Need suggestions for my 8 month old DDB

[Caztratt]

I'm sorry if I sounded harsh. I'm glad you've started your training, sounds like it's going well n like the pics too


Carol

 

[Himanshu]

I'm sorry if I sounded harsh. I'm glad you've started your training, sounds like it's going well n like the pics too


Carol

it"s okay as i forgot to mention the details . I didn't expected her to catch words and respond so quickly.

 

[Himanshu]

Hi,

Training is going on fine but i want to know few things.
Its been few days since i started training her but now she only listens to me when she gets a treat otherwise she just ignores me. Is this normal or should i change my way of training her.

 

[irina]

I would say, no it should not be like that. She gets a treat because she complies, not chooses to comply because you have a treat. But it also depends on a command. Recall for example is notoriously difficult to train especially with distractions, and that is a different story all together, I think. Something like sit should happen every time regardless of a treat.
Are there distractions where you train? That might be part of the problem. Hide the treats and only pull one out after she complies. Our trainer told us to carry treats in the pocket at all times, so that I can reward any place any time, and the dog will think you always have treats. Good luck!

 

[Himanshu]

I would say, no it should not be like that. She gets a treat because she complies, not chooses to comply because you have a treat. But it also depends on a command. Recall for example is notoriously difficult to train especially with distractions, and that is a different story all together, I think. Something like sit should happen every time regardless of a treat.
Are there distractions where you train? That might be part of the problem. Hide the treats and only pull one out after she complies. Our trainer told us to carry treats in the pocket at all times, so that I can reward any place any time, and the dog will think you always have treats. Good luck!

I train her inside, in the living area. So there isn't much distractions and i also carry the treat in my pocket but still keeps her eye on my pocket and not on my hands. She obeys my command when she sees that i am pulling out treat from my pocket or else she'll just ignore and does what she wants to.

 

[irina]

Hmm... We never had this problem, but ours was being trained from day one. At this point I would say sign up for group classes or hire a trainer to get some professional guidance. Otherwise my non-professional advice would be to use leash pressure to ensure she follows the command and only then pull out a treat. Alternate where you keep the treats: different pockets, pouch on your belt, etc. or even have a few hidden your hand or mouth just for the training session. I like to have treats in my mouth because it trains the dog to look at you and they cannot tell/smell as easily whether or not you actually have treats there or you are bluffing. That is just my experience.

 

[DennasMom]

We had the same issue with Denna... she'd do anything IF she saw the treat first.

But... it's a way to start and get the dog to know the vocabulary, so when you ask for "sit", you know they know what you mean.

I'd keep up with the bribes (treats) for a while until you know she knows what you want. Then you can start upping the ante, so to speak - make her do TWO commands for one treat, then three, etc. Make sure you do PRAISE for each correct command, but the food reward becomes more random.

You can also do some "focus" training...

Let her see that you have a treat, and hold that treat out to your side away from your body. Do not let her have the treat, no matter what she does, until she looks you in the eye - as SOON as she looks you in the eye, say "GOOD"! and give her the treat.

This teaches her that the treat is coming from YOU, and that she must, basically "ask" for it by looking at you (and away from the treat).

Once she understands that keeping her eye on the treat isn't what will let her have it, making treats more random at other points in your training should get easier.

One trainer I had suggested we place piles of treats around the house - and treat randomly from those locations (after asking for or seeing a behavior worth rewarding) - so the dog never knew when or where a treat might appear. Keep them guessing!!

It will get better - soon the expectation of a treat turns in to the anticipation of a treat, and then you can really tone them down (randomly giving treats, but more infrequently), so they're really just 'rewards' and not 'bribes'.

You can replace the treats with more praise and pets and games of tug, and other good things instead, too, which will help build your bond with the pup, too.

Sounds like she's a smart dog - which can make it more challenging.
Keep it fun (for both of you) and that will help, too.

 

[Himanshu]

Thanks DennasMom and irina . Will surely try these things out when i get back home after work.
I'm really i found this forum.

 

[Hector]

Try this exercise out:

[video=youtube;MQfI72I3o5c]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQfI72I3o5c[/video]

Training with treats is great, but many people don't know how to fade the lure (treat) so the dog only listens when they see the treat. This is not what you want with treat training. Treats should be a reward, not a bribe. Do you have hand signals for sit, down, etc? It helps to lure the dog into position with a treat, but after a number of repetitions, help the dog with your hand signals without the treat. Only reward after the dog has done the command. Some commands take more repetitions than others. Also, a lot of dogs respond much better to hand signals than to verbal cues as they are very observant creatures. I, myself am a very visual learner. Words don't really mean much to me lol.

 

[Himanshu]

Try this exercise out:

[video=youtube;MQfI72I3o5c]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQfI72I3o5c[/video]

Training with treats is great, but many people don't know how to fade the lure (treat) so the dog only listens when they see the treat. This is not what you want with treat training. Treats should be a reward, not a bribe. Do you have hand signals for sit, down, etc? It helps to lure the dog into position with a treat, but after a number of repetitions, help the dog with your hand signals without the treat. Only reward after the dog has done the command. Some commands take more repetitions than others. Also, a lot of dogs respond much better to hand signals than to verbal cues as they are very observant creatures. I, myself am a very visual learner. Words don't really mean much to me lol.

Thanks Hector .
Now she is doing sit and down command but still does only when she gets a treat.
But i think there's some improvement as she also listens and does the command watching my hand gestures. Is it good or bad??

 

[Hector]

She's looking at your hand gestures to help her understand what you are asking of her. That's a good thing. Further down the road, you want to fade those hand gestures and make sure she can do them just off of a verbal command, especially for basic ones. A good time to rehearse the commands she knows is during meal time. Go through all the commands before feeding her.

Does she like to play? ball, frisbee, tug?

You can use play as a reward too.

 

[Himanshu]

She's looking at your hand gestures to help her understand what you are asking of her. That's a good thing. Further down the road, you want to fade those hand gestures and make sure she can do them just off of a verbal command, especially for basic ones. A good time to rehearse the commands she knows is during meal time. Go through all the commands before feeding her.

Does she like to play? ball, frisbee, tug?

You can use play as a reward too.

Yep, she loves playing ball and tug. If allowed she could play whole day long.
But i never thought it could be used as a reward.
Thanks for the suggestion. I would like to try it out.

 

[irina]

Absolutely! Ask her to sit or down before you throw the ball. Do a couple of commands, then play tug for a minute or so. I wish my dog were toy motivated.

 

[Yamizuma]

It's been awhile since you last posted. How is the training coming along? This forum certainly is home to a wealth of excellent suggestions!

 

[Himanshu]

Christy is 10 months old now.
Training is on halt from last few weeks as my mum got a medical condition. She is having bipolar disorder.
I have a question. Christy is on heat and leaving blood patches where ever she sits. Its been almost week now since it started, I want to know for how many days would it last.