DIY dog training over summer holidays- anyone care to join and/ or advise?

[doggybootcamp]

We've had ddog for about six months and she's 13 months old- we did a direct adoption from her previous owners who'd had her since a puppy due to unexpected medical issues they had. We're still in touch and they did a great job with basic training and socialisation.
She's pretty good generally but there are a few things we need to work on and as we are now off for six weeks I plan to start our own family doggy boot camp while we have time to do it properly and consistently.
The things were focusing on:
Barking when we are getting ready to leave the house (as soon as we're gone she lies down, sleeps and generally acts as she does when we're still home)
Loose lead walking (we're already making progress with this but not consistently)
Recall (very iffy on this- great unless there's another dog in sight!)

We don't use a crate but we do have a utility room with a dog gate on the door and she can see most of the house from behind it. She sleeps in there and either stays in there while we're out or has free access to all of downstairs (I need to decide which one we will use and be more consistent with this)

I'm not 100% sure how to start on any of these -but have some ideas- and won't begin until next weekend but if anyone has any advice or wants to join in with me to offer moral support and encouragement please do!

Oooh I don’t have lots of advice but would be happy to join in/support?

We have 3 rescues. One is coming end of life (12/13) and is stubborn as hell so not going there with training! No 2 is a GS crossed with whatever Romanian about 4 years old. Barks like mad when my husband comes downstairs but loves fuss from him. Reactive to other dogs (outside of the house). No 3 came to us just over a year ago aged 6 months, born into a European rescue. Very nervous of people and bit grumpy sometimes with other dogs but incredibly intelligent and will do well with more training.

So can not offer loads of advice but happy to join in/support!

Sounds like you have your work cut out with three!
Ours is a collie cross and we live near lots of fields with sheep- the instincts are strong, which makes recall difficult...
I think we might try whistle training to start with. The only command she reliably listens to is WAIT, she does this whenever we cross a road and if she's off lead most of the time. However if she sees another dog or sheep the wait doesn't work and/ or she waits briefly then continues 🙈
I'm also going to be more consistent with using 'her' room; at the moment she only goes in there overnight (and we don't hear a peep from her) and if we go out so I want to make it more inviting for her. Think I need to find some interesting toys or treats that she only has when she goes in there- any suggestions welcome!

Also, puzzle toys work brilliantly but she's incredibly smart so masters them very quickly- any recommendations would be great!

What do you use to walk? A harness or slip lead or other?
We have a six month old Weimaraner with a very high prey drive and had a one to one session with a fantastic trainer ten days ago. For us it was a game changer. He confirmed that what we were doing was all good and gave us plenty of tips. The best £75 we've ever spent on him.
Main advice was to treat treat treat and treat some more 😂
Also using a strong 'yes' when giving the treat.
So for example when he's walking well with no pulling, even for a nanosecond, treat and 'yes'.
We only feed him a little bit first thing in the morning then take the rest of what would have been his breakfast out with us so he's getting his normal amount of kibble.
In only a week he's reliably walking loose lead and we're starting to have success with off lead heel walking.
Also use a whistle.
As you said, consistency is the key. Our weakest link was DH who thought his was the best way but now he's onboard it's massively helped.
Trainer also emphasised that pick a side to walk, for us it's to the left, and every one do the same.

Good luck. It's a long journey isn't it.
Some days Rafa is incredible, others not so much 😂

Also on the whistle he'll come back and immediately sit and wait for treat, which trainer said to vary. So sometimes it's one piece of kibble the next a small handful, another time a sprinkle on the ground at your feet. Keeps them on their toes.
Goodness me I sound like a dog whisperer!
Had a brilliant walk this morning. Tomorrow I'll be crying into my coffee wondering where did it all go wrong 😑

Fab, thank you! We use a harness for walks and she's not too bad, especially after she's had a good run and is tired out.
Definitely trying the whistle approach.
Interesting re consistency, our eldest lets her away with lots more than we do and can't understand why she behaves like a puppy for them!

@drivinmecrazy I have a fair bit of HPR experience and you're lucky yours is food motivated. If he has a lot of prey drive you might find that a ball (esp a squeaky one, Kong do squeaky tennis balls) will help you to compete if he gets on a scent or into active chase and food isn't enough. Use one for some simple fun retrieves and have a cue word for it ('BALL!' is probably enough) to build a bit of an addiction, and then you have something extra in your toolbox if food isn't enough.

All the HPR breeds are bloody clever, and it really pays to work their brains. Seen, directional, memory and blind retrieves (lots on eg YouTube) are your friend.

EdithStourton Rafa loves his ball but loves his food more!!
I agree with you totally re the enrichment activities, they are indeed our friend.
Rafa has been taught many (useless) tricks by DD2 but they both get so much out of the training (think spinning like a ballerina and lie down and roll and roll again 😂)
Also feeding times are good times to enrich them. A simple hand towel rolled with kibble and other treats keeps him occupied for ten minutes.
I think the challenge, for both us and him, is having to become ever more inventive with his activities.
Definitely makes for 🤩

Ddog is obsessed with balls. We often resort to hiding them as she won't leave them alone. I always carry one on a walk as a distraction if we pass other dogs, she certainly focuses on me them but still not infallible!
We often wrap her food up in a towel but she loves chewing fabric so the towels normally end up trashed. She's always stealing socks and underwear, I've even seen her jumping up at the washing line in the garden to try and grab them 😂 would be great if we could leave her with a food towel when we go out but there's a strong possibility she'd eat that towel too...

