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The sit at supper thing is a big no-no around here. It\'s the only \"Brad\'s method\" I don\'t agree with.
Duke had to sit and wait for his supper before I heard of Brad and still does. I think it\'s just good manners.
It\'s been discussed here many times, and one I just can\'t get my head around.

I agree with Dukesdad - Keymo sits patiently while I put his food down just the way he HAS to be sitting to get his leash on or off.
I believe it's patience and good behaviour.

The "reward" is totally for US - For example - It used to be nightmare putting on boots/ shoes etc , having him steal our hats, etc. while he danced around like a maniac when getting ready to go outside.
Now he's calm and there are no issues.

As far as his food goes - I much prefer not to have my dog under foot when preparing our meals as well as his.
Sometimes he'll sit about 5' from me watching me get it ready. When I walk towards his dish he'll follow, then sit before I put it down.

Off leash topic - sorry

Wow! I have to agree, I apologize for being off the OP's topic, but I had no idea that sitting for supper was a Brad "no-no". And here I thought I knew what I was doing! It definitely works for us, but thanks for pointing that out Andy!

Now I guess we'd better get back on topic, hey? Sorry!

I'll try and clarify, again.

It's ok if your dog sits nicely when you put the food down, on his own. It's bad if you tell your dog to sit, as in give him a command, and then as a reward put down the dish, meaning you're giving him food for doing something.

Yep, have to agree with the recent posts. Until we trained our puppy to sit and wait for her food, she'd be jumping up on us and trying to grab the food, sometimes knocking it out of our hands. Got really annoying and we quickly taught her that her bahaviour was not acceptable. Now when she knows she is getting fed, she will run over to her bowl and site beside it and will not touch the food unitl we tell her it's OK. We don't give her a command, she just knows now that she is expected to settle down or she won't get her food. Just giving her the "look" gets her attention and she knows that mom and dad mean business. I guess you could interpret it as a reward for doing a certain action, but how do you really get away from that? Either you are having to deal with a crazy dog at mealtime, or you have an obedient one. Your dog has to eat, so I see it more as training a certain behaviour than rewarding a certain behaviour.

I agree – the first week or so we had her, Jessie would lunge for her bowl and eat like it was the end of the world lol.. The only way she gets fed is if she's sitting or lying down calmly, paying no heed to her food. I'll sometimes even hide some crackers or almonds behind her dish on the counter, before I place it on the floor, so as to look like I'm eating her food before her.

O.k., this thread is about leash aggression, and not waiting for supper LOL!

There was a Cesar about an extremely leash-aggressive Malamute. He was perfect at the d.p., but once his movement was restricted by a leash, he'd flip. Probably a more extreme case than Sammy, but worth a watch. Are you using a Martingale? What other exercise does Sammy get? Have you tried running with him? Cycling or in-line skating a la Cesar? Get the beans outta him before you take him for a leisurely-style walk, that way he’ll be tired and more compliant for training. Bonnie’s suggestions are also great – be aware of your energy and mood when you encounter other dogs, and keep walking. If you feel him react, correct him – you don’t even have to look at him to do it.

LBrinkworth wrote:

QUOTE:

It's ok if your dog sits nicely when you put the food down, on his own. It's bad if you tell your dog to sit, as in give him a command, and then as a reward put down the dish, meaning you're giving him food for doing something.

Okay! Whew! Thanks for that! That's exactly what we do around here, so I guess we're okay!

We have both a martingale and a gentle leader collar. We typically use the martingale, but if he's been exceptionally bad we'll pull out the gentle leader for a while.

As far as exercise goes, weekdays are a 30 to 45 minute walk in the morning and then 45 minutes to an hour walk after work. Usually about 2 to 3 of theses walks will be runs. On the weekends, we take him out lots and basically have him with us as much as possible. Most Saturday and Sunday mornings we go for a good hour and a half walk around high park which includes time playing with other dogs in the leash free area and there is definitely time playing fetch.

We have noticed that the more we ware Sammy out the easier it is to control him on his leash. It is just difficult first thing in the morning right when you turn the first corner and meet up with another dog head on. I do have to say we have had some success with Sammy this week. On Canada we had him at St. Jacobs' Market and today we had him at Toronto Island. Both occasions had lots of people, kids and dogs around and we had no incidences. Today at Toronto Island, we had tons of people coming up and petting him and everything and he was great.

But I will keep work on this and I'm definitely going to try the leg tap thing. Lets see if this new move will help.
Thanks

I'm really glad this one has finally gotten hashed out. It is just basic manners, thank you for saying it, to all those who did. It should never be the act of reward. The idea should be that when your dog is calm for dinner, they get a pat on the head or a vebal "good dog" and then eventually food is provided.