RE: Elbows and Obedience Training
Hi Anne, If you are training on a hard surface then I would suspect Maddie is experiencing some discomfort on the down. I would not force the issue not even using food as a lure because there may well be a pain association. The elbow is a very unforgiving joint and we all know the jolt of electical pain when we hit our "funny bone". I would not do this particular exercise for a while and just stick to what you can polish at this point. When you are at home and she chooses to lay down even though it's not your choice at that time quickly pop in a "down" command (soft voice) when she is almost down and tell her what a good down she has done. I use this method even for my stubborn dogs that appear to be elsewhere when in school:-) It works and takes the frustration out of the exercise. It may well be that you are going to have to assess the surfaces you train on and if you go to competition only do the outside ones on grass :-) At her age and given she has elbow dysplasia there is probably a lot of DJD activity going on and anti-inflammatories might help but still restrict the down command just using praise when the dog offers up the behaviour in her own time:-)
Re: Elbows and Obedience Training
Hi Anne and Maddie! Molly is great at "sit" and terrific at holding eye contact and pretty reliable at "down," but she has been thoroughly inconsistent about responding to "come." It's my theory that because of her painful elbows she has gotten into the habit of thinking about whether the reward will justify the discomfort. With her elbows, it is clearly the rising up that is a problem. You can hear them clicking, and she nearly always hesitates when getting up from the floor or ground. On the other hand, if the "reward" were another dog to play with, she would jump right up and go! So my 2 cents worth is that when they have elbow pain, they weigh the options before following instructions. We are going to try obedience class again after rehab from elbow surgery is behind us. Martha Hoverson and Molly (in the car right now with her daddy on the way to the Foster Small Animal Hospital at Tufts; surgery tomorrow!) [EMAIL PROTECTED] Portland, Maine From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Elbows and Obedience Training Date: Thu, 13 Mar 2003 12:32:12 -0500 Hello, Listers- I'm in need of input regarding obedience training (not for competition, at this point, just companion level) and a dog with symptomatic elbow dysplasia (diagnosed early, but not surgically "correctable")... My 9 month old, Maddie, is generally a good and eager-to-please student. However, I'm having a very hard time getting her to do "downs" without food lures. She will sit every time, but stares at me blankly when told "down." She will only "down" when following a treat; the rest of the time she ignores me completely. I (and the trainer)am having a hard time determining if this is just stubborn adolescence or unwillingness to do something that's uncomfortable unless worthwhile food is the reward! I try to avoid repeating any one exercise too much, avoid too many "tight turns", and am ever conscious of her elbows, but I'm finding it hard to differentiate between her stubbornness and what might be unwillingness to comply because of discomfort. Any advice/suggestions for working with a dog with this physical limitation would be appreciated! Anne with Maddie and Titan Cranford, NJ _ STOP MORE SPAM with the new MSN 8 and get 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail
Re: Elbows and Obedience Training
my baka had all kinds of trouble with down too. she did great at puppy kindergarten and obedience I - everything except the down. now of course if we had a treat and lured baka into a down, no problem. but take away the lure and we'd get that blank stare. baka also has hip & elbow problems, so we too wondered if they were causing problems. for us it turned out that baka just wasn't understanding what "down" meant. we couldn't sign up for obedience II class while we were waiting to have the hip surgery, so i picked up a book on clicker training & we started our own little training sessions at home. i was amazed when we got to working on down - you could literally see when baka finally understood what down meant. she looked at me and you could tell she was thinking, "oh! that's what you've been yammering on & on about. that's easy! why didn't you explain it better the first time?" of course this was just my one experience & its only something else to consider. maybe watch maddie during the day, when you're not training & she's doing what she wants to do. does she seem uncomfortable laying down or getting up then? laura & baka chapel hill, nc
Elbows and Obedience Training
Hello, Listers- I'm in need of input regarding obedience training (not for competition, at this point, just companion level) and a dog with symptomatic elbow dysplasia (diagnosed early, but not surgically "correctable")... My 9 month old, Maddie, is generally a good and eager-to-please student. However, I'm having a very hard time getting her to do "downs" without food lures. She will sit every time, but stares at me blankly when told "down." She will only "down" when following a treat; the rest of the time she ignores me completely. I (and the trainer)am having a hard time determining if this is just stubborn adolescence or unwillingness to do something that's uncomfortable unless worthwhile food is the reward! I try to avoid repeating any one exercise too much, avoid too many "tight turns", and am ever conscious of her elbows, but I'm finding it hard to differentiate between her stubbornness and what might be unwillingness to comply because of discomfort. Any advice/suggestions for working with a dog with this physical limitation would be appreciated! Anne with Maddie and Titan Cranford, NJ
