Dog Trainer Experiences?

[tirebob]

Hey all,

We just inherited a dog from my wifes sister that she can no longer take care of due to losing her place in the wild fires down in California. He is a rescue is is just over a year old now and is really a good dog and listen to us very well at home, but being a purebred Ol' Southern American Bulldog he is a big boy (over 100lbs at just over a year old) and having a natural high prey drive, while out on walks he will definitely pull hard and want to run after squirrels and other dogs etc and he is really tough to hold back for my wife. He isn't aggressive or mean and wanting to kill everything, but it is intimidating to other dogs and people as he is quite the muscle bound bully looking breed and we do not want to ever have any issues.

Because he listens so well at home and he really is one of those dogs that just follows you around trying to please you, we figure he should be quite trainable.

We are looking for a dog trainer who can work with my wife (I broke my ankle this past weekend so I will not be able to be out there walking around for training) and help us work on the prey drive issues and walking issues. As we live in Airdire, somebody who is out there or willing to come out there would be preferred but for someone who is really good and well proven we would be willing to come into town of course. It is more private, one on one lessons we are looking for.

Anyone have any positive experiences to pass on?

Here is a pic of the fella from 3 months ago when she got him. He was 9 or 10 months old here...

http://i.imgur.com/5m7lApxl.jpg

[bjstare]

I have a little fuzzy 13lb dog who would only intimidate a <7 yr old, but have similar issues (prey drive, recall, occasional car chasing...dumbass dog), so I'm also interested in the responses. Dog is very trainable and smart, but he sometimes chooses to be very stubborn. (Live in SW Calgary though, not Airdrie)

Thanks for starting this thread Bob!

[TimG]

i've had good experiences with Clever Canines

edit: they're in the SW off Macleod Trail, not airdrie. not sure if they come to you. we did a group class with them and it was great.

[lilmira]

http://www.caninebehaviourist.com/
I had JC come to my house to look at my shiba boy 4-5yrs ago. My boy has been given up by two owners before so he is not perfect to say the least. The visit was about two hours I think and I paid him 200 bucks or so. He seems to know what he's doing.

[vengie]

Subscribed!

I am picking up my adopted dog today as well, 1.5 year old pitbull.

Quite experienced with dogs, but its always awesome to read other training methodologies.

Bob, I am also in Airdrie, maybe i'll see you around the parks!

[GingeRRRBeef]

Hey Bob!

Check your PM

[Amysicle]

.

[logi]

Check out:
http://www.metropawlitan.ca/

we took her classes with our rescue at especially for pets on 16th ave and found her to be a very good trainer. I think she mainly does classes of about 10 dogs, but I do remember her doing private training as well just not sure if she travels outside the city for them.

[5.9 R/T]

Originally posted by lilmira
http://www.caninebehaviourist.com/
I had JC come to my house to look at my shiba boy 4-5yrs ago. My boy has been given up by two owners before so he is not perfect to say the least. The visit was about two hours I think and I paid him 200 bucks or so. He seems to know what he's doing.

Several years back took my dog to him, he threw a tennis ball at him, hard, as a correction method. That's not the kind of training I was interested in. Plenty of reviews on this guy online, know what you are getting yourself into.

[redline]

We just took our lab to clever canines, is was some of the best dog training I have done, would told lay recommend it to anyone.

[Prail]

Not everyone agrees with his methods but you can learn quite a bit about dog psychology by watching some episodes of the dog whisperer as well.

[tirebob]

Hey guys... My wife found a lady in Airdrie here who appartly did well with some other people my wife knows and signed up for 5 private 1 hour lessons where she comes into our home and on walks with us etc, helping to train not only the dog, but us on our dog related behaviours. So far just one lesson in and 5 days of practice, our dog is definitely responding positively. The next 4 weeks will be the true tell!

[AndyL]

We used a lady by the name of Cindy maynes back in the spring (unfortunately was behaviour due to major medical issue). She works with a couple rescues and training places - pretty reasonable when booked directly.

I would use her again, she was pretty awesome for 1on1 training.

[vengie]

Originally posted by tirebob
Hey guys... My wife found a lady in Airdrie here who appartly did well with some other people my wife knows and signed up for 5 private 1 hour lessons where she comes into our home and on walks with us etc, helping to train not only the dog, but us on our dog related behaviours. So far just one lesson in and 5 days of practice, our dog is definitely responding positively. The next 4 weeks will be the true tell!

Rhonda from Four on the Floor??

We just started with her as well with out chihuahua and rescued pitbull.

[tirebob]

Originally posted by vengie


Rhonda from Four on the Floor??

We just started with her as well with out chihuahua and rescued pitbull. I think the girls name is Dominique? I will confirm with my wife...

[sexualbanana]

Originally posted by GingeRRRBeef
Hey Bob!

Check your PM

This guy

[J-hop]

Originally posted by Prail
Not everyone agrees with his methods but you can learn quite a bit about dog psychology by watching some episodes of the dog whisperer as well.

Not to start an argument but I've watched the show lots, read a couple of his books and used to believe his theories were sound.

However there is a massive amount of research showing his theories and methods are not only completely wrong but when applied to fearful animals can cause a backfire as you've probably seen in the behind the scenes footage where Cesar gets bit on a few occasions.


OP my first bit of advice with a rescue especially is to avoid any trainers that use aversive methods/positive punishment.

Second would be to search on the CCPDT site for certified trainers. I have used a couple in Calgary but any of them certified by them will probably be good.

CCPDT is really the only sort of regulating body for trainers. They certify trainers based on methods with scientific research to back them up. Any other form of training will be based on personal opinion and unfounded theories.

Hope that helps and good on you for stepping up!

[zipdoa]

Just a rule of thumb, you should only ever use positive reinforcement. There is no reason to ever use violence as a correction method. This includes striking, verbal abuse or any other physical punishment.

Dogs are usually motivated by one of three things:

Food, love, or toys.

Figure out what makes your pup click, and use it to reinforce his good behaviour.

[GingeRRRBeef]

Politics, religion ... dog training

[klumsy_tumbler]

Yeah, dog training can be quite the controversial topic. It's right up there with spanking your kids :nut:

[lamp_shade_2000]

We just adopted a little 10 week old Miniature Schnauzer this week as well. After a little research we landed on Cultured Canines and will be taking classes with them. They teach how to train without treats and more so around the behavior of the dog. We begin classes on Tuesday and they have openings still available. Only downside to them is most of their classes are in the downtown/belt-line area so may not be as convenient if you live in Airdrie or the suburbs like we are.

https://culturedcanines.ca/

[tobslau]

Just finished a fast pack class with cultured canines - I liked their approach.

[finboy]

Originally posted by zipdoa
Just a rule of thumb, you should only ever use positive reinforcement. There is no reason to ever use violence as a correction method. This includes striking, verbal abuse or any other physical punishment.

Dogs are usually motivated by one of three things:

Food, love, or toys.

Figure out what makes your pup click, and use it to reinforce his good behaviour.

This

We've taken courses with dogma, super dog spectrum, and sit happens. We tried a few different ones just to see their approaches, and which fit best with our dogs. Though you aren't going to go to any of the locations, I thought it would be worth highlighting the common theme I've found.

Mostly the classes are what you make of them, the practice AFTER the lesson is where you really help your dog remember what it should be doing. I'm sure everyone will have opinions of what worked and what didn't for them, but I think everyone will agree that patience and persistence is key on making the dog remember what it picks up in the classes.

Also for helping on pulling, consider a front attach harness, we found it very helpful as it keeps the dog from gaining momentum when pulling forward, and with a dog that big you will likely want the help.