Doglover
Lower your expectations of Clyde for a little while.
If Clyde is doing everything well at home in the confines of your yard, stick with that training enviorment. Keep putting him through the paces and keep at it. Work those basic commands, Come, Stay, Heel, on your own. Just you and Clyde.
I personally would think twice about continuing the classes. At this point the frustration level seems to be getting up there. From your post it seems as if neither yourself, nor Clyde are profiting from the experience.
Clyde is
your dog, and who cares what others may think of him, or if he is a knothead in public. If you have control of him around the house and in the yard, you are well on your way,and quite a bit further along than you were a few months ago. You both will get there.
Positive reinforcement is just a part of it. The statement is true that "you want to make yourself more interesting than the distractions". It's pretty important in hunting as this is part of what makes the dog move with you in the woods. There are consequences too. Disobeying a known command isn't acceptable,and it's just like the analogy you made about having the kids clean their rooms, in that it's a progressive response. I'll give you a chance to correct your behavior, but then we do it my way is my philosophy. Usually this means back on the leash for a "tuneup session". I've taken away their freedom, and put them back into "my box".
An electronic collar is not a punishment device, nor solely a correction device. It's simply the leash. It works hand in hand with positive reinforcement. They're very easy to use incorrectly, and I am guilty of using it incorrectly, but they can be a very effective tool. Introduce it and use it properly.
Make sure Clyde understands the Collar, and then give him some progressive distractions to reinforce the collar in his mind. Use the collar and the leash simultaneously. FIx the picture in his mind. It will still take some maturity and age on his part, but he may benefit quite a bit by having his boundries redefined.
I don't have to stimulate Gunnr's collar anymore. She knows what the warning tone means, and the consequence of blowing off the warning. When she obeys she gets lot's of praise and attention. I haven't had the eCollar turned on with her for quite a few months now. Tika would freak out if her collar ever gave her a warning tone.
You're going to get there. Clyde just needs to grow up a little bit.
