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Very random thoughts (it's early here and the caffeine hasn't kicked in yet) -- I think your trainer probably is not very skilled/experienced if he's so reliant on treats. Good trainers have lots of options for motivating dogs, and it sounds as if this one doesn't. Some very successful trainers don't believe in using food in training at all. Some dogs, regardless of what they're fed for meals, simply aren't food motivated and so treats don't work. A good trainer will know how to work around that. It sounds as if yours doesn't, and he's using Riley's lack of interest in food as an excu

As far as I'm concerned my two boys, have proven to be the easiest of all my previous dogs to train. I have always had two dogs, usually either English Cockers or Cavalier King Charles. I always had a male and a female of the same breed and colour combinations. Always had them fixed at an early stage, usually around the five to six month time frame. I have loved them all unreservedly. I can however say, training the mandatory commands with all of my dogs was different for all of them. These two boys of mine are so very different, however I knew that from day one, and so my technique was a

I think the author needs to spend a bit of time with a dictionary studying the difference between "independent" and "not-so-intelligent." 'Cause he really seems to have the two greatly confused. Unfortunately, when it comes to dogs many people do. And I did notice he doesn't give a source for his list, although it appears that he took it straight from Stanley Coren's book The Intelligence of Dogs. In addition to being vocabulary challenged, it appears he might not understand much about plagiarism, either. Which kind of makes me wonder if the author just might find himself on a list of

Not all dogs are food motivated, I have not done any obedience training with my Tzu yet, but I did with my Yorkie. She is NOT food motivated. She is very picky with treats too. I bought so many different types of treats and the only one she likes are milkbones. I tried using these at training, but she wanted nothing to do with him in class so I had to find a different motivation. Turns out she was more praise motivated. Once I started giving her lots of praise (over excitement and kisses, etc.) and practicing this at home she was a completely different dog. She was actually only one of

I am going to get the MEAN MOM AWARD here.........example.......and one thing NO TREATS WERE USED IN THIS TRAINING...Lexie had something in mouth she would not drop......one pick up of said paw....fingure inserted in mouth to remove said item with a firm NO....DROP........I now have no problems in requesting NO....DROP.......there are somethings that just need a firm command without bribing them to preform......MPO.

Is this costing you money?............the 6 foot leash and a handful of treats is a lot cheaper. I personally would have taken this gentlemen for a walk having his full attention and maybe, just maybe a treat would have been his reward at the end of OUR training. My guys as you well know do not eat dog food.........my 7 who range from 4 to 11 years of age are allowed to run free on the property when we go out for our afternoon romp, I have a pocket full of bite size treats and when they come when called they get rewarded.....and let me tell you right now with all the new smells due to the coo

Instead of the word "Off" we were taught "leave it" Works most of the time when I see him sniffing around something. I'm still working on "drop it" with Bosco though.

So I was reading this article and low and behold our baby's breed popped up as #11. Read here what they say about the Tzu: http://www.dogshow.com/21-not-so-intelligent-dog-breeds/11/ The other dogs in this article are quite interesting too.

mommy,,,bathe Us today,, it was such along process,, we got washed, then washed again, then she put a blue shampoo. it made me look like a blue bunny! i was worried .. then we got washed again, dried... mommy was so happy i turned vvery bright as snow! but when i looked at myslef ,,i kind of squint alittle, coz am too bright,,made my head spin alittle ,,,i am talking about PP white shampoo and the PP sealer, made coat whiter,, but its drying,,maybe i need to adjust some delution. i dont know,,,if tomorrow how it would look like, maybe next time, i add more conditioner. pric

I do use either "drop" or "out" when they have something they shouldn't. If they don't immediately spit it out, I do like Jeannine and my fingers get it out. They really don't like that, so are pretty good about spitting it out on command. Giving them a treat for dropping something they have in their mouth just doesn't sound right TO ME! Mine would associate that and would more than likely purposely get something they shouldn't have just to get a treat for when then spit it out! Vicki

Well, as a tzu owner of two very intelligent pups, I took offense a bit Even though I shouldn't...So, I replied to the article If it's approved, you'll be able to see my answer hmph, I just don't get people who want to categorize everything. True, some breeds have their in-bred characteristics but no dog is actually "dumb" or "not so intelligent". the intelligent ones are actually dogs with high energy that have to spend it somewhere... So yeah, thank you but I prefer Tzu over an overactive breed lol

Missy does 'leave it' and 'drop it' also, surprisingly well for both. I also don't treat for those commands other than a 'good girl' and pat on the head. For 'drop it' I've had luck with a big excited 'good drop' afterwards just to be sure she connects the word 'drop'. We have a surprising amount of acorns on the ground this year- guess the fox got all the squirrels... Anyway little Missy picks up just about every acorn so she's gotten a lot of practice with these two commands lately!

