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5. COL: What are some of the keys to
successful training?
Marilyn Clayton: CONSISTENCY! Make learning fun. Introduce them to as much as possible, in a very positive, safe and enjoyable way, as young as possible -- while their brains are little sponges.
Never reprimand a dog for offering behaviors -- it means they are trying. Let them know when they have done it right -- give honest and sincere praise (not patronization). Make everything black and white -- eliminate all grey. Patience! Make a plan before you start each training session but be flexible enough (and wise enough) to change that plan if things should fall apart or an opportunity presents itself -- make a plan, but go with the flow.
Shelley Bergstraser: Find a good instructor in your area who likes all breeds, and works well with your ideas and with collies! I have heard folks in many parts of the country say they have trouble finding instructors who will work seriously with them and their chosen breed, for example, obedience competition trainers who only take shelties, BC's or goldens, or herding instructors and agility instructors who only like to work with certain breeds. That is silly. Collies are wonderfully competitive dogs with good, kind training! Stay happy and positive with your collie. I always recommend portion control feeding as I think it makes dogs WAY more interested in you and more food motivated. Play with toys with puppies. Teach them to play fetch and to gently play tug as I think this builds motivation and interest in their human counterparts. I teach lots of silly tricks as I can use them between exercises or in a big conformation class to keep up enthusiasm and interest.
Beth Elliot: Keep it fun and positive. If you have to correct your dog, or your dog thinks you've corrected it (with some Collies this may be as simple as saying "wrong" and asking it to try again), make sure your praise exceeds your correction in your dog's eyes. Use a variety of rewards. I usually bring two or three different types of treats/food, as well as a toy or two. Learn to read your dog, and know when to quit before your dog does it for you.
Vicki Loucks: Marker training has worked great for me. I started using this method two dogs ago and my youngest (18 months) has had the most and is probably the best dog I've trained. Marking behaviors and rewarding is so much easier then forcing a dog to do a desired behavior. Stay positive, don't lose your temper. If you get irritated, stop training, relax, and let the dog relax. Be sure to end training on a positive note so that the dog always wins at the end. Train a start line game. It helps take the nerves out of the picture. Buy equipment -- weave poles are a must. Buy contacts one at a time. I built my first contacts, still build my own jumps, and used to build weave poles out of PVC. Now I have a set of straight poles and adjustable poles which I purchased. Most of my contact equipment was purchased -- except my table (next purchase). Jumps are easy to make out of 1 inch Sch 40 PVC. There are lots of places you can find directions to make equipment. Also, sometimes you can find great deals on used equipment from clubs or training facilities that are replacing stuff. I bought a 20-foot tunnel for $25 recently. Two tunnels makes it easy to set up lots of different courses. All of my dogs are still taught basic obedience at an early age, now using clicker type training (behavior or marker training). Most of my puppies will sit and down before being placed and are crate trained. The dogs are all raised as inside/outside dogs and together most of the time. Therefore, some obedience training is necessary. If I have a conflict, dogs are downed until they chill out. Typically I can stop a conflict by downing the dogs. A down or stop also comes in handy if a dog gets in a bad situation. We actually practice downs or sits while playing fetch in the yard. It's fun to see how fast the dogs respond and take note of who needs work.
Jan Shields: Train when the dog is alert and hungry. Don’t train if the dog is “poop faced,” meaning contrite or disengaged. Put the dog away if you get angry. Don’t drill a collie. Always, always have an open mind to people and ideas and techniques.
Sue Larson: Patience, fairness, consistency
Carol Dunton: I have found that the most important part of my training is to first determine how the dog learns and thinks. It is important to me to find out what motivates the dog, what makes it eager to train, and what does not motivate the dog. Each dog is different, so I spend a bit of time learning about my dog’s mind, its strengths, and its weaknesses. In my experience, I have found that it is beneficial not to push a dog/pup to do things that it is not mentally or physically ready to tackle. At a young age, I will dabble in different areas with the pup. If it shows confidence, I will progress further. If is shows apprehension, I will work with the pup to help it gain confidence in that area. If the pup shows fear, I will go back to something that is easier for it to handle and work in gaining its confidence in that area. I will keep the training sessions short so that the dog is left wanting more. I also make sure that I do not drill an exercise, as it has been my experience that once one of my dogs does something right and I ask for it to be repeated, they start to question themselves and will offer variations to the exercise in an attempt to “be right.” I have also found it very valuable to end a training session on a good note by ending the training when the dog has performed a particular exercise or task correctly.
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