, but its enough for you to see that it is possible. Your post made me go back and look at my original training diaries for Rocco and for Leia. Rocco I got as a 6 week old. Worst. Puppy. EVER. I love him, and he’s still the best dog ever, but dear god what a BAD PUPPY.
He whined all the time. He never, ever, EVER came when called. I swear he deliberately hurt himself. He would not potty break. He would not down. He would not sit. I remember being particularly embarrassed by him getting loose and not coming at a dog show I was trying to socialize him at. Humiliating.
I read your posts over the past few days, and I can see why you might be feeling frustrated. I suspect right now you don’t want suggestions, just a good hug. I can offer that to you.
I’m thinking of you, and I hope you pick yourself up and keep going on.
Thank you, I appreciate it. She doesn’t like to down, she’ll do it but reluctantly and then she might get up. Last night when I went to get her Kong, she got up which is the first time she’s done that since I started downing her for the Kong. Most of the times in the house she will sit when asked but outside is another matter. I think the frustration comes from the length of time, almost five years so why am I still trying to train and haven’t transferred to reinforcement? That’s where the frustration comes from.
Thanks for stopping by and posting the video, I know there is hope for her. I just need to find what works. “-)
I hope it is possible… because if there’s one thing I wish I could wave a magic wand and get, it’s perfect recall from Our Best Friend.
I agree, my wand broke and I have no spello tape so I haven’t been able to use it. But I would trade every single command for a 100% ALL THE TIME recall. 🙂
Jodi – you can look at this way, the longer it does take to get around to that perfect recall, the more blog material you’ll have. 🙂 I’m glad you seem to be in a better frame of mind!
This is true Donna. Everytime I think, crap what am I going to write about today…there’s Delilah doing something totally goofy.
It is definitely possible. I love, love, love what your friend said: “Embrace who she is, someday she won’t be able to do that.” It’s true, but I understand how it isn’t necessarily helpful. Maybe though, by embracing Delilah’s true nature, you will also be able to steer her in the direction you want.
But I don’t want to offer you advice you have already heard from everyone else. It’s frustrating. I’ve been working on recalls with Shiva for almost three years, have spent hundreds of dollars on books and online courses. It’s still not perfect. I don’t know if it will ever be. I am sure there are some things Delilah does better than Sampson. I have total faith you will get to a point with her where you start to understand each other. You are a wonderful dog owner and an excellent trainer. If it helps, think of how awesome your next dog will be with all the knowledge you have gained from Delilah! 😉
Thanks Kristine!! I feel like there must be a way to embrace who she is, yet have a dog somewhat under control.
Personally I think you are a far better trainer than I am. I’ve seen videos of you and Shiva and she definitely dotes on you.
The picture of your PH and Shiva on the blog today proved it. My dog would never be walking beside me if there was a person ahead of us. They would be running forward to investigate.
I’m not sure if I can get another dog, what if it’s worse than Delilah……Oy Vey!!
This is a great Mantra, one I have to remind myself of with Luna too. She has not be an easy first dog by any means, she has tried my patience, made me rethink methods countless times. I think one of the biggest things in training is that you have to keep a level head, often that is even more important than what you are actually doing method wise. If you are making sure you are being calm and assertive and coming from a positive place, that seems to matter even more than what you are doing to your dog.
In anycase keep working with her. Luna has bad days too and honestly has had more of them as she has gotten older lol. Gotta go back to basics with her, training never ends with a dog, especially a smart one. We also have older clients come in all the time for training, I am talking 4+ years old, and they do just fine being e-collar conditioned. So in the end if you have exhausted all other means do please ask. I may even break a rule and break down how I do this on my blog. I do use food rewards with Luna on recalls most days we are out hiking, but to be honest she could probably care less about them in the end no matter what treat it is. She will eat it quick but is back to looking at the woods(wyatt seems to like them much more than her). I think her bigger reward is being allowed to go back to the woods and hunt. Same goes for in the hunt field, I could treat her or praise her for doing a retrieve for me (and I do), but she doesn’t really take note of it, and honestly just wants to get back to hunting so I let that be her reward.
I always tell clients to set the bar high for their dog, but have small goals to work up to that end goal. Don’t expect your dog to be perfect right off the bat, each dog matures into behaviors and training at different rates. And if you keep working towards a goal, and breaking the steps down as much as possible to get there, and you still don’t seem to be getting there then maybe you have to re-evaluate that bar for that specific dog. But usually people simply don’t set the bar high enough. Not saying this is the case with you, I think you do set it high but then pressure yourself to get there when others tell you to… when really it all comes down to you and your girl.
Keep up the good work
Anna
http://www.akginspiration.com
You’re awesome Anna! Thanks for that. I just got Dr. McConnell’s dvd last night and will try and watch it over the weekend, in the meantime I’ve been playing a little game with her on our walks and I will share that in a blog post probably tomorrow.
I know she is motivated by food, but I’d like to figure out other things I could reward her with as well. She is like your Luna in the way that she eats it quick and then goes back to what she is doing.
Praise doesn’t seem to work with her.
I think you are right though, I set the bar pretty high and expect maybe too much.
I will try and take your advice. 🙂
Yes, it’s possible Jodi.