I was also taught "leave it" and "drop it". Lexi, my Yorkie learned "leave it" pretty well, but "drop it" is still a challenge at times. Now that she's older (almost 1) she is pretty good about not trying to eat or chew things she's not supposed to anyway. For "leave it" this is what I did and it worked wonders. In the house (or you could do it outside too) I had her on lease and put something on the floor I knew she couldn't resist. In her case it was my son's sock lol. I would walk her back and forth right next to the sock and when she went towards it I would pull her away before she c

I didn't go through the whole list (just the first 11) but I agree for the most part. Anyone else notice that the majority of the dogs in the first 11 are Hounds? I have always said: Terriers are nuts Hounds are dumb Working, Herding and Sporting dogs need too much exercise This leaves me with select individuals from the Toy and Non-Sporting groups, which works perfectly for me lol! I actually own one Shih Tzu that is really smart and very trainable, but it's not something the Breed is known for. If you look at the records, there are VERY few obedience and agility-titled Shih Tzu

Just another update to say that we no longer have an alarm clock, aka Riley!!! I can't even remember the last time Riley has woken us up in the middle of the night (bar: Wed 19 Nov because of his operation - but that's a one off). We never hear him in the morning at 5-6 silly o'clock barking away! I always go down earliest at 7am and Riley's never there waiting between the baby gates and the patio door like he used to. If anything, for quite some time now, he's normally lying down on his vet bed or he's curled up in his Pet Carrier or bed. I go over to him and give him strokes and talk

OMG...I read this whole thread from beginning to end and I am bawling my eyes out....so heart wrenching and I wish I had the means myself to take him home and care for him :'( Please keep us updated on Ozzy and my fingers and toes are crossed you find him a forever, loving, caring home that he deserves

I haven't heard of this before. The dog trainer that advised us, talked about using a long leash and treats.

I let Donte and Lacey off the lead in a field.. There was a couple of dog owners there too. I thought I saw Donte pick something up. So I did what you talked about here... Put it like this, I wish I hadn't yuk!!!!

Hi there, So, when we used to go to Puppy Training, we'd learn something new each week (for 6 weeks). One of the activities we learnt was "off". You hover the treat in front of the puppy at mouth level. The puppy would then start to take the treat, i.e. try to take it from you, and then you would say "off" to the puppy. After practise the puppy would release and not take the treat from your fingers, i.e. you'd still have it in your fingers intact. Then you'd praise the puppy and say "good boy" and then it was his cue to take and eat the treat. We can do this hands down, treat afte

I use the same word....leave it. If he barks at the door excessive, I use...."that'll do" ( throwback from my New Zealand days on a farm)

How beautiful! Love your couch too!!

Congratulations on losing your Alarm Clock! As they do grow up, they do tend to get better in all aspects. At about a year and a half they become much more mellow and turn into little dogs instead of puppies! Lots to look forward too and lots to look back on! Take LOTS of pictures! Vicki

i need to try this!

number 11??? hehehee my baby girl has separation anxiety,,,she would start licking herself toooo much when am away... :( :( so i make sure she is not alone...wonder if she is half cat!!!

MY PERSONAL OPINION..............

Thanks Sophie's Haven, we can try that at home because "off" certainly doesn't work one bit! lol. When we see something in Riley's mouth that shouldn't be in there, I normally just try and prise his mouth open (he's really strong by the way) and get the said item out. Funnily enough, we went to our local town on Saturday to watch the turning on of the Christmas lights. We walked up and down the road/pavements (road shut so there were stalls all along the high street). Before we knew it, Riley had something in his mouth and I was trying my hardest to get said item out!!! After a lot of

Hi everyone! Many of you may know me already ... but for those of you who don't, I'm Susan. Hello! I love making furbabies even more beautiful with quality bows (at affordable prices). I have literally thousands of bow styles to choose from - and am constantly adding new designs. At BowBiz, there are no in-stock bows - all bows are made freshly, specifically for your order and all bows are top quality. If you want something custom made to suit, I am happy to accommodate you in that regard as well. Besides bows of all sizes, I also offer korker bows, boutique bows, barrettes of

Hi there, So, my husband, Riley and I have started a new dog training place and have now been there twice (Sundays at 9:30am). Last weekend (not yesterday) we went and the instructor gave us a sheet of paper to read and do during the week. It's called: "Premack Recall" and basically it's about getting a good recall regardless of the distractions. We find that Riley will come to us, but certainly not 90%. Obviously no chance if he's off lead over the park and is distracted by seeing other dogs he'd like to play with etc. Our instructor asked what we feed Riley on and I said that I h

I grew up in the times we only used praise as treats when training dogs. When any of my guys are on leash, they have NO interest in taking a treat. They do respond well to praise though. When off leash and home, they are very excited to get any treat though. Go figure! Vicki

thanks hun, its brand is called..pure paws. first you apply shampoo,for whitening, then the conditioner is called magic sealer. i dont think it whitens really, but it does brighten them up. anyway, they are already white in the first place,,, :D :D

Oooh, so cute! I've never heard of the shampoo but yes, whitening shampoos often make the hair dry, and they need to be used with a good conditioner (which I haven't found yet, even though I've tried a lot of them ). I think all shampoos need to be diluted, I'm just not sure about the ratio. Maybe 1:10? That means for every part of shampoo, ten parts of water (10ml shampoo, 100ml water or something like that lol). I wish my Misha or even Luca looked like your babies <3 So bright and white

Haha!! Lol

I'd never heard of Baxter Boo before. They do have some interesting stuff and the prices are pretty reasonable. Thanks! Now that harness that states: "Cat Tastes Like Chicken" sounds really interesting!!! Not so sure my Cat will appreciate it though. Vicki

Keeping fingers and paws crossed!!!! <3 <3 <3

Yep, fingers crossed here in Romania too, that little guy diserves a forever home!!

Praying that everything will work out for Ozzy and you.

I'm floored... I may have found Ozzy a furever home! I don't know if I dare to get my hopes up, but...Francie, the singer/songwriter I've been playing with for about six months or so, her mother has two tzu. I showed her the video of Ozzy, and she showed it to her mom, and next thing I know, her mom was having her ask me all sorts of questions. What sort of care does he require, does he need special veterinary care or just the routine stuff, can he go potty on his own, etc. When she got here for rehearsal today I asked her about it and she hinted that there may be some interest!