Help! Westie's training is regressing

[Mothergoose]

I am helping a client with her Westie, Stanley. Stanley is an 11 month old Westie who is regressing in his training. Here are a list of the problems:

1. He went to the bathroom (pooped and peed) in the house a few times. He also refuses to go when taken outside. I suggested they keep him on a crate program to reinforce bathroom habits.

2. He barks incessantly and gets hyper when doorbell rings.

3. He was coming when called but now does not do a recall even in the house. I suggested that he stays on a leash even in the house until he is back on track with his recalls.

4. His leash work as regressed with heeling. He still pulls until he is yanking himself almost to injury. He also refuses to put on his training collar.

5. He has not responded to learning how to ask to go out to pee, and will not ring his bell to go out.


I suggested that the owners possibly seek a behaviorist that will specialize with Stanley's needs. They are considering a training boot camp for a week which will cost them 1000.00. Can anyone give any suggestions?

 

[Richard D.]

Just curious, when you say "client" are you hired as a dog trainer?

All the problems you talked about will undoubtedly be addressed by the positive reinforcement crowd about how to handle each problem. I see a definate need of that kind of training however I think it's equally important to address the dog as a whole and hence the need for a holistic approach as well.

Much of what you are talking about can be explained by the fact that the dog sees itself as the leader of the pack and not it's owners. There are four simple things that can communicate to the dog in it's own language who is Alpha without resorting to physical techniques that many feel are abusive. Here is a list I typed up for my wife so we could be consistant in our approach:



1) The Five Minute Rule- whenever reuniting with the dog(s) whether it has been hours, minutes or seconds we must ignore the dog(s) for five minutes AFTER they calm down before interacting with them. (Ignore means no eye contact or speaking to them or touching.)


2) Percieved Danger- When someone comes to the door and the dogs bark, first thank them for notifiying us and then tell the person they must follow the Five Minute Rule when entering.


3) Going for Walks- After the leashes are put on wait for the dogs to calm down. Always go through the door first. If they pull on the leash, stop and wait for them to relax before continuing.


4) Feeding- We always eat first. A cracker on the counter where we prepare the food that we eat slowly and deliberatley while they watch untill we are finished. Then place thier food down seperately and when they walk away pick up any leftovers. Food will not be left out for them to eat on thier own.

That's it in a nutshell. The dog will understand in a short time and works wonders. Most people can't do the ignore part and think it's mean but it's the most important aspect. I have never heard someone say they tried it completely and didn't get good results. Just naysayers who havn't fully tried it.

None of this is original and I learned it from "The Dog Listener" by Jan Fennell.

 

[Angelique]

Great post and information Richard D!

Thanks also for listing your source of info.

 

[wesminster]

2. He barks incessantly and gets hyper when doorbell rings.

Well, that's because the doorbell means visitors, and visitors are fun, I guess. Get a friend to ring the doorbell. Don't react to it at all when Stanley are hyper and barks. When he is calm, or at least does not bark, you get up from the chair and opens the door. If he - on your way to the door - starts barking again, you turn around and ignore him until he's silent again. Then you go and open the door. Do this training as long as it is needed (basicly until he doesn't bark at the doorbell anymore), but only two - five times each day.

3. He was coming when called but now does not do a recall even in the house. I suggested that he stays on a leash even in the house until he is back on track with his recalls.
Why does dogs come to us when we call? Because it has consequences. The dog come because that usually leads to something good (threats, playing or something else) or because not coming leads to something bad (if the dog are on a leash, it may f.ex. get drawn in anyway (and that's not really comfortable)). When the dog does not come, it's because it don't have any consequences - it's not better to stay with mom or dad than run freely around, or the distaste is not bad enough.
My dog comes because that's better than walk around for herself. Coming to me has always been fun and good, and it will always be.
Start the training inside or in the garden. Have something Stanley really loves, a ball or sausages or something. Every time he even looks at you, or comes toward you, you reward him. After a while you do the same thing outside some place he knows, and then you can do it in more and more difficult places. Coming to you should be birthday and Christmas in one time!

4. His leash work as regressed with heeling. He still pulls until he is yanking himself almost to injury. He also refuses to put on his training collar.

Everytime he pulls, you stop. Don't do anything at all before the leash is slack. Then you reward and continue the walk.
What type of collar is the training collar? Is training fun for Stanley?

 

[Richard D.]

Westminster has some sensible advice. Interesting to me is none of it is incompatible to what Fennel suggests and would combine many aspects of two disimilair ideologies of training.