Trouble with twin boys and pup?

[Dahitman44]

Anyone have any ideas for this one?

My twin boys (seven years old) are very different. One is very athletic one is very intellectual. Anyway, Copper (2 years almost) listen to my more aggressive boy with the loud and stern voice, but not to my quieter more gentle intellectual kid.

I know the quieter one gets upset when Copper does not listen to him. Any thoughts on how I can even that up a lot. My guess is that the dog senses that Marshall (quieter one) is not as "Alpha" as Connor.

Any little exercises I could do to help?

Thanks

Hit

[LABS4ME]

Sign your son and Copper up for an obedience class. Let him do all the handling... the dog will come to understand that he needs to listen to him as well. A beginner class ought to breed success in both Copper and your son as Copper understands the commands, just not who to obey.

Don't buy into all this "ALPHA" b.s. Dogs are domesticated. They aren't trying to get to be the "Alpha" dog like they would in a wild pack. They need to learn that anyone who gives a command must be listened to. A stern voice should not be the reason they listen. If it is the reason, it's because they were trained to obey a stern voice. Compliance should happen because of the command, not the tone.

Good Luck!

Ken

[LABS4ME]

You could also begin to whistle train Copper. 1 blast means sit, 3 blasts means here... No tone in a voice with a whistle and proving that alpha this and alpha that is meaningless. It's what he's been conditioned to listen to. A whistle is the same no matter who blows it. My dogs will listen to my wife and kids and anyone else for that matter... My son has been commanding the dogs since he could talk. A command is a command... he also knows how to use the whistles...

Good Luck!

Ken

[Dahitman44]

Good points -- thanks.

How about bringing him for a walk and letting Marshall walk him?

Just a thought.

[LABS4ME]

If he doesn't listen well to him now, I doubt a walk will make him listen better... especially with distractions! It'll probably end up him holding the leash and you givning the commands... which is not avancing the solution.

I think a good controlled environment with a disciplined approach to training is what they both need and they will both probably gain a lot from it.

Good Luck!

Ken

[Tom7227]

A dog training class is the key. In fact the dog training class is more for training the people than the dog. Great idea to take the kid and let him do the work. It will bring them both together and your son will really feel special if he can start to handle the dog.

[Dahitman44]

Copper was already professionally trained -- I don;t want to mess that up. Will that matter?

[gonefishin11]

I have read that putting the dog on its back, looking into its eyes and putting your hand on their throat establishes dominance.

Ken and some of the other more experienced dog guys, is this still applicable?

If so, your boy could establish dominance in that regard.

[LABS4ME]

Yes, that is still a great technique I use it often... especially for puppies, but I don't know how well it will work on an adult dog with a 7 year old kid. Also my guess is this isn't nessacarily a dominance issue. I really think he just needs to be exposed to a lot of commands with the son. I feel he is "programmed" to a tone of voice for commands and needs to be exposed to softer voices... that is why my pups work with my wife and kids along with me so they understand commands are universal and the voice or it's inflection do not matter. Again whistle training may be a great substitute to an OB class...

Hit, I don't see how continually brushing up on obedience will ever harm a dog. Even if your dog is trained by a pro. Even to go so far as to say he has been trained to the command 'come' and the obedience class uses 'here', you either modify the instuctor's technique to what he already knows or even teach him a "new" command that your son will use... You won't be changing any commands for field work in an obedience class... I just can't think of a downfall. There are not barriers in training a dog... ie: 'he's already trained, can't learn no more'... also even if he's been 'trained' by a pro, his learning should continue through a good chunk of his adult life, and that could and should include you and your family working with him.

Good Luck!

Ken