dealing with a rescue dog

[BibiMwewe]

Thought I'd throw this out to all of you self-described dog trainers to hear what you have to say...

So about a month ago I adopted a Brittany from the local shelter, adult male field-type. He's as nice as you could hope for in the house (except for some table-surfing when no-one's around, oh well we shouldn't leave food out anyways) and loves those birds and rabbits - flash-points pretty consistently. The main issue is getting him to stop hunting - after a few afternoons when we spent a few hours longer in the field then I intended, he's now banished to leash only outdoors. Will we be stuck using the check cord for months and months?

Any suggestions on how best to fix this situation? I don't know if it's because he's a britt or the rescue dog thing, but he's very "soft" and is liable just to roll over on his back and go limp when corrected or even if I raise my voice. Have been trying to get him established on clicker training, but even though he seems really smart he still doesn't get it - he won't volunteer behaviors, just stands there staring at me waiting for direction (and all I want him to do is sit!). It only took the hawk two days to figure out clicking... We've started "yard work" and he's doing great with heel, sit, stay, here, will soon begin work on whoa.

So that's where we are. I'm anxious to get him out working since I think he'll be much happier with a job to do and that was the whole point in adopting him. So any and all advice would be appreciated!

[Beibhan]

Clicker training sounds like a very good way to go for a "soft" dog. And if you want him to sit, guide him into it, say sit and click. Click for him getting there at first rather than waiting for it to happen. Or use your finger or a treat to let him follow his nose into a sit and click.

At first you are just establishing that the click means they've done something correct so they learn quicker after that. Later when you've got some good responses on leash or check cord a second dog could come in handy that is rock solid on training. Whoa both and if yours breaks reward the other and make a big deal over him or call both and yours will probably come in just cuz he doesn't want the other to get all the attention. NOT foolproof. But could work.

I don't take mine off leash till the recall is really solid, I'll excercise in a fenced field till then.

Sounds like back to basics but you could really make a good dog out of this one. Some take more effort at first, but rescues can really repay that effort.

I'd save some particularly yummy treat for a correct recall. And then as training progresses of course you'll be only offering the food reward on occasion.

Some ball crazy dogs their reward is to hold a tennis ball. Some will work for a romp with the trainer. Not all dogs worship food.

[BibiMwewe]

Thanks for the advice and encouragement. Over the last day and a half I think he's finally figured out the basic click idea, that _he_ can make me give him food w/o my first telling him about it. So tomorrow we'll work on putting it on cue, then move on to another command or two. Hopefully this is the beginning of the end of the hard part... Unfortunately (or fortunately? guess this is good for a hunting dog) he is not at all interested in food when there's birds out there to be found. Still, the conditioning should at least help in establishing what my cues mean.

Yeah, I'm pretty resigned to waiting to let him run free until he's the best dog ever at coming when called. I've heard about another dog park in town with a really good fence (the one where we'd been going is decorative in nature, and rabbits beckon in the sage brush on the far side - we've spent hours there with him being totally deaf) and smaller, so I think I might start taking him there and letting him run with the check cord trailing so I'd have a better chance of getting him back when I need him. Never had a dog who's been so impossible to recall once running free - then again, I've never not raised a dog from a pup.

He was pointing urban quail again on our afternoon walk... can't wait til next hunting season!

[Bob Dale]

Sounds like that dog has some real promise. Don't bother with all that training stuff. Just put it in a crate and send it to me ;D