Show us your pets

[DJR]

Nope

My German is about equal to my Greek

[Baldrick]

I assume the German command to lie down. Often owners teach the German Shepherds traditional German commands. 

 

It is useful if you have a dog that responds to different commands from others when you work in a group (puppy class?) because it will not get confused when one of the other dogs get a command. We see it with retrievers. Five dogs sit/stay and are over keen and ready to "fetch". One owner gives the fetch command and 5 dogs take off like rockets. Now if your dog only knew "bring", he would not make that mistake. Make sense?

Dogs don't understand language. What they understand is a "word" the owner says and they respond to it after they have been conditioned to a response.

I often gave a visual example to the class by getting my dogs to sit using different commands. The Staffie sat on "marmalade" the GSD sat on "toast"

 

I regularly gave classes with 10 or more. Everyone would give the same command at various times and the dog would respond to the owners voice.

[DJR]

Dogs don't understand language. What they understand is a "word" the owner says and they respond to it after they have been conditioned to a response.

I often gave a visual example to the class by getting my dogs to sit using different commands. The Staffie sat on "marmalade" the GSD sat on "toast"

 

I regularly gave classes with 10 or more. Everyone would give the same command at various times and the dog would respond to the owners voice.

100% correct, I am on the same page as you. (If my ramblings made it sound otherwise)

 

We even had a situation where the dog could distinguish whether it was the husband or the wife blowing the same whistle to give a command, that is how acute their hearing is. 

 

Btw, I love the marmalade and toast ones.

 

For retrievers, and that is really all I know, the traditional commands in English have been refined over a hundred or more years to only use words that sound very distinctly different in order to prevent confusion. Of course they are just sounds to the dog. They are nearly all short one or 2 words only, with distinctly different vowels. Sit, stay, heel, come, fetch, outside, left, right, up, lie down, over, give, eat, no, gently, cage, are my basic ones. (One would never teach a dog both no and go, because it cannot distinguish between the two and will get confused.) Then each voice command has a corresponding whistle and/or hand signal also.Once the dog knows all the commands, I tend to use voice commands less and less and whistle and hand signals more. The advantage is that it takes away much of your own tone of voice (frustrated, angry, moerig) and give a cleaner command. Some dogs become so sharp that you really don't have to steer them much at all.  

Edited August 22, 2019 by DJR

[Gen]

100% correct, I am on the same page as you. (If my ramblings made it sound otherwise)

 

We even had a situation where the dog could distinguish whether it was the husband or the wife blowing the same whistle to give a command, that is how acute their hearing is.

 

Btw, I love the marmalade and toast ones.

 

For retrievers, and that is really all I know, the traditional commands in English have been refined over a hundred or more years to only use words that sound very distinctly different in order to prevent confusion. Of course they are just sounds to the dog. They are nearly all short one or 2 words only, with distinctly different vowels. Sit, stay, heel, come, fetch, outside, left, right, up, lie down, over, give, eat, no, gently, cage, are my basic ones. (One would never teach a dog both no and go, because it cannot distinguish between the two and will get confused.) Then each voice command has a corresponding whistle and/or hand signal also.Once the dog knows all the commands, I tend to use voice commands less and less and whistle and hand signals more. The advantage is that it takes away much of your own tone of voice (frustrated, angry, moerig) and give a cleaner command. Some dogs become so sharp that you really don't have to steer them much at all.

Yep the distinctive sounds coming from the owner make a big difference.

 

Enzo's ears lift the moment my son speaks..he can be anywhere in the house or even this afternoon my son had a cricket match and I was pupsitting and my son was sitting with his team a bit away and spoke and Enzo immediately sat up and listened then went looking for him.

 

Anyway.. the two of them are learning together with guidance from my mom in-law the breeder and the videos mom in-law sent him.

 

Lots of patience will be needed..

 

But he is oh so cute.

 

Some advice on tracking would be helpful...so please feel free to give some.

Edited August 22, 2019 by Gen

[Baldrick]

 

Some advice on tracking would be helpful...so please feel free to give some.

