Does YOUR chow have any formal training?

Training and behavior topics, guidelines, and tips for Chow Chows.

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kitcatak
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Does YOUR chow have any formal training?

Post by kitcatak »

When I first found out that I was going to have the priviledge of owning a chow, I was so excited. Like when you have your first baby, I had tons of plans on what we were going to feed him and how we were going to train him. I put Leo in a Puppy class as soon as he had most of his shots. Lets just say that the trainer had an "issue" with chows. Leo was constantly being singled out as being "trouble". In this trainers eyes, Leo was just a puppy on his way to being a killer. This boxer pup in the class had no manners and was constantly jumping on Leo. When Leo had enough, he would growl his warning growl. I would pull back on his leash and tell him no, but the trainer constantly told me "I wouldn't let my dog get away with that, you need to let him know you are boss". When we questioned him about what I should have done, he just talked in cirlces, telling me I should snap his leash and tell him no. (exactly what I had done). Anyway, we had a new pup in class one night and when Leo approached, the dog growled at him. When we were told to take the dogs off leash, I didn't. Leo seemed to be fine, so the trainer told me to go for it. Leo made a mad dash for this new dog and starting doing the "puppy dominance dance" with him. The trainer grabbed Leo by his collar and literally hung him from it in the air. I was furious, marched over and grabbed Leo away, telling him he was not to touch my dog. He told me I should sit out and I interupted him to tell him I was leaving. He interupted ME and told me to go, that I had an agressive dog that I was refusing to deal with. Sorry for the long story. Needless to say, we never went back to puppy class. I am leary about finding another. Leo knows his basics and we work on different things here and there. He is a really good boy and very smart (aren't all chows? :D ) Anyway, does your dog have formal training? Do you think it is necessary to have formal training in order to have a well adjusted chow? Or will home training be just as good???
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Post by Auddymay »

Lily, my 8 month old chowling, has petsmart basic training. (puppy class). She was the only puppy in her class, so it was without interaction with other dogs. She did great, except for the come command; she still acts like I speak gibberish when I call her... I have a vocal baby. She sometimes puts people on alert with chuffing and growling at other dogs she doesn't like, and I never know which dogs she won't like... =;
The trainer you dealt with was an idiot. Try a different class, or none at all if you are comfortable with self training.
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Post by Jeff&Peks »

This topic comes up alot, half of us will say no you don't need professional training the other half will say yes you must have training. My view is NO you don't need to hire a trainer most trainers have no idea how to handle a Chow, Most will tell you a Chow can't be trained or a Chow is to dumb to train, that's because the trainer can't handle the fact that the Chow is smarter then him/her.
I think the Chow is smart enough to be able to understand you and will learn from you just as you will learn from your Chow mostly because he trust you and will probably only respond to you anyway. Plus it really dosn't take to much for a Chow to learn anything.
I guess some believe their Chows are learning social skills at these classes and that's all fine for a Chow puppy but personally I think when that Chow puppy becomes an adult all will be forgotten, its time to be a dignified adult Chow so now we do things the way I (the chow) wants.
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Post by kingalls »

:evil: Geez!!!! I think I would have punched that trainer's lights out if he/she did that to one of my furkids! I'm so sorry Leo and you had this experience! As for training - neither one of mine have had training but it's really what you think you need to do and expect from Leo. You can most likely do much of the training yourself. I suppose that if you want to continue with formal training you need to interview the trainer to get a feel for his/her attitude with Chows.
Give Leo a big hug for all of us!

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Post by Guest »

I do have Chi-Ching in training. I do not believe that he NEEDS it but I do. I like the bond that we get by working together. I also like that he learns to listen to me with other distractions around. He gets alot of interaction with other dogs and also strangers that he might not get where we live(small town). PLUS, I have a personal vendetta against a biotch of an evaluator and I want Chi-Ching to get as high as he can in training just to proof to that *@#!? that my dog CAN do it. (If you missed what happened, she said my dog should not be around kids, was VERY aggressive and should be put to sleep......she said if he was in a shelter, he would NOT be put up for adoption..........He was 10 weeks old!) So, we are out to prove her wrong. I did not like my trainer at all but finally told her I wanted to get a different trainer and then we started talking and after I told her why Chingers acted the way he did, she COMPLETELY changed. Now she is like a totally different person.

I think that training is just a good structure. Kind of like school, you CAN learn alot without being IN school but you might not get the same kind of interaction and socialization. (I know, I was "homeschooled"........ it was NOT done the right way.)