Would love some advise on the barking issue.
Ours has recently found his voice, particularly at night when a bloody muntjac starts barking. I had to place an apology in our street WhatsApp group this morning because he was going wild.
Oh If only we'd have chosen a nice calm dog!!
On the plus side we're all very blessed to have such intelligent animals, makes the journey so much more fun 😂

Oh please can I join?
Our lad is 3 years old, Bedlington Poodle cross.
For us the issue is with getting ready to go out without him.he barks and barks, will be briefly distracted by a chewy but not for long.

He recognises the straighteners coming out so it's not a quick bark or two; I end up putting my makeup on as a sweaty mess!

The other thing is guarding things he has stolen; we are usually reduced to distraction techniques but of course he knows he may get a treat so...
He is worse in the evenings so i sometimes wish we had persevered with the crate.
Our house is really tiny though.

He solves puzzles in two minutes, loves his snuffle mat but is then very possessive of it.

I would appreciate any ideas.
🐕‍🦺💖🐕‍🦺

😂 maybe we should ask OP if she wouldn't mind retitling this thread 'advice for gun dog/high prey driven dogs'

This is familiar- it starts when I turn the kettle on to make my coffee for the drive to work, sometimes just standing up and calling dd's name as she knows I'm asking her to get packed lunch/ water bottle/ shoes etc. I'm going to work on making her like her room more and put her in there a while before we leave so she can't see all the usual triggers. It's only ever the mornings when I guess she knows she'll be alone for a couple of hours at least so can't fully test it til school starts back but it's a start!
I do think the more intelligent breeds are harder to train in so many ways. Our last was lovely in every way except being a bit lacking in brain cells but he was too lazy to be trained or to do anything remotely 'naughty'

If you happen to know who owns the sheep, it might be worth seeing if they would allow your dog a close encounter with some stroppy members of the flock. Sheep in a pen, dog outside is the usual for this. Many dogs having discovered that sheep can be no fun at all stop wanting to chase them.

Hello! Another one here to join please! We have a 14 week old Golden/Toller Retriever. She was lovely for about the first week until she got her confidence and is now a massive twat 😂 I know puppies are bitey but OMG I look like I've put my arms in a blender!
Working on walking as she is still pulling occasionally- although much better, and also working on a recall which is absolutely atrocious because she is distracted by every single thing.
Photo of Amy for tax 😬

Do your routine without leaving while you can over summer. Start with the smallest bit - i.e. doing thr coffee- then after, play with the dog so the coffee isnt always a precursor to something negative. Then add in the various other steps before pkaying with her!

She's beautiful. Ours is a scruffy pup in desperate need of a groom!
She was ok for the first few months but then she had her first season and I think adolescence kicked in as she has become a monster at times 😂 summer boot camp to the rescue... I hope
There's so much conflicting advice on line and from other people it's hard to know where to start but there are good tips on here so that's been really helpful- thank you!

Sorry if these have already been mentioned but you can't beat:
Totally Recall by Pippa Mattinson
Mission Control by Jane Arden

These are bibles for any new dog owner.
Then if you have working breeds eg spaniel/lab/retriever The Pet Gundog Puppy book by Les Graham is invaluable.

Thanks! I agree about the conflicting advice, but what I've found helpful is to stick to the trainers that have outlooks I feel most comfortable with. Luckily in my case that's Pippa Mattison and Lez Graham - but I've read plenty of others too. And that's even without all the YouTube channels! 😑

I'm quite research motivated, so I do find it useful to read around the subject as it were even if I'm not going to use those techniques as I feel it helps me understand the issue (training in this case) more fully.

Now I just need to actually put what I've learnt into practice- easier said than done! 🫣

Just thought I'd pop in with an update.
I've been working on whistle training and it is working amazingly well! Works perfectly in the house/ garden and so far in the fields where we walk too. I'm still not sure if it will be enough to bring her back if there are distractions but feeling positive.
Loose lead walking is better but hit and miss. We got a new lead with a short and long handle that really helps as we can keep her close and halt her quickly when on the main road but she has a bit more freedom on the fields if other dogs are around. We do a lot of stop starting though!

I second Pippa Mattinson's Total Recall. Also Zak George has a book which is also available on audiobook read by him, so you get the nuances. He has a YouTube channel too. Also a YouTube channel called Training Positive. They've been really helpful.

Otherwise it's just consistency and repetition. Have have a rescue terrorist labrador, and he is slowly becoming better behaved. We are several months in and he is beginning to walk to heel, recall is good, and stay is good. Still working on anything beyond that though.

With whistle training you need to make sure reaction to it is sharp (as with any command). So don't keep blowing on it, if dog doesn't respond immediately then go out and fetch dog back.
The key to all commands is to only say/do them once. If you let dog ignore any command then you are undoing the command.
Silent recall is an excellent way of installing check-ins into the dog and will result in a dog who is constantly looking for you + checking in with you.

Thanks- so far she has come back after the first whistle every time but I haven't fully tested it with distractions yet. She's half collie so think it came naturally to her 😂