Is Your Chow Trained???

[vicster605]

Just courious how many have Chows that are trained??? A trainer asked me if my girls were trained??? I said yes, they sit, stay, down, speak etc. usually for a treat. He said NO NOT TRAINED, BRIBED then???? Will they do it without the treat??? I had to think about it.....Kyra most of the time.....Kearra ONLY if she feels like it, especially if there isn't anything in it for her Then he said they aren't trained. Wondering how many are actually trained???? And if so what are they trained to do without treats???

[Zhuyos mom]

All mine were and are, even Bruin my foster. This is for functional stuff mainly. I can draw an imaginary line with my finger saying "no" and they don't step over the line. It helps at the front door or any door, especially when their paws are really wet and muddy, or when I have to bring things in and out of the house. I use to have to wheel a parent and in and out of the house and it was quite helpful to know I can trust my chows to not run out and get into trouble. Some of the mom's at ChowFun saw Miss PB "trained" that way. But ask her for a paw, forget about it!

[Jeff&Peks]

I wouldn't called it trained but Pekoe does what she is supposed to do she listens to me its called mutael understabding. I agree sit, stay,come and heal are dog treat trianing words never use them. I don't like trained things not even wifes.

[Laura]

Nope we're not trained to do tricks n such other then 'sit' and 'down' (which we only use for NILF) but we do know mom is boss and listen really well when she tells us to do (or not do) something around the house. Also starting to work a little bit on stay because it is actually a useful need sometimes. I tried to teach both of them to shake/give paw when they were little and they didn't get it even at class. I have been known to tell them that they aren't the brightest colors in the crayon box.
I simply do not have the desire/motivation/energy to do it and we don't have any behavorial problems to speak of so there you have it. The only time I really think I wish they were 'trained' is when we are on walks and they see another dog and freak out. I would like them to just ignore the other dog but unless I call Caesar out for some leash jerking and butt kicks I'm clueless how to accomplish that. I also wish I could somehow teach them that cars will kill them but they are clueless.

[Desi]

Cinnamon will sit,shake,get down,roll over and play dead for a piece of food.Yes,the same food is in her bowl,lol.
Does that make her trained,bribed,or just silly?
Cheyenne will sit without any bribe,and they both drop whatever they stole when I tell them too,but I never had to teach them that,they understood the first time.
Cinnamon will come when I say"get your @$$ over here,now!!!!",Cheyenne will just come when I call her.Of course only when she's in the fenced in yard,if she gets off the leash ,forget it,lol.
And they both go in the crate when the husband puts his laptop away,no command needed!
Cheyenne's best trick:
Every time Dion (my 14 year old)calls her to go potty(his chore between 5 and his bedtime) ,she comes running and sits next to me,and she'll grin from ear to ear!!
She refuses to go with him unless I tell her to.Even when she's right by the door when he opens it,she'll run to me first and I swear she's doing it to tease him,lol

[KathrynH]

Buddha is trained...sometimes I think he thinks he's getting a treat...annie...she's smart as a whip and if we'd had more time to really work with her she would be.

[summer_rose03]

According to my trainer, it's not a bribe, but a reward. After awhile you are supposed to be able to wean them off of treats and have them do what they are supposed to only for praise. I agree with this and consider it rewarding and not bribing. Carter will do what I tell him once in a while without a treat. If I have a really good treat, like chicken tenders or chicken Carvers, then he will do almost anything I tell him.

[kingalls]

I think that we are more Chow-trained then they are human-trained. Nahkohe will sit and come 60% of the time. He understands "walk" and "wait". Shiloh ignores anything that sounds like a command but she is such a good, sweet girl we ask don't ask her to do much of anything. "Quiet" is sort of understood but they like to push the limits. Oh, well...

[chris]

hmmm... well, I would call Steel... BRIBED... LMAO..

[Layla]

He said NO NOT TRAINED, BRIBED then???? Will they do it without the treat??? ?

Rubbish! Treat's etc should be used to 'lure' the action that you want, then you can phase that out (v slowly) & they will play the odds on whether they get rewarded or not. Why the hell should they do it for no reward? I certainly don't go to work for no 'reward' However, Training with treats is NOT bribary at all, it's a humane way to get the result you want. Most people don't fade the reward, or see the need to (nothing wrong with that IMO) You just haven't got that far yet... or the trainer has more 'biddable' dogs IMO. WIth Chow, you need to stack the odds in your favour, make it a good experience for them & they are far more likely to do what you ask, as the pay off is better (or so Millie tells me)

Plus, you are describing tricks imo. If your girls, walk nicely, ride well in the car, & generally fit into your lifestyle as YOU like then they are trained IMO More than that, you should be able to find a tricks class for!

I consider my two to be trainned & pretty good at tricks. However, I pay up very well most of the time, & they continue to play the odds by doing as I ask. Chows are not a breed to do things for the sake of it. I wouldn't have it any other way (95% of the time anyway) Who wants a dog that hangs on to your every word anyway

[TJordan]

What is this Trained thing you speak Of??????

