[nagdu] Owner training questions

Fri Aug 1 02:32:59 UTC 2014

Amber,

Owner-training a poodle is an adventure, and a pretty fun one. I've 
recently acquired my second poodle, to be ready to take over for Mitzi 
in a couple of years or whenever after that she is ready to retire. 
She's 8, so that will make him ready by the time she is 10.

For this pup, I contacted the same breeder where I got Mitzi. She has 
donated to guide and service dog programs, so knows a lot about the 
requirements. I had hoped this time to be able to evaluate the pups 
myself to choose, but we just couldn't pull it off. She didn't have 
poodle pups, but she did have a pick of the litter coming for a stud fee 
for a male of hers that is related to Mitzi. She consulted with the 
owner of the female, and they picked the pup with the best temperament. 
I was a little nervous, but he's been home about 3 weeks now, and he is 
fantastic. His temperament is exactly right, and I am really looking 
forward to working with him. He's going to be a fair bit larger than I 
originally expected from the size of his parents. They're small for 
standards and their pups are usually about Mitzi's size, which is about 
right for me. They each have some 80 and 90 pounders in their close 
ancestry, so the possibilities are a bit daunting there.

So expenses you can't just look up... Transportation to pick the pup and 
bring it home. It could be more than one trip to more than one breeder 
if the first one doesn't have the right pup. And with a poodle, there 
are grooming expenses. My poor kid was just cooking in his long puppy 
coat, so we took him in way sooner than I thought I would have to. The 
pups are also prone to ear infections because of all that hair in their 
ears. We ended up just having the vet sedate Loki to pluck the hair so 
we could treat his. He's fine now, and I should be able to finger pluck 
his ears myself or wait for his next grooming. I have a set of brushes 
for the poodles, although I found some inexpensive ones I really like. Whew!

I don't use an in-training vest, but I had to get baby puppy sized 
collar, leash and walking harness. I got a medium-sized version of just 
about all of it for him to grow into... At some point in his training, 
he will be able to wear Mitzi's guide dog harness, but if he gets too 
big, I will have to buy him a whole new working kit or make one.

Transportation to training venues can get spendy unless you have places 
in walking distance to use for public access training and beginning 
guide training. When I was training Mitzi, I had a ton of great places 
nearby, until she was ready to take the bus. From here, I'm going to 
have to travel at some point to do city training. And there's the 
expense of chips and a margarita at the outdoor place up the street 
where he can practice lying quietly under the table while I enjoy 
myself. /smile/

Toys and chews, replacing things the puppy has chewed you were sure he 
couldn't reach...

I'm not thinking of anything else right now in the expense department. 
I'm sure I'll find a few more the hard way.

When it comes to training poodles, one thing to keep in mind is that all 
those repetitions that are considered part of dog training aren't really 
necessary and can actually cause problems. Loki (the new kid), like 
Mitzi, learns the word/cue and behavior the first time. With Mitzi, when 
I tried using repetitions anyway because they seemed to be what everyone 
else was doing, it just messed things up. I think she figured the 
correct behavior she gave me the first and second times weren't what I 
really wanted, so she started trying other things to see if she could 
figure it out. She has never returned to the original, correct behaviors 
for those cues again. Not ever, and that was 7 years ago. So I don't 
even consider repitions for Loki. We do it once for him to get it, once 
more, then we do something else. I do little reviews throughout the day 
and try to change things up to keep it fresh.

As you move along and have other questions, feel free to write me off 
list at tami at poodlemutt.com.

Tami

On 07/31/2014 02:42 PM, Amber Meloy via nagdu wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> There has been a large amount of discussion recently about owner training on the list and since I have decided to get a new guide dog, I have made a number of decisions, and I am now considering another one.
>
> The first decision that I made was that I wanted a poodle because I would not have as much problem with hair.  I searched and searched but the only school that I could find that issued poodles to anyone who did not have allergies or someone in their family with allergies, was Pilot Dogs.
>
> I applied and continued to research various topics about poodles, about training methods, about how I felt about training etc etc.  As I searched, and the more questions I asked myself, the more I started thinking that maybe I wanted to owner train.
>
> There are a lot of things that I am very unsure how to handle, and I am writing here in the hopes of finding some advice.  I understand that having a grasp of the training methods you choose to use is essential, and I have every intention of practicing alone and in my head and reading before actually attempting to teach a dog anything.  But before I get to the point where I teach a dog anything, there are a few things I have to take care of…such as acquiring the dog…
>
> And so this brings me to a few of my first questions:
>
> What strategies have you, as an owner trainer, used to find the right dog?  I have read a lot about a test that is done to test temperament, but I do not recall this test’s name at the moment, nor do I know for sure that this is what is used.  I understand that no one can be absolutely guaranteed to have made the right choice; that dogs wash out; that this is a fact I may have to face.  But there has to be something that you did in the beginning to say, yes, I think I’ll give this dog a try.  You didn’t pick him or her because s/he was cute.  Or cuddly.  Or energetic.  Or did you?
>
> Another big question I have is about costs.  Before anyone comments that of course there will be costs, don’t.  I understand that.  But what I am looking for is a general idea of some of the things you bought/paid for/services needed, and maybe an average of how much that thing/service/experience costed you.  For example, if I choose to get various vaccines, I can look those up anywhere.  Any vet’s office will let me know those things.  If I want to know about the cost of a crate, I could look online or go to a pet store.  If I want to know the cost of foods I will feed, I can find that information.  But what I’m looking for information on is acquisition of your dog; acquisition of puppy vest for still in training; acquisition of harness; any assistance for sighted assistance in training, whether that was for training traffic checks or for observation only or for a trainer’s professional opinion etc.  Expenses that aren’t readily available for me to just look up.
>
> Finally, if anyone is willing to talk with me off list, I would be very grateful.  If there is such a thing as a list for owner trainers so that I am not cluttering this list with my questions, I would also love to know about that as well.  I joined the clicker solutions list and am hoping that when I come across a problem with particular behaviors I am trying to shape that this will be a viable resource.
>
> Thank you all for your input, however much or little it is.
>
> Amber M
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