Re: [pyrnet] Obedience and Alpha dogs

[Jack & Charlotte Perry <pyreau@erols.com>]

Rhonda,
    Sounds like your pup is a big boy.  Thought I'd  throw in my 2 cents just
for a different point of view.  Although your pup is big, do remember that he
is still a baby.  As such, he has a very short attention span and he really
wants to play. Pups do have lapses in memory (maybe it's because all their
energy leaves their brains and goes into growing). My first Pyr was a very
large male and I (at that time) was pretty small.  I went through many of the
same things you are going through, but the best thing I ever did was to go to
an obedience class and learn how to train and correct my Pyr in a positive way.
It does not take size or weight to correct even the biggest dog once you learn
to use a choke collar correctly (i.e. quick jerks rather than pulling).  The
other thing that I came to realize is that these dogs are smart and think on
their own.  Many of them take staring down and harsh methods of training such
as alpha rolls as a challenge and willl simply say "forget this". Trying to
"break" a Pyr's spirit doesn't work very well.   I finally learned that what
worked best for my dogs was to make training fun (my dogs love little pieces of
fried liver sprinkled with garlic salt), and short (5-10 mins) sessions
followed by play time. Long down stays are pretty boring and harsh for a baby.
I am all in favor of alpha boot camp, but a pup needs to have fun.
Charlotte


Rhonda Collins wrote:

> Michelle,
>
> Thanks for the article. It echoes pretty much what I've read previously,
> and we've pretty much followed most of the advice. I really think the
> reason he's giving me problems is simply because I AM small. I'm only about
> 5'. I'm just going to have to really become rigid with working with him. I
> think I've gotten lax the past few weeks. I did go over today and enroll in
> the obedience class...something (as I said) I'd been meaning to do for some
> time. Hopefully, if I really watch myself and not get "lazy" and let him
> get by with stuff, he'll go back to being the sweet boy he usually is. He
> was moderately good  while I had him out today...and again, I was
> complimented on how well behaved he  was for a 7-month old pup--especially
> one that big. To ME, he wasn't being all that good. He'd sit, but wouldn't
> stay, and it took me more than a time or two to make him sit...and
> sometimes a push on the rear. He's usually MUCH better about minding, even
> around distractions. So...<sigh> Mom is just going to have to watch herself
> and browbeat him a bit more. I used to make it a habit to stare him down
> once a day and make him do a long down at least 3-4 times a week, and I
> haven't done that recently. Time to get back to it.
>
> BTW, he's now 90 lbs at  7 months. Is that pretty average?
>
> Rhonda
>
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