Anyway, I am sorry that happened to Leo. DEFINITELY do not take him back there. I would say find a Beginner class, not a puppy class(typically puppy class allows for dogs to play/socialize while a beginner class will work on the dog learning manners and listening to you.) Just make sure to tell the trainer EXACTLY what happened......if they side with the other trainer......RUN do not walk as fast as you can!!! Good Luck!
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Post by Judy Fox »

No, Milly and Mabel have never had formal training. We trained them when they were chowlings and they do as they are told, pretty well - :wink:

We talk to them and they understand everything we say.

We have never hit them or shouted at them - I do have to be stern with them on the odd occasion when they won't come in when I call them. Fred is incapable of being stern with them - they are incapable of doing wrong, in his eyes! :roll:

They do all the basics.

WE cannot let them off their leads when out but that is a long story and quite a few people on the site have that problem. There are some whose Chows are good off the lead.

They are not agressive to other dogs when we are out unless the other dog is nasty to them - then their language is unrepeatable! :shock:

But no, I would not put my girls in the hands of a trainer and I certainly would not let anyone touch them.
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Post by ngraham »

I was scheduled for obedience training with Koda last month. The teacher called and they canceled the class until the end of this month. But I have decided we are going to pass. Koda has always been timid and shy with people he does not know. The first night we had him, he literally hid underneath one of my end tables or under my bed so we could not get to him. Anytime someone came into the house that he didn't know, he ran and hid under the bed (as long as he was small enough LOL) and then it was into a corner in my bedroom where he thought no one could see him. All I ever heard (especially from someone on the AOL chow boards who thinks she knows it all and I have since found out, doesn't even own a chow) was that I had better get Koda into training and get him socialized, yada, yada, yada. He had bad temprement problems, you name it. Even our vet, who I do like and has ALWAYS been good to our animals, suggested obedience training for the socialization. But after I told everyone here that we were scheduled for classes, Jeff said something that really made alot of sense to me. Koda may be timid and shy, but he is after all, a chow. By nature, he is not going to take well to people he does not know. Obedience classes are not going to change that. I don't care that he doesn't love everyone else the way he loves our family. He's not supposed to. As long as he isn't biting or a threat of some kind, he is doing what I need him to do. Sunday my 1 year old granddaughter gave him a huge hug around his neck, and Koda let her. I don't need to spend $90.00 on obedience classes to make Koda do what he already does. He's on a lead when he is outside, and I know the word "COME" is out of the question for him... that also is pretty well against a chow's nature. The only thing I see obedience training good for in our case is just the time spent with it being Koda and I, and I can do that at home or when we go places together and save myself the money. That's just my take on it. I know not all will agree, but that's how I feel about it. Koda had come a LONG way since he came to us in November, and there has been no classes involved.
Nancy and Tai

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Post by Mandy »

Chewie has been in some classes - but really that was more for me that for him. I have never owned a dog before so I wanted a little help on what were the right things to do. I don't agree with everything they teach, so I kind of did things the "wrong" way in their eyes, but I didn't care. As long as I felt chewie and I were understanding each other, that was all that mattered. And when Chewie felt like it, which was most of the time, he was the best in the class. We have cayenne in an obedience class right now, but we did that more to be around other dogs and to work on stay and a couple other commands. But Nancy... I'm with you on the COME! Chewie cracks me up when I ask him to come here. If he's feeling bouncy, he will run and knock me over. If he's annoyed with me (which is all the time lately since I brought the fosters in!) he looks at me, hurumphs, and turns his back. If he wants a treat or something, he will behave like a pro.

Let me tell you though, I don't think Fancy is really a chow. She comes on command every time, like a little lab! Crazy.

I don't necessarily think class is necessary unless you feel that it helps you bond more.

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Post by kiwani »

Re: "Let me tell you though, I don't think Fancy is really a chow. She comes on command every time, like a little lab! Crazy."

---

Too much of her life was spent being ignored, cast aside, and neglected. Why wouldn't her spirit shine and gravitate towards love, and towards finally being acknowledged as a living being.
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Post by kiwani »

Re: "The trainer grabbed Leo by his collar and literally hung him from it in the air."

---

This is the point where abuse charges should be filed to force someone like this into another line of work.

To answer your question, I've never dealt with trainers or classes.
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Post by wrat »

Hmmm devils advocate or in the minority here... Denali is in obedience training now, we are in week 4 of 8 she is about 90% on all her commands in the house 75% outside and even less at class..I think she will get better and we work at it everyday...did we NEED maybe not I had her sitting and going down before the second class and I tought her this at home
BUT to be able to do that and other things with tons of distractions and whatnot is important to ME.. I see too many dogs with no manners and owners that have no clue...and having had a competition obedience trained (not by us) Dobie I know what a joy a well mannered dog can be and I believe any dog can be well manered and obedient its just HOW much time and effort are YOU willing to put into it..plus Denali is not a full blood chow so whatever that means
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Post by Taz »

What a idiot trainer, I don't know what I would have done if anybody did that to Diego. It sure wouldn't have been pretty.
As long as you know how to train a dog, you don't need formal training.
Diego knows the basics, he got sick before we got any further.
He was in a obedience class and did pretty well.