[Jeff&Peks]

He said NO NOT TRAINED, BRIBED then???? Will they do it without the treat??? ?

Rubbish!?

You can't say rubbish because it is bribering not to mention unhealthy and you don't need treat bribery with Chows, if you do then the Chow is not only playing you but training you. I never use treats, Pekoes vets don't recommend iteither Food and treats are a female thing Love is through the stomach. Pekoe has seen maybe 3 treats in her life, An occasional frosty paw and a dental biscuit in the morning. I just recently started giving her Happy Hips duck strips but only for medicinal purposes.

Pekoe knows what cars are, she knows to wait at curbs, she waits when she is told and will come back when I say get your A^s back here are you nuts. She waits by the door for me when its opened but she has taken it up on her self to walk around the block on two occasions. I don't think she will sit on command becouse she has never heard the word sit, In 11 years i have never found a reason to tell her to sit. Pekoe goes by the tone in my voice not whats in my hand.

[mikkabear]

My 5.5 month old and my 4 month old have me trained. Does that count?

[Layla]

Treats don't have to be unhealthy to be interesting

[sdasilva27]

I took McKenzie to an actual training class mostly because everyone thought she had never been in a house before and she knew nothing at all so I was more interested in teaching her a few things for her own safety. The trainer told us to reward her with treats and then wean her off so I bought chewy soft treats and broke them up into pretty small pieces (mostly because she was overweight back then too). So I gave her praise and the small treat. Now she'll do anything for me without a treat except if I call her over to me and she was only a few feet away to begin with. She won't listen to my fiance unless she knows she's getting something though - either wrestling play time or a treat. Everyone else - she acts clueless around, on purpose I think. No one believes me that she's really smart. So I guess it depends on who's around at the time...all in all, I don't really think it matters as long as your chow will listen for safety related things. Don't run into the street when a car is coming or pick up random food on the side of the road, etc. Chows are smart enough to know the rest I think, and probably after awhile of being around cars, etc, they'd learn that too.

[Jeff&Peks]

Pekoe has always been wierd about cars she refuses to walk behind a running car and won't get into a car while it is running she will sit down and refuse to move. If we are walking across an intersection and there are cars stoped she will hesitate and look up at the diver before she walks in front of it, I never noticed that she is afraid of cars but she sure knows what they are. I did the same thing with Onyx, Onyx was wild and would run in the street with out hestitaion so i pushed the car issue on walks, she learned preety fast what car and wait meant.

[Layla]

http://www.dogstardaily.com/training/food-critics

Dr Ian Dunbar's thoughts on using food to train.

[Clockman]

For those of you who have them trained, how the hell did you deal with the walk?? Emma refuses to walk beside me; she has to be up front or she'll die (I think that's what she thinks). I used the prong collar and it kept her close, but I hate it. I bought a Halti and she keeps pulling the nose strap off. Now, on our walks (which aren't daily at this moment, sorry) I use a Flexi and let her forge ahead as long as she isn't pulling. What would you do?

As far as training, I alternate between treats and praise. I start with food to get the result, and when she does it, I give her food and praise (like "good girl down" "good girl stay"). Once she gets it, she may get a treat for a while, but then the praise kicks in and the treats phase out.

[Laura]

Personally I have no problem with my two walking in front of me but I did buy a Gentle Leader harness which fastens to their leash at the chest and it keeps my arms in the sockets because they don't pull nearly as much with it. I tried a trainers suggestion of stopping everytime they pull...well we never got out of the driveway and would probably still be there.

[Jeff&Peks]

For those of you who have them trained, how the hell did you deal with the walk?? Emma refuses to walk beside me; she has to be up front or she'll die (I think that's what she thinks).

Why do you need her to walk by your side, I can see being by your side at intersctions or passing through a crowd keeping them away from people trying to pet them but other then that I don't see the reason for it. Pekoe has always been on a 26' leash she can go where she wants plus she knows to stop at intersections or street corners and waits for me to catch up. If for some reason i need her to stop when I say Pekoe wait she stops and waits Nether one of us knows what the hell Heal means...walking behind you or you going out the door first is just more dog myths they came up with.

[Layla]

I use a front clip harness & that helps alot. I really don't care to much where they walk, as long as they aren't pulling. Dogs tend to pull on walks because it works for them. You move faster & in the direction they want to go. Using a harness where the lead attaches to the front helps because they can't pull, they just get pulled around. If you really want to walk on a collar (& I do sometimes) I train them by saying 'too bad' when they start to pull, then quickly turning around & walking in the opposite direction for 10 paces. Alf had if figured out in a about 5 goes of that You have to be consistant though, if you let Emma pull, she will continue to do so because it works for her. Front clip harnesses take a lot of frustration out of walk IMO

[crave]

i'm training my pup to understand that an index finger held up means "behave or you get tha back of my hand."

haha.

[Jeff&Peks]

i'm training my pup to understand that an index finger held up means "behave or you get tha back of my hand."

haha.

Let us know when you loose that hand.

haha