[bdogbud]

I have a newbie question and it's probably a dumb one but when do you know to move on to ear pinch. How good of a hold do you need to have till you can move on. We are teaching hold right now and just wanna know when it would be okay to move on

 

[gdgnyc]

Hold is good enough when your dog doesn't drop it until you say give. My dog will hold at least 3 minutes. I personally don't see a need to push for more. What was more important to me was to get her to hild while distractions were presented. This is my opinion and I don't know what other people are doing.

 

[Evan]

Like other skills, your objective is not perfection because dogs don't become perfect. Your goal is to understand what you wanted from the start...what this skill (in this case "Hold") should look like. You then shape that behavior through training, and measure your progress by how well your dog's behavior matches those goals as you go along.

How much, then, is enogh before moving on? When those goals are met consistently, day to day.

Because motion tends to disrupt a dog's concentration on a task, I believe "Hold" must be consistent through Walking Hold; the dog walking at heel without mouthing or dropping the fetch object. If you believe that is consistently being done as you like, move on to ear pinch.

Evan

 

[bdogbud]

Yeah that's sounds pretty good. My dog will hold for a good little while and I can't tap on it and move my hand all around it and stuff and he won't drop it till I tell him to. But I'll try with more distractions!

 

[bdogbud]

Yeah that's sounds pretty good. My dog will hold for a good little while and I can't tap on it and move my hand all around it and stuff and he won't drop it till I tell him to. But I'll try with more distractions!

Sorry I meant I can*

 

[Tim Fitzgerald]

I am working a pup now and I personally make them hold through all basic obedience drills, here, heel (multi directional) and I make them jump up and down off of force fetch bench while holding...

 

[Larry Thompson1]

Like other skills, your objective is not perfection because dogs don't become perfect. Your goal is to understand what you wanted from the start...what this skill (in this case "Hold") should look like. You then shape that behavior through training, and measure your progress by how well your dog's behavior matches those goals as you go along.

How much, then, is enogh before moving on? When those goals are met consistently, day to day.

Because motion tends to disrupt a dog's concentration on a task, I believe "Hold" must be consistent through Walking Hold; the dog walking at heel without mouthing or dropping the fetch object. If you believe that is consistently being done as you like, move on to ear pinch.

Evan

I Believe in the same as Evan. Walking hold with distractions. When this is done I move on. Has worked well for me and should for you to.

 

[Chris Videtto]

I also like to use other objects.....a hammer, a half filled water bottle, they are not weighted evenly and pose more challenge. Just my newbie thoughts.

Chris

 

[Wayne Nutt]

I'm with Evan except I take it one step further. I put him in a remote sit position with bumper in mouth. Then call him to me (on a lead) and make him sit, either in front or at heel position. Then take bumper. Then IMHO you are ready to move on.

Edit: distance can be short, just 15 yds or so.

 

[Howard N]

I'm with Evan except I take it one step further. I put him in a remote sit position with bumper in mouth. Then call him to me (on a lead) and make him sit, either in front or at heel position. Then take bumper. Then IMHO you are ready to move on.

Edit: distance can be short, just 15 yds or so.

Pretty close to what I do also. I like to heel them some while they're holding and walking with me.

Then on to force fetch.

 

[Evan]

Pretty close to what I do also. I like to heel them some while they're holding and walking with me.

Then on to force fetch.

Yep! Walking Hold. I like Wayne's idea as well because it goes hand in hand with the same principles, so it would futher 'proof' the dog's hold.

Evan

 

[Spring]

Watching this be taught has been really interesting to me. I've never trained a lab but am having a blast going out to see my pup 3-4 times a week as my trainer is working with him. It's so impressive to see how purposeful and layered every aspect of training is as it all builds towards a desired goal. So far my pup is doing great and it's thrilling to see. He's almost 7 months old and is holding well with modest distractions but still has a long way to go.

 

[Wayne Nutt]

Going to visit your dog 4 times a week may be a distraction to both the dog and the trainer. I would pare back your visits to once every two weeks for a while. I tell my clients no visits for the first three weeks, then I encourage them to come.

 

[Wayne Nutt]

If the trainer says ok then it's good. My opinion is the highlight of the dogs day should be when the trainer works him. If you were my client I would recommend once a week.