Chows are not dumb. ;)
I wonder why people always says Chows are aggressive, when people meet Diego they just wants to take him home, and tells me over and over what a good boy he is. The vet loved him, and whised all the dogs that came to her were that nice. She could do anything to him, look at all his teeth, open his mouth all the way, take blood from him, take skin samples (You make a little wound when you do it, and Diego didn't even react)

I've never met an aggressive Chow. So where all the so called aggressive Chows?
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Post by simbasmom »

I have Coco in puppy school at the moment, I think it is more for me and my son because even though I have been a chow mom before, I have never been a chowling mom before so we need a little help with training. Coco is very timid in class and if anyone comes too close he hides under the chair, he is learning the comands and is great as long as he can stay beside me. He is better at the commands than all of the other pups in the class :lol: . In the house he almost always listen but outside is a totally diferent story. Our problem is that I am training my son and brother are undoing the training :wink: My friends are bad too, I don't feed from the table my friends alway do it :cry:
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Post by Victory »

I would have had a fit a positive fit if anyone had done that to my chowling! Talk about a way to make a chow wary and hesitant... :-x

But as to your question, when I was young we had a collie who went to k-9 opiedence school and then we were taught how to train him. My chows are trained by me. As these two are both rescues I started working with them right away. They know the basics; sit, stay, (although they ignore this one mostly), lay, come (another one I wouldn't trust them with outside) heel, (yes they can heel perfectly). They also know "up" for going up the stairs, down down; for going down the stairs, "bedtime" (it means just that), "sleep" which means enough playing settle down for rest; "over there" which means to move to a new spot out of the way. I can also snap my fingers and point for this one, click my tongue for come or let's go. They know "walk"

I think you get the point. If you know what you want from a pet, you can train them. It's about consistency and patience. Chows don't blindly repeat a command for no reason, telling them to sit constantly on a walk is not a good thing, (they will ignore you eventually) making them sit and wait, before crossing a street is good. If you don't know how to train your puppy there are videos that will give you some ideas show you how to place their bodies etc.

I break the rules with Darkwind because he heels to my right, Firesong to my left, this isn't standard but it's our way, and with Chows that's the best I think. You'll find that a lot of us here, don't like most trainers because they ask our chows to be like other dogs and when they aren't they say "its vicious, you should get rid of it!" This doesn't go over well with most of us training a chow is a lot like training a cat, you have to "work with" them.

Oh yeah, Firesong has one more command that you won't find at too many classes, it's "hughug" and I get a chow hug and kiss!
Victory, Darkwind, (our angel), Firesong, and Dreamdancer
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Post by Judy Fox »

Like Victory, I trained Milly and Mabel the way I wanted to.

They know lots of words -

"Do you want to spend a penny girls" (out they go to do just that)

"go to bed now girls" (off they go)

"excuse me girls/M/M" (they/she will get up and move out of our way)

"Hush, this minute" (The stop barking in the garden)

"No!" ( they generally stop what they are doing)

"do you want some dinner" (They come for their dinner)

"How do you do" (They pick up their paws before their dinner is put down.

Ok - so no fancy show ring obedience but it suits me! :D
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Post by kingalls »

:lol: My two know only a few commands:

Breakfast! at which point they might get up to sniff at their bowls
Wait! this is probably the only one they really know and obey at intersections
Up! - of course, when they want to - jump up and sit on the couch with us
Come - ha! Shiloh looks like us like we're nuts and if Mr. N does come, he takes the longest zig-zag route to come to me
Quiet! - usually works for about a 2 - 3 minutes

:wink:

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Post by sixchows »

Taz
Here's one!
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This photo was featured in an article in The Daily News 2/24/05. This is a NYC newspaper. The article featured 3 photos of this chow trying to escape animal control trying to snare him. The article incorrectly refers to the dog as an akita.

I still have the article and if anyone is interested I could scan it and post it. This is how OJ was when we took him in! This dog looks so much like OJ that my wife and I did a double take when we opened the paper that morning. If OJ had been missing from us we would have thought that was him and went to the shelter!
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Post by ngraham »

I want to see it. What happened to the chow?
Nancy and Tai

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Post by sixchows »

Mine have never had any formal training. I did dominance drills with the pups when they were young on the advice of the woman vet who Koko bit when she was 6 weeks old. I think the dogs picked up on her fear of chows. They never had any problems with the male vet at the same office, even OJ walked around nicely with him.

