Talking while heeling

[Storm]

also with the hunger aspect one must understand that dogs may offer a behavior where they switch off and will not activate because they have been conditioned that through been unattentive this behaviour activates the handler to producing the food, with this foundation dogs will take it to the extreme as in there head that is what works.

[Judi W]

In short, what Storm is attempting to tell you is don't devalue your reward by simply giving it! The dog should be doing the work. This applies to any reward including a pat on the head. It is the dog that should be trying to please you, not the other way around. I see this where people only or always give their food reward at the halt sit. Dog can lag as much as it wants, wander up and sit and it gets some food! Excuse me???? This is not right! The same thing applies to praise and a pat. The dog that gets its belly rubbed every night just because it is there breathing in and out has very little incentive to work for you. Why should he? He gets all the good things in life without lifting a finger (or paw) and you seem pleased with him just because he is there. Hardly designed to have him concerned about pleasing you.

[debbiej]

don't mean to hijack the thread, hope all can benefit from the discussion..
in the very beginning class it was treat after command obeyed. she is a smart girl, and very food motivated. she obeys the command immediatly and beautifully if she knows I have my treat bag on me, cheese in my mouth or pocket, she's good even if maybe there's treats in my bag on the edge of the field. if she does well, and the reward is a "good girl" she begins to lose a bit of interest. pretty soon she is trying to spice things up by being a clown. if she gets a correction for that, she is obedient but unenthusiastic.

[Luvs]

Originally Posted by gomer9855

Okay, I think I get ya. Frau is not about treats. She has never cared about treats. Frau is about squeaky toys. We were given an "absolutely not" to the squeaky toy at ob classes.

Is there something else that she likes? Did he give you a reason why squeaky toys couldn't be used?

Originally Posted by gomer9855

We heel in a line in class. The lady who owns the building breeds and shows, so she has the building set up like a show ring, with the rubber mats around the rim. I can't go around other dogs, or I'll be in the middle of the room and not in line for the exercises he wants us to do (sit, down, stay, etc).
I personally thought it a bad idea to have 4 large breed dogs and 4 small breed dogs. The small dogs are beat by the end of the 45 min, plus the big dogs have to slow down for them. And it takes longer for the owners to treat becuase they have to bend down and such. Should I maybe look for a large-breed only trainer next time?

Maybe he should split the class in half during the heeling? There is nothing wrong with having large and small breeds in the same class, as long as they are able to work together. A large dog should not be expected to go at the same speed or slower than a small dog. There are dogs of all sizes in my class, but during heeling if the group is not split in half, I just go around the slower dogs, no matter what breed they are Our entire floors are matted tho, not just the outside like in a conformation ring.

[Judi W]

No squeek toys because it is too distracting to the other dogs in class. Use a toy, but not squeek.

It is actually good for dogs to be in mixed classes. There is still no reason why you cannot pass a slower dog, in fact we instruct people to do so, then when it is time for static exercises you simply move to wherever you need to be. I don't know why dogs cannot be in any order for the static exercises, in fact it is good for them to learn to be seated next to different individuals.