Anyone here good at dog training?

[Paa Langfart]

I just adopted a rescue dog and need some pointers on how to train her.  Number one I need her to either get along with or ignore my cats.  Currently we are crating her with several times a day out of the crate in the house and going for walks and play time etc.  I have two cats that she keeps lunging at - she has actually touched noses with one of them and didnt act aggressive but at other times has lunged.  Shes tough to read because she wags her tail sometimes but others she will just stare at them.  I need some advice.

[Mvp2014]

She will figure out not to f with the cats soon enough.  If she fugs up, yell no and slap the whiskers off that bitch

[rhyslloyd]

Get rid of the damn cats.

[Batman]

Consistency. Consistency. Consistency. And always remember she's a dog, not a child. Unlike a child, you cannot communicate with a dog to teach them. For dogs everything is an association. Example;

A-

You walk into living room and see poop on the floor. You call the dog by name and when she comes you yell at her and pop her on the nose. She doesn't understand that you're punishing her for pooping in the house. Instead, she now associates you calling her to come with getting yelled at and popped.

B-

You're sitting in the living room and she starts chewing on furniture. You yell no and pop her on the nose while she's in the act of chewing whatever. She now knows that chewing on that is not allowed.

And obviously the physical pops are only intended for small puppies or small breeds. Not a good idea to physically correct a large breed dog as it can sometimes create aggressiveness.

Spend time everyday doing obedience and walking on a leash, even if it's only 5 minutes. And socialize her with other people, children, dogs, cats, etc and different places as often as you possibly can. The more you socialize a puppy the better. It's almost impossible to socialize a grown dog.

You can have a dog that is the most well trained and obedient animal on the planet when you're at home alone, but if they aren't properly socialized it doesn't matter. Anytime you take them out or strange animals/people come over they are gonna act crazy because they don't know any better and it upsets their routine. And I find those animals, like unruly children, extremely obnoxious.

IMO those are the two biggest things folks fail at with dogs. Not understanding the right/wrong way to correct them and failing to properly socialize them.

And if you can afford it feed her a grain free dog food. The corn and grains that most dog foods mainly consist of are terrible for dogs. It offers almost no nutritional value, it simply fills their stomach. It's extremely hard for them to digest and causes health issues and will shorten their life. There are several grain free commercial dogs foods that are readily available and reasonably priced; Blue Buffalo, Taste of the Wild, etc.

[Inimicus]

four words:

Remote controlled shock collar

 

 

If used correctly it allows you to correct the dog without having to be next to the dog. Dont turn it up to 11, just enough juice that its gets the dogs attention.  Some even have a vibrate setting you can start with. 

[Daddy_Uncle]

four words:

Remote controlled shock collar

 

 

If used correctly it allows you to correct the dog without having to be next to the dog. Dont turn it up to 11, just enough juice that its gets the dogs attention.  Some even have a vibrate setting you can start with. 

How would you like to be put in a shock collar?

[Doyle]

four words:

Remote controlled shock collar

 

 

If used correctly it allows you to correct the dog without having to be next to the dog. Dont turn it up to 11, just enough juice that its gets the dogs attention.  Some even have a vibrate setting you can start with. 

If used correctly then it should work with your kids as well right?  Also fug crate training.  It's bad enough they have to be stuck in the house all day. 

[Inimicus]

How would you like to be put in a shock collar?

No more than I want to be popped in the nose with a rolled up newspaper or than I want to go out in the rain to take a dump or eat the same damn thing every fuging day. Shock collars are not tasers and when used properly they are no less humane than any other form of corrective training.  As I said most of them have a vibrate setting that can be used as a starting place instead of a shock.

If used correctly then it should work with your kids as well right?  Also fug crate training.  It's bad enough they have to be stuck in the house all day. 

If I had a kid with the IQ and communication skills of either of my dogs I would consider using a shock collar.

[Jackofalltrades]

Swiftdogz in Concord can work wonders.

[Paa Langfart]

Swiftdogz in Concord can work wonders.

not an option as I am down on the coast.

 

For the crate detractors let me say I have owned 3 dogs in my adult life up to now and have never used a crate before.  But at the prodding of the rescue group this time I am - and I really dont think I could even try to do this without one.  It gives her a place to be put where she can observe us all but the cats feel relatively safe and able to get to know her better.  She is at least a year old and has some tendencies at past homes to be destructive, so those times when someone cant be right here with her she can go into her crate and we dont have to worry about what sort of disaster we will come home to.  Without it she would probably have no chance at life except on the end of someones chain and what sort of life is that ?  Right now she was running around the house and went into her crate on her own and started playing with her kong toy - telling me she wanted it filled - so I filled it for her and closed her in and shes perfectly content and I can let the cats back in and drink a cup of coffee in peace - everyone is happy.

 

thank you everyone for the suggestions and keep them coming if possible.  Inimicus - I met a guy while working i my garden a couple years ago - he had two big pit mixes that he was able to let out on my place - let them run around enjoy themselves and when he wanted them back in the truck and they wouldnt come he gave them a nudge with the collars - they came right back and got in the truck as he directed.  He let me feel the lower powered shocks - barely perceptible to me- really just a tingle - nothing like the 6000 volts my electric fence around the garden puts out  - and thats what he used the tingle setting - I was impressed and may be looking into this more.  

 

here is a pic of her on facebook shortly after she was rescued.  
She is a Plott hound mix- maybe Australian shephard or husky with the blue eyes.

 

[Zaximus]

I may be spoiled since I have only owned German Shepherds, but I never needed to "pop" my dogs or use shock collars, ever.    A stern voice, not screaming, at the time of the infraction would do the trick.

Crating is not a bad thing at all if you never use it as a disiplinary tool.  Going to the crate should be a good thing for your pup, not a bad.  Put them in there while you're watching TV or something for an hour here and there and they'll eventually be OK with going in there.

I was walking my dogs with leash even when they were tiny and didn't need it yet just so they get used to it.

Also hold your dog a lot, but mostly mess with their ears and stuff so they aren't so weird about it when they get older, trust me.  Also their feet too.

Dogs generally want to please you, so you just have to let them know WHEN they are doing something wrong, not a minute after.   

[Panthro]

looks more like an Australian cattle dog mix then Shepard.

[Inimicus]

I may be spoiled since I have only owned German Shepherds, but I never needed to "pop" my dogs or use shock collars, ever.    A stern voice, not screaming, at the time of the infraction would do the trick.

Crating is not a bad thing at all if you never use it as a disiplinary tool.  Going to the crate should be a good thing for your pup, not a bad.  Put them in there while you're watching TV or something for an hour here and there and they'll eventually be OK with going in there.

I was walking my dogs with leash even when they were tiny and didn't need it yet just so they get used to it.

Also hold your dog a lot, but mostly mess with their ears and stuff so they aren't so weird about it when they get older, trust me.  Also their feet too.

Dogs generally want to please you, so you just have to let them know WHEN they are doing something wrong, not a minute after.   

Ive had dozens of dogs over the years and I had never needed one either, but our last shelter dog wasn't responding to our normal methods and we had a trainer suggest it.  In researching it, one of my wife's friends who runs a rescue in Guilford Co was telling her about the success she has with them and the more we looked the more we found that they are nowhere as much of the torture device they are made out to be.

The dog was a poop eater.  He would go out in the back yard and find a pile he left days before and start chowing down.  He would be so far away that there was no way to effectively correct him.  Enter the shock collar.  Didn't matter that he was 30 yards away when we saw him start munching, a light buzz from the collar and he quit.  Now he doesn't eat poop and we don't have to worry that he is bringing them in through the doggie door.