# Question For Obedience Peeps



## Maxs Mom (Mar 22, 2008)

I am training my husbands Lab for novice hopefully at Lab National in Oct. I have 2 challenges I'm curious what suggestions are out there. 

1) Squeaking. She's not loud. Truthfully at a trial if you weren't on top of her you may not hear it, but I want it to improve. I have a "shh" command, and I put my fingers between her shoulder blades and collar to "settle" her. It's helping just wondering if anyone else has had this issue and any thoughts. This dog BARKS her fool head off in agility, and will escalate doing her obedience jumping and retrieving exercises. I don't let her play until she's relaxed and quiet but it's tough. 

2) Heeling attention. Dog is not toy motivated, she loves treats but once in her mouth attention goes bye bye. Not capable myself of machine gunning them to her. It's improving but wondering if there are other attention games/tricks I could be trying. Treats come from my mouth and she's still in the bait stage. 

She knows how to heel, stay, come etc. Dog is working senior hunt stuff (too noisy to run) so she "knows", it's just teaching her to confirm to the picture. She is 5 and its a struggle. When she gets it, and does picture perfect heeling (once in a great while) she is adorable! Her tail goes 90mph as she works. She does enjoy it, and shows effort if not understanding. She's my new challenge and I feel like I'm not doing my part in teaching her. Open to thoughts.


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## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

1. Is it a bark or a whine? If whining, Linda Koutsky has talked about holding the voice box when they whine, because they often don't even realize they are doing it, and holding the voice box makes them feel the vibrations.

2. Teach a consequence for looking away. We teach the dog to WANT to look at us, but I also teach them that it is their responsibility to do so even if they want to look elsewhere. When you give the treat, break off heeling and let her eat, then start back up.


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## Maxs Mom (Mar 22, 2008)

Jodie, it's a squeak. Not a bark not really a whine. Barely audible. Holding the voice box is a good idea...

When you say teach a consequence for looking away, what do you mean? I do have a "correction" tone (uh oh, unh unh) but not sure if that's what you mean. I am very careful when I reward, I am breaking off and treating the behavior I want. 

We trained tonight. Working her and Gabby I realize how polar opposite they are. Quinn is fun, just frustrating too. I think once we get the "attention breakthrough" it will get easier.


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## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

Do you by chance have Terri Arnold's obedience books? The attention program outlined in her first book is how I trained all of my dogs


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## Maxs Mom (Mar 22, 2008)

No.....I don't. Never heard of them before.


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## Alaska7133 (May 26, 2011)

I have to say I cleaned up Lucy's off leash heeling with her e-collar. I kept the nic low and just used it as a reminder that she's lagging or a little off to the side. Now in the ring she's much better. Since your dog is running senior Hunter have you thought about training obedience with an e-collar in the ring? It might help or give boundaries.


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## Maxs Mom (Mar 22, 2008)

I worry the e collar would ramp her up. She knows e collar means bird fun. She's perfectly willing to work along side (she does forge a tad but it's fixable), it's her attention, squeaking, and things like that I'm looking for additional ideas to work with her. 

When I take her to matches or new training facilities we put the bark collar on to set the precedent what will and won't be tolerated. So far we have had no issues (other than squeaks) even places she goes and does agility. Agility we do not try to stop her barking. We don't want to put that pressure on her. She's not penalized so we don't make an issue over it.


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## Martin (Feb 21, 2011)

Do dogs get confused when they're sometimes allowed to bark in the ring and sometimes punished for it? This is an honest question; I've never competed in a dog sport, much less in multiple types that have different rules, so I have no experience/information on what is and isn't confusing in these circumstances.


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## Maxs Mom (Mar 22, 2008)

Dogs are situational. They learn. Just like we know to lower our voices in a library. We have also realized with "me" Quinn is less vocal. My husband realizes if she goes forward in hunt tests I will probably have to run her. When I run her at agility trials, she's not barking unless she is running. She is quiet in the chute and quiet at the line. It's a personal standard she understands too. I am less tolerant.


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## Alaska7133 (May 26, 2011)

I leave e-collars on my dogs on walks and in obedience classes. I try to not give them the idea that the e-collar means birds. That way when I'm at a hunt test, it doesn't mean that they can do whatever they want since they don't have the e-collar on. I don't want them to think no e-collar means they don't have to mind me.

On the barking issue, I sometimes am at our obedience club when the flyball people are running their dogs. I thought agility dogs barked a lot, boy was I wrong when the flyball dogs are running. They are over the top with noise. I think some of the people wear ear protection it's so bad! I won't do flyball with my dogs for that reason alone.


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## Maxs Mom (Mar 22, 2008)

We made mistakes when Quinn was a puppy. She was the first and only dog I have ever had that barked to bark. She would bark to her food bowl, we laughed and thought it was cute, then fed her. Our bad. :-( We learned. Fortunate she's not barking in obedience but squeaking and it is quieter than what she did in field. I just want it as gone as I can so we won't lose too many points. 

Had a couple possible breakthroughs on Monday at class. She was squeaking we marked it, repeated exercise no noise...... A step in the right direction. Still not sure she knows she's squeaking.


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## Alaska7133 (May 26, 2011)

I sympathize. My first golden (in my avatar) was a great girl. But she barked just to hear herself bark. The bark collar didn't make a different. She barked hello. She barked good bye. And she barked when she chased stuff. Every photo I have of her as a puppy has her mouth open because she is barking. I hope the barking and squeaking gets under control. I really think they often don't know they are doing it like you say.


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