First TM

[djo]

Hi guys, any advice on how to train a TM when their focus span is so short, and treats doesn't seem to work. Mika is 4 months old female TM that i brought home a week ago, and she settled in well. Tried training with treats, but she loses interest so quickly that I find myself training myself to be patient. Her character is if she doesn't gets what she want, she doesn't want it anymore. Any suggestions?

 

[cinnamon roll]

Welcome. Our TM people should be by soon. TM's are not food motivated at all.

 

[Doggyhelpplease]

Be more stuborn and yes alot of patients. I once waited 31mins for my dog to sit at the door before I would actually start the walk. She will do all the commands inside (I notived after 4 months she got a bit more of an attention span) but on walks...she would totally ignore me. I had 3 months where if I asked her to sit I had to wait her out at least 2-3 mintues somtimes more. But if she wanted to move on she would have to complete the task. knock on wood...but for the past 2 weeks (she is 9months) she almost sits after being asked only 1 or 2 times in 5 to 10 secs...sometimes instant. I do not know all the dog training tricks by far but I do know stuborn.

 

[looby73]

Hello and welcome to the forum.
Have you tried lots of different types of treats to see if you can get her interested, high value stuff such as chicken, cheese etc?
My 2 TM's were quite food motivated when they were young and still are fairly interested in doing as they're told (inside at least!) if there's a tasty morsel on offer....chicken, duck, sausage etc. They're 8 months and 19 months now.
Also, how long are you trying for the training sessions? TM's do get bored quite quickly and a few very short sessions (5 mins at a time) throughout the day seemed to work better than training for a long session for us.
I'm sure more people will add their thoughts too.

And pictures would be fab!

 

[Mooshi's Mummy]

Hello....welcome. I have a TM bitch as well and she was not at all food motivated, she still isn't but from time to time we did have some luck on good days with hot dogs, sausages (without onion in them) and liver cake, you can recipes for liver cake on line. Is your girl toy motivated at all? I had a double stuggle with Mooshi because she doesn't do toys either so we made a huge deal of praise, a lot of happy dances and high pitched squeals of delight, and OH WHAT A CLEVER GIRL. because if there is one thing this breed is it is clever in a big way. as soon as you find out what makes your girl tick you will be astaounded at just how quickly these guys learn stuff, and just how stubborn they can be. Keep sessions short, around 5 minutes 3 or 4 times a day, always make it happy, always make it fun and leave her wanting more. TM's do not do well to harshness, they will turn off from you as fast as you like. Have fun, make it a game and yes post pics.

 

[broccolini]

My TM is super food motivated as long as we are in the house. She learns very quickly but I still can't get her to listen when we are outside.

I think the most important thing as a TM owner is to lower your standards. If you can get her to focus on you for two minutes, that's a good session. But you need to realize that she's only going to work if she wants too, and there's not much you can do to convince her otherwise. I consider myself lucky that mine likes food and toys (at least for now) but she still doesn't train like my GSDs. As soon as she decides her attention is needed elsewhere, all the treats in the world become useless.

TMs just aren't all that interested in what you want.

 

[ruthcatrin]

You've got to use HIGH VALUE treats. Forget about using their kibble for training like so many trainers insist, TMs just aren't food driven enough, even if you skip a meal before training. Instead use cheese, hotdogs, cooked chicken or turkey or beef, that sort of thing.

And keep in mind that yes, though pups often have SOME food drive its not signifigant and its only going to become less as the dog matures. There's also little to no toy drive usually, and they don't generally give a care what you think or want.

You've got to have patience, and be stubborn too. You have to learn to go with what works today, if she's responding to treats today then cool, is she responding to praise today, or maybe a squeeker has her attention today. You go with what works, and do your best to make it fun and short cause otherwise you'll totally loose them.

 

[djo]

Thank you everyone for your advices! I just realised that she amazingly driven with cooked chicken breast. Short training sessions, fun, stubbornness and patience, I will keep that in mind. She tends to wag her tail whenever she sees me now, but some days she'll just laze around and cannot be bothered with my presence. She tends to nip me lightly when ever I try to gently roll her over to comb her fur, is that considered aggression? Kinda worries me thinking about the kind of nips I'll get when she is older. And she likes grass! Whenever she sees grass, she will just lie there and roll around and refuse to budge when its time to go home, and whenever she catches me not looking, she eats grass too

 

[Mooshi's Mummy]

I swear my girl is part cow, she loves to eat grass, nice long fresh grass is her drug of choice. LOL. Nipping lightly...hmmm...she can be playing with you and if it were me I would let her know that grooming time is not play time, its something to be enjoyed and always reward her for during and after. I started Mooshi slowly but every single day I touched her and brushed her everywhere! One sessions I would touch her feet and say the word feet and reward, then tummy and say the word tummy and reward, ears, tails etc, etc. make it a nice and fun game. Both my dogs will stand stock still to be groomed because I didn't take any crap and I made it enjoyable for her. As for wagging tails, some days you get them, some days you don't. Mooshi gives hello nips, she nips your bum when you come home if she is very happy to see you! You have to keep in mind TM's, unlike a lot of other breeds, don't feel like they need us, its in their nature, in their genes, they were bred to be independent and to stand alone so don't be offended if your girl isn't a love bug, its frustrating but completely normal.