I took my boy to a one to one training session today with a retired police dog handler. As you know i have had a few probs in the past and have been on a waiting list for him for a while now with a lady who is a member of the dog training group apdt. Anyway she phoned last week to say that she possibly could get him aplace at the end of aug. I decided i have waited long enough and got this other gents number from the vet. This guy asked about his behaviour, pulling on the lead, jumping up, only responding to recall when he wants etc. I told him everything even what distracts him, anyway the little sod was perfect. He didnt jump up and the trainer was trying to provoke him to so he could teach me how to stop this. He responded first time to recall and ran to me. The trainer said that he was hoping that he would not be so responsive so he could teach me how to change things. The bloke told me instead of showing me what to do in certain situations and we have another session booked for next week. When we got home he turned on his selective hearing again, trashed the bin 3 times and was generally unruly. What was that all about? I have never seen him ever as obedient as he was during training and i dont know what to make of this at all.Did he know he was being assesed? Should i ask the trainer to come to my house instead? Should i just persevere and see what he is like next week? This may seem like odd questions but i am paying a lot of money and although the trainer explained certain things, actions speak louder than words so i didnt feel very confident, maybe he could sense this? What actually goes on in his mind is a cmplete mistery. Any ideas, hints tips or suggestions please.

:D Dont you just love them?

I would say that the little darling was feeling a lot less confident with the trainer and in a different environment, also the trainer probably had different body language, which the dog picked up on.

Yes getting the trainer to come to your house could be a good idea, also you will probably find that as he becomes more confident with the trainer he starts to try to push his luck, although this may take several sessions.

Also dont forget he has been getting away with this bad behaviour for a while now so may well be surprised to find new rules being applied ;)

Good luck - you will get there eventually.

Could it be that you are a little too lenient or not a strong enough leader to your dog?  This can often result in dogs knowing they can 'get away' with bad behaviour with their owners.  It may well be that  trainer gave off strong signals as to who is in charge (not the dog!) which would make the dog respond accordingly.

Do you set house rules?  If so, are you consistent in implementing them?  How do you respond when your dog misbehaves?  Does your dog know what you mean when you recall him?  If so, what do you do when he doesn't come? 

Also, dogs learn to behave in certain situations and not others so they can be angels at the traiing class but think training doesn't apply at home and vice versa.  Usually, this means you need to implement training in various different locations to generalise the behaviour you want.

If your dog is more unruly at home I would ask if the trainer can come to you so that he can see exactly what is happening.  More often than not though, it is just a case of you getting your dog to understand that what you say goes no matter where you are and a combination of training and respect should get you this.

We have very strict rules set by myself in the house. Everything is also done to a rigid routine. When he does wrong at home he gets moved, (he has usually jumped on or got his head in somewhere stealing) with a really firm no or leave it. My husband is a bit too soft and i have to keep telling him to correct the dog. when he doesnt respond to recall i go and get him and take him to the place i was standing when i call him. It was really bizarre though as usually when i take him somewhere new he goes nuts for the new smells which make him worse for lead walking and recall. At home he has days of unruley behaviour and other days where heis really good. He has been really quiet this morning. We have put the recommended line on him and are going to follow training rigidly and see where we get. Could it have something to do with the fact that when i am at work others who are with him are not following his rules. I figure if i have to correct and tell people his commands etc when i am there then they are definately not doing this when im not?

If you don't mind me saying, you are placing a lot of emphasis on "correction" and this could in fact be quite detrimental to the training and relationship generally. For example, when he does not recall, you take him back to the place where he ignored you - I have heard of such methods but they don't really have much place in good training and helping the dog understand what you want.
It is important to be consistent, but only if the dog understands and has fair rules.

Time outs are OK, not sure why you are just moving him with a stern No, that doesn't usually help in a situation where the dog has his head in the bin for instance :P Often part of good dog ownership is management and setting the dog up for success, not failure.

Out of interest, what was the line training exactly? :) Is that for recall?

Lindsay
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Hi STann

Echoing Lindsays post, it seems to me that there is a lot of emphasis being placed on the negative here and not the positive!!!  What do you do when he does something right?  What sort of training are you doing with him?  Is it reward based training i.e. something like clicker or treat-based?  Perhaps your dog just doesn't understand what is expected of him!!  Can I also ask, why you have chosen an ex-police dog handler to do a one-to-one with?  What kind of techniques does he use - I hope they are reward based and not down the lines of the "old school" dominance theory stuff?

I suggest that you go back to basics.  Start in the garden with five minute sessions to reinforce his learning.  Always finish on a high note i.e. full of praise when something is done correctly.  Remember, if you are always being "punished" for things you do wrong - you actually start to become a little insecure about everything you do.  You do not need to be hard on a dog for it to be well trained.  In fact, quite the reverse!!   

Are people walking your dog during the day when you are at work?  If so, they really have to know what commands you use with your dog and what he does and doesn't know.  If he isn't getting this it is no wonder that he is becoming confused.  Perhaps you could just get people to come in and visit during the day rather than taking him for a walk.  Then all walks and training will be up to you and you then know his learning is consistent.

