Teaching simple commands

[suzu600r]

Well here goes....

Our EM is 7 months old and we have been working with him to learn sit, stay and shake. Just simple commands as we dont expect him to jump through hoops or anything lol. He knows the word "no" and he also walks off leash really well even when other dogs walk by, both of which he picked up extremely quickly. Unfortunatly he doesn't seem to care about sit, stay, or shake. We have another dog who is 3 years old but he took to the simple commands so easy that I think we only worked with him about 3 times before he had it. He on the other hand MUST be on a leash as he is not a super friendly dog towards strangers or other dogs, both of which we work on and are getting better. I just need to know what I can try to get Sampson to learn at least sit and stay. Any ideas will help. Thanks in advance!!

 

[PuppyPaws]

How have you been trying to teach Sit and Stay? Can you elaborate?

 

[Sabrina]

treats treats praise praise!!!!!...and include hand signals

 

[suzu600r]

using treats, trying to show him by getting the other dog to sit and stay in front of him, pushing is butt down when saying sit. he just doesn't care about any of it. if we hold the treat to long he goes and does his own thing and doesnt care about the treat anymore.

 

[Abby&Fiona]

Get better treats!!! We use the smoked chicken flavored food log you can find in the fridge at pet stores.... cut it into chunks.... and LURE him into a sit, give him a praise, treat and good sit!.... then lure him into a lay down, treat, praise and good lay down.
He must be pretty mellow if you are waiting till 7 months to start... or is he new to your family? Hope he starts picking it up for you! :-D
We call this log food puppy crack... my mystery puppy will do ANYTHING and I mean ANYTHING for this treat. But she has been sitting and laying down since 8 or 9 weeks.... but with this food we have mastered, shake, lay down, roll over, lay down, sit, wait, stay, let's go, come and sneak where she army crawls across the floor and even ride a skateboard. Just keep at it!! Make it fun, tasty and positive. Maybe think about using a clicker or a marker word like yes. Say yes EVERYTIME he does what you asked then treat and praise. I personally use ""thank you" I felt silly saying yes yes yes yes. lol But as long as you stay consistent and are persistent while staying positive and fun- it will come. Mastiffs are STUBBORN. hehehe We are also on our second round of puppy classes. Look into something local to help get the ball rolling if needed. :-D
As for shake ... take his paw for the first couple times, say shake, click or say yes give him treat... he will eventually associate the word shake and your hand out for that motion- when he does SUPER praise and treat.
Just a warning once you teach shake... the paw is what he will use to get your attention. :-D If you have spacial issues.... take care with over doing the paw lol or he will be touching you with it all day. My EM is that way... and I love it... but some may think it's annoying.

 

[Cody]

Have you taken him to a trainer? If you are having issues doing it on your own that would be my suggestion. I would however get on that ASAP, the last thing you want is a 2 year old Mastiff with no training
It is our responsibility to have these large breeds under control at all times.
I am curious as well why the wait.
We have sit, down, stand, stay and are getting the focused heel at 16 weeks, the younger you start the easier it is.
Good luck.

 

[Abby&Fiona]

Cody, agreed!! They get even more stubborn and less eager to learn as they grow....and grow....and grow. Lol fiona is.20 weeks with everything I listed.... But also very food motivated and apparently learns quickly. Suz just stock to it and be confident, even asking a trainer questions could help a lot. But likely they will recommend you start a class, go for it....good bonding time too. .

 

[neomama]

i took Alliseaa to classes and Ultima has 2 more classes to go, all my other dogs listen very well but with these girls getting soooo big i want to make sure i have control over them, I have a dog boarding kennel and some of these people bring there dogs in for boarding and have NO control over them. don't know what they are thinking.

 

[Abby&Fiona]

Out of curiosity.... what is your other dog? :-D Isn't it interesting how each dog has it's own learning and behavioral patterns.... just like children

 

[suzu600r]

My other dog is an german shepard chow mix. SUPER SMART!!! So easy to train as was my rottie. We have been working with him on sit stay and shake and every now and then he will do it. He did ok today but gets distracted with the other dogs even if it's just me and him in the room. Problem is my other dog sits outside the door and waits cause he wants in too which is distracting to Sampson. Don't get me wrong Sampson is super smart but is just a puppy with no attention span. My husband and I talked about it tonight we are going to get some help at least in the right direction to start off and work from there. Things would be so much easier if it was not so hot here in Texas we could go outside in the back yard and train him but neither dog wants out and I can't say I blame them. We started working on it late which was partly my fault but we also didn't get him until he was about 12 weeks old. Also found out he likes beggin strips so those are the treats we will be using from now on. We will see how tomorrow goes. Fingers crossed!!!

 

[Cody]

tiny tiny morsels of hot dogs work really well too. And are a lot cheaper then dog treats.
By tiny I mean smaller then your pinky finger nail. Just enough for them to get a taste for it and want more.
I would take him out in the evenings when has cooled down, he needs to learn to listen with distraction, as that is when you will need the training the most.
And train away from your other dog, so he doesn't depend on him.
A training class would be awesome, as you will learn to work with him in distraction and it is great bonding as Abby & Fiona said.

 

[moose]

lol good treats always worked for moose too..also do short training session a couple of times a day so it keeps interest up.

 

[suzu600r]

We have been working on it today and he has done pretty good. 3 out of 5 times he was asked to sit he did. Still going to do the classes but its a start. Thanks for the help everyone!! He is my first mastiff but not my first big dog and they are HARD HEADED!!!!! He is over all a good dog and a joy to have. He knows so many other commands that I would think would be more difficult to learn but sit and stay were difficult for him but now that we are getting somewhere I feel better.

 

[Abby&Fiona]

I hope things get going for you! really, the yummier and smellier the treat the more he will want them. I got lucky with Fiona... she will train even with a puppy food piece hahaha
Keep us up dated on when you join a class- I bet it will help. Trainers have lots of tips and tricks up their sleeve.

 

[dpenning]

I would take him out in the evenings when has cooled down, .

LOL! That would be nice. I don't know about Pearland but in Dallas it is still 105 at 9:00 and it is dark out. This summer is toasty.

 

[Abby&Fiona]

Sooooo thankful for the pacific northwest this year....normally I would be bummed it's a late summer and not so hot. But with all the insane weather going on everywhere else, I will gladly accept the mild, mid to high seventies that it is most days, so far around seattle.

 

[PuppyPaws]

Wow! That weather sounds awesome! Its been hovering around 105 here in MS too. Crazy Hot and Humid. Had a friend pass out playing basketball the other evening and two friends that work outside (electric company) went home early due to the strain the heat was causing them... Praying for some relief!

 

[Fixer]

Clicker training (with treats) has worked really well with my 7 mo Tibetan boy. I have just gotten stuck on "stay" and anything that involves him focusing on me, he wants to chase after the butterflies!