the beepers victoria uses

Discussion of Victoria's TV show, It's Me or the Dog.

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owner_of_a_jack
Posts: 9
Joined: Wed Nov 08, 2006 9:10 am

the beepers victoria uses

Post by owner_of_a_jack »

hello, our family jack rusell has always enjoyed jumping but now she is 7months and that much bigger, she is now able to jump high enough to see the top of the kitchen work top.

luckily she has not managed to scale these heady hights, but i think it is only a matter of time. could anyone advise me as to where to buy some of the beepers that are used on the show? are they all as safe as each other? she is quite a small jack russell and is scared of the hoover! would using these beepers be ok or might it scare her too much?

thank you

james
Victoria
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Post by Victoria »

Hi James. regarding your enqiry, the beepers that we used for the kitchen counters were sensors that detected movement and sounded the alarm when the sensor was broken. Please note that we only used the sensors because the problem was very severe. The dog in question had urinated hundreds of times on the kitchen surfaces and that is why something quite extreme was used. The other reason this was so was that we were not able to use a baby gate to block off access to the kitchen because the couple had a kitchen/sitting room all in one. This should only be a very last resort and as your JR is very young using this kind of sound aversion would be too harsh. It is best to train her to stay out of the kitchen or use a baby gate to block access to the kitchen rather than relying on other measures. If you teach her that all the food comes through you and not the kitchen surfaces she is more likely to focus on you rather than on trying to get onto the counters. Of course if her bed etc are in the kitchen this makes things a little harder and I would consider moving her out to somewhere she couldn't access food by herself when you weren't there. I like to teach dogs that there is a line that they cannot cross when I am cooking in the kitchen and if they stay behind that line they get rewarded at various intervals. If they cross the line and I have to put them back over the line, I do not reward them for going back because many dogs get very wise to the fact that 'if I move across the line, she'll get me to go back by giving me a treat.' No the rewards only come when the dog has spent a significant amount of time behind the line. I start with 30secs and gradually build up to a reward every ten to fifteen minutes. Depending on how quick the dog learns this can take weeks. Therefore being in the kitchen gets nothing. Staying behind the line means that good things happen to the dog. You can also use a mat to get your dog to stay on the mat. this isn't a naughty mat and shouldn't be used for punishment. The mat is where good things happen to the dog if it stays on it.
Avoid using sound aversion and explore other options first. It's best if you find a trainer to help you and you can find good links to trainers on my website.
owner_of_a_jack
Posts: 9
Joined: Wed Nov 08, 2006 9:10 am

Post by owner_of_a_jack »

hello, thank you for replying and thanks for the advice. we certainly would not want to do anything to harm Eto'o. she is very much a family dog, and we will try your ideas. i did wonder about it scaring her but thought i would ask.

she certainly isn't as bad as the dog in last weeks program. she seems to be able to tell the time, and when it is her food time, she will jump up and look for her food on the surface even though we don't keep it there.

we do have a baby gate but it is not always easy with me being in my wheelchair as i can't get through it, so the imaginary line idea might be the best bet.
emmabeth
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Post by emmabeth »

Teach her no food until bottom is firmly on floor.

Or in bed, or behind imaginary line.....

Takes time but works in the long run - as Victoria says, sound aversion should really be a last resort for serious problems, they do often 'look' like a harmless solution (hey its just a loud noise right?) but for a dog they can be deeply traumatic if used wrongly (and sometimes even used correctly!).


Em
ADTmom
Posts: 1
Joined: Fri Jul 04, 2008 5:53 pm

motion activated alarms

Post by ADTmom »

We have three Airedale Terriers. We cannot gate our kitchen because of the open floor plan. However, they have been taught to stay out of "my zone" while I am cooking or loading the dishwasher.
One of the 'Dales is notorious about counter surfing while we are not in the room. She has pulled pans off the stove, out of the sink, even licked clean a crock pot that was sitting on the counter.
My husband and I think the alarms would work with Sadie... can you tell me more about them?
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