Hope this helps! :)

Annie

I dont work all day and he is walked by me mornings and evenings, my nan comes around to give him luch and take him into the garden. we do reward based training i got from a gwen bailey book, but i am the only one who is consistant. The line is to bring him to me in cases of recall. What do you suggest to get his head out if the bin other than moving him when he wont respond? he gets loads of praise and i always have a pocket full of treats for his good behaiviour. Time outs make him howl which can be awkward as next door works nights and has commented on hearing him. The trainer uses reward methods and i chose him as he was the only one i spoke to who didnt say what do you expect from a beagle, he said with patience and hard work any dog can be trained starting with you first, (meaning me). I dont think moving him away from a situation is punishment. When i do move him we then distract him with a toy so he doesnt go back to it. The thing with him is that we know when he is going to do something because his bottom lip curls, (i know that sounds bizzare) and when the lip is curled he pays no attention to us at all, we have tried all sorts of distractions. I dont think i was clear on my original postas i get the feeling it has come across that we just tell him off all the time, which is not the case. Some days like today he responds well and we have a lovely time together, other days we have no response at all. When i said i have to tell the OH half to correct him i mean by using his command of off instead of offy offy in a squeaky voice. Incidently we were on our own today so it could be down to consistancy.

Beagles certainly aren't the easiest of dogs, :P but there are a few doing obedience, heelwork to music and working trials, so they can be trained if motivated well. I haven't personal experience of one, but I suspect they can also be pretty stubborn :D in the sense that they need a "reason" for doing something.

I'd suggest re.the bin, if it's in the kitchen, put something on top of it or keep the dog out. Or get a bin that's impossible for him to open.My dog is obedient but will still investigate the kitchen bin, (we have a swing top) and I suspect most dogs would if given half the chance as they love to scavenge and find something for themselves, so my view here is that management is the thing.

When your OH says offy offy, is that almost in a playful tone? It may indeed be confusing. However, IME getting a dog off is really down to motivation and training - you can use a combination of long line, food reward and even clicker. Once he is trained and you are sure he understands, he should get off willingly. If he does not, (and this may be the case now?) then you may need to employ other tactics such as tippingup the sofa (if it's not too big! - this is a Gwen Bailey idea) so that he has no choice but to get off! In this sort of instance, it's OK to be firmer and show him he must do as you say, and then praise when he is off.

If you're happy with your trainer, I'd continue and see how things go :)

Lindsay
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HI Stann

Ah a Beagle!!!  As Lindsay says they are not the easiest dogs in the world to train but they are very very sweet!!!!

It sounds to me as if you are doing really well with your training and it is more about finding what motivates him to do things for you.  That will probably come with the help of your trainer.  The reason I asked about the trainer is that some of the old school still use aversion techniques for training which I believe can be very damaging to your relationship with your canine friend!!!

As for the bin!!!  Well if you do a search on previous posts you will notice that I have absolutely the same problem with my Bracco - and she counter-surfs!!  I tried everything to try and get her to stop but if I forgot to close the door she was up there - or in there - and I always had a mess to clean up.  I asked for advice on this and an idea was put forward about one of the bins that sit inside your cupboard door.  What a good idea it has turned out to be!!!  I haven't been able to get one as yet but have "adapted" the idea in that I hang a plastic bag over the handle outside the door and the bag hangs inside.  It seems to have worked although we did have a blip yesterday when she somehow got hold of the bag and ripped it off the handle.  Well, it looks like a trip to B&Q for me. :D Oh, and of course if he still has his head in the bin and all else fails you have to move him - you just can leave him there can you :D  Gwen Bailey is a good book and Lindsay's advice will help you too.

Sometimes too when other people walk your dog they use different commands and the dog becomes confused that's why I asked about that.  But if your mum is coming in and letting him into the garden then there's no problem there.  It all fitted into place when I found out the little darling was a Beagle though.  Perseverence and help from your trainer will see you through!!!!!

Good luck
Kind wishes
Annie

Thanks for that, we have had a brill evening with his behaivior last night and again today. The reason, beef! i roasted a joint yesterday in it's own juices so no added extras (gravy etc), and what was left was chopped up into tiny pieces and we have been using it for training. I guess biscuits and dog treats are not quite enough. My husbands offy offy is very playful, in fact sometimes he will end up calling me from another room if the dog will not respond. I cant say i blame the dog as OH sounds like he has been breathing helium when he talks to him. I am going to try some other meat with him as beef is expensive. Is there any meat dogs should not have? Someone told me they sould never have pork, is that true? The long line works well and his lead walking is spot on so browney points to my trainer as my arm has stayed in its socket for 2 days. He even got off the bin just now with a single off! I spoke to alot of dog trainers before i decided which one to have and i would never use anyone who was upsetting him he is like a baby to me. I wont need to tip him off the sofa as he is allowed up there, the OH wanted to be able to cuddle up with him which is lovely when you are a bit sad It may have helped build my muscles up a bit lol. Fingers crossed we are moving forward now. I just couldnt believe he made me look a plonker as all the problems i described he contradicted. He has never ever been so good, dogs are far more intelligent than anyone lets on!! It was like he knew he was being assessed which sounds bonkers. We are working on stay and stopping jumping up at the moment, How long is too much? I do 15 mins twice a day is this enough?

Hi STann

15 minutes sounds just about right to me!!  What I do with my dogs is keep a small handful of treats so that when we end the session (always on a high note - even if you just get him to sit) - they get the whole small handful which is a super duper reward. 

Sounds to me like you have a "proper" beagle there!  None of your mamby pamby stuff!  What about trying to make liver cake for your training sessions.  Only use it for that and make it his special treat.  If you do a search you should find a recipe!!  As liver is a laxative though remember a little goes a long way.  It's quite cheap to make and dogs absolutely love it.

Good luck
Annie