Don't focus on tracking yet. Get to a puppy school, do some basic obedience training. Once you have a decent send away then you can start on the scent work. It takes time

[Gen]

After a quick conversation with mom I law I am happy to report that Enzo can now platz..oh such a clever boy..

 

All my son needed was just some step by step advice from his gran[emoji4]

 

This pup means so much to my son and it is also great for his relationship with his gran .[emoji4]

Edited August 23, 2019 by Gen

[Gen]

Don't focus on tracking yet. Get to a puppy school, do some basic obedience training. Once you have a decent send away then you can start on the scent work. It takes time

We (my son..I am just taxi) will be going up to jhb a few times a month to join in the club there.

 

There is nada here.. the guy that has a so called puppy school has a very bad reputation, something about him being kicked out of clubs years ago..My hubby gave a hard NO when I mentioned him..his words were you don't take Enzo there, that idiot destroys their confidence.

 

So no we don't trust that and would rather get guidance from people who are reputable.

 

It's actually quite nice..we send gran videos of progress and she sends advice in return.[emoji23]

Edited August 23, 2019 by Gen

[Andymann]

Yep the distinctive sounds coming from the owner make a big difference.

 

Enzo's ears lift the moment my son speaks..he can be anywhere in the house or even this afternoon my son had a cricket match and I was pupsitting and my son was sitting with his team a bit away and spoke and Enzo immediately sat up and listened then went looking for him.

 

Anyway.. the two of them are learning together with guidance from my mom in-law the breeder and the videos mom in-law sent him.

 

Lots of patience will be needed..

 

But he is oh so cute.

 

Some advice on tracking would be helpful...so please feel free to give some.

 No jokes - our Sharpei X can hear my wife's car a good 30s before I hear the gate open.  If we're sitting chilling he'll get up and walk to the gate and start barking.  She'll drive in just after that.  Its uncanny.

[Bateleur1]

 No jokes - our Sharpei X can hear my wife's car a good 30s before I hear the gate open.  If we're sitting chilling he'll get up and walk to the gate and start barking.  She'll drive in just after that.  Its uncanny.

 

My dogs now exactly when I am comming home on one of my bikes. They know exactly the sound of the two freehubs.  We are on the second floor but my wife will know if I have returned long before I walk into the door.

[Baldrick]

Zoltan takes on his nemesis "The Sprinkler"

[Gen]

If you are missing anything..please check Enzo's "place"[emoji12] everything he finds goes there[emoji23]

 

[Gen]

Oh man I laughed tonight, my sons played a hockey game and Enzo was chasing Kiewiete around (yes on the lead with me running with)..... we got home my son went to plonk down on his bedroom floor and Enzo walked straight past, into his crate and that was him, lights out ..Kaput..hard work this bird chasing business.

 

PS excuse my son's messy room..

 

Also.. using a crate for house training is a win..not once has he had an oopsie..and since we've had Enzo he has only twice woken my son up for a middle of the night wee and it was in the first few days of his arrival.. so cute, even during the day when he wants out he fetches you and goes and sits in front of the door for you to let him out.[emoji4]

Edited September 4, 2019 by Gen

[geomark]

[Gen]

Enzo update..

 

Always near me and when my son is at home always near him or me.. he loves his humans.

[Gen]

When we go to cricket practice and find a stick.

 

We make a point of taking him with wherever he can go.. and he is getting really good at being impartial to people around him and his focus always either on my son if he is near or me...doesn't make a fuss doesn't go up to them it is as if they aren't even there..exactly what we want....such a clever boy.

 

Birds..well birds will get his attention [emoji23][emoji23]

Edited September 11, 2019 by Gen

[Grease_Monkey]

When we go to cricket practice and find a stick.

 

We make a point of taking him with wherever he can go.. and he is getting really good at being impartial to people around him and his focus always either on my son if he is near or me...doesn't make a fuss doesn't go up to them it is as if they aren't even there..exactly what we want....such a clever boy.

 

Birds..well birds will get his attention [emoji23][emoji23]

The exact opposite of my dogs. Since day 1, if they see a person they will rip my arm out if it's socket to go and greet them. I wish they were like Enzo!