They will usually listen to no, come, and sit. That's about all we taught them. They are never out in public off a lead. It's funny though sometimes Xena will be distracted by something in the yard and won't come when called. Zim will usually always come and my wife will say to him "where's Xena? go get her" and he'll run off and drag her back by the scruff of her neck!

Koko and Zeus are usually waiting by the door to come in. I guess they are used to knowing about how long yard time is.
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Post by sixchows »

ngraham wrote:I want to see it. What happened to the chow?

I'll post it in a new thread.
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Post by sweetpea »

We didnt take Gracie for any training. We would have to drive 45 min to a hour to get someplace for the classes. So I just worked with both the girls.
They both know sit, lay, come. Both will sit or lay by just the words or by the hand signal. They will obey outside as long as there arent any distractions, and of the two, Gracie (the full blooded Chow) is the most likely to follow the command. The one command I wish I could teach Princess is quiet. I'd love tips on this. But they understand alot of things. It amazes me that Chows arent considered smart because they are.
Princess will stand at the door outside looking at me and whinning because I want her to come in but she wants to stay outside, I say "go see daddy", she will run to whatever room he is in straight to him. They both understand the word bath, they know what I'm talking about when I say "get out of there"(litterbox), they know ride, walk, out, potty, gosh I cant think of everything now. But they understand alot. They both know the name "trevor"(a friend of our's that they totally love). They both recognize different car sounds. They know when my daughter drives in, they know when Trevor has just pulled in, they know the sound of our car. The list could go on and on.
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Post by Taz »

Sweetpea: About the barking. I know a way to make your Chow stop barking with a clicker. If your interested?

Ohh, I'll write it anyway. :P

You'll have to get something your Chows LOVE, food, toys, anything they love.
Get the clicker, or go buy one. (Very cheap)
When your Chows starts barking, don't say anything, just ignore them, if your Chows stops barking for 1-2 seconds, click and give them the treats.
And do this everytime they don't bark, if they starts to bark again, just ignore and wait for them to stop.
After a while you make them be quiet for 1 minute, then click and treat and so on.

Or you can do it this way, I assume you Chows bark because there is somebody at the door or they want something?
If there is a person at the door, wait until the Chows have stopped barking and then you let them say Hello to the person at the door.
(Let the person be the treat)
So do this everytime there is somebody at the door.
Never let them do what they want if they bark.
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Does YOUR chow have any formal training?

Post by Wollfie »

Wolfie and I both flunked out of obedience school after the second class.
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Post by Codybear »

I never took cody to Obedience classes. I had planned on it but he kinda started blending in. He may not heel properly but thats why i use a retractable leash. We have taken him everywhere with us. Canada, florida, tennessee and have never had a problem. i think Chows are naturally aloof so why would they come just for the sake of coming. Cody will sometimes, just depends what he is into. He also seems to think he is just like a person. Heck, he probably listens better than my kids. My next chow though will probably have some sort of formal training. I would like to get my kids into showing chows so it might help out there. Good socialization at any rate. I would not tolerate somebody abusing him though. We have never even spanked cody with a paper.
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Post by Rogansmommy »

Rogan has ALOT of formal training. He holds a CD and a CGC. He's also got some Schutzhund training on him. (We also have a rottweiler.) That being said, I don't necessarily believe that Chows NEED formal training. Socialization? Yes. Training? Eh...

My reason for taking Rogue through the formal training was simply revenge. :shock: I had signed up for a basic OB class when he was 10 weeks old with a trainer who claimed to know Chows. She had a couple and was supposedly a good trainer. Then, after the first class, she pinned Rogue to the ground and held him there because he wouldn't let her touch his feet. What Chow has ever let ANYONE touch their feet? :? Really stupid on her part. She called him an "Untrainable a$$" and told me to "put him down before he hurt someone" :shock: . So, being the type of person I am, I trained him for 3 years and got his CD shortly after Kelland (my son) was born.

Training is good for chows if the trainer understands them. My second trainer was wonderful. She loved him for who is was; never expected him to behave like a Lab or Golden, and knew that in order for him to be successful, we had to approach him 'differently'. (She started out with Afghan Hounds, so she really knew her stuff with the 'odd' breeds.) He loved OB -- still does; if I had the time, I'd do Rally with him. :D

But did he need it? No. He was always well-behaved in the house and never challenged me.
Michele

^Rogan^ at the Bridge on 5/16/09 -- always in my heart
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