Dog Health Questions: Dog Training....?

Any tips on dog training? I'm trying to re-train my dog, it's working really well so far. The only issue I have is that she is way obsessed with her treats. I had them sitting on the ground, but she was so obsessed with them that I had to put them in a cup. I'm not sure what to do. Also, what tricks should should I teach her-- I have sit, lay, we're working on roll over, and heel. She can also do come and stay.

So You Want A Career In Dog Training

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My dog has similar problems when I use food to teach and control behavior. Based on my experience these are some things that have worked for me:

Remember to always associate words with your dog's actions, name a behavior and you will have some control over that behavior.

I've realized rewarding with food is best when it reinforces a behavior not controlling it like a command.

Also it's important to remember that your dog is learning something every time you interact with it, make sure you're always shaping and conditioning good behavior.

As far as tricks go you've pretty much got the basics covered. I personally like the crawl trick. It is easier to have a second person gently keep the dog from standing up while the other calls the dog. But it can be achieved with only one person if you're the only one training.

Here are some basic instructions on what I do...it probably won't be exactly the same for your dog but it's a good starting point.

Get down on your knees and gently grab hold onto collar with one hand and put the other on the dogs back. Now tell your dog to CRAWL and gently pull forward on the collar. The response you will probably get is that he will try to stand up. That's when you use your other hand that you have on his back. Push him down gently before he stands up all the way. Now try it again while giving a little pressure from the hand on his back. If he crawls a couple inches, praise him (make sure he doesn't get up while you do) and give him a treat. Now try it again.

If he is really stubborn and wont budge an inch, then get that second person to help you. The second person (Lets call her jane) will stand a little distance (Start with only a couple feet away) away from you and your dog. Get back down on your knees next to the dog with one hand on his back and one on his collar. Tell Jane to call him. The dog will of course try to get up and run to Jane. Push him down gently and make him CRAWL.

Once you have done this a couple times and he is making no effort of standing up while he is crawling, you can start not putting your hand on his back. If he stands up go back to the last step. If he remains down, lots of praise! Now you can move on with you standing while giving the command. Then move away and tell him to CRAWL. If he does, your work is done!

I also like to lure him into CRAWLING by holding a treat in front of his nose, dragging it along the ground. Keep a hand on his back/collar.

Anyway...that was a pretty windy response but I hope it gives you some helpful suggestions!

I have a blog that has more information on some of what I've been writing about. If you feel like checking it out, I would of course suggest it (see below).

Best of luck with your training!

Dog Training Schools - How to Pick a Good School

• "no" is a good one. =]


• Shake or I just taught my puppy collie to give me a hug when im sitting down. Oh we also hung a bell on a string from the door to go outside and when he wants out we are trying to get him to ring the bell. Its actually working pretty well.


• you should teach it to shake hands.


• I wouldn't do anything about her obsession -- obsession is a great asset to have while training your dog, which I say from experience. My own dog is obsessed with toys.
  
  Are you looking for commands to train that are practical? Or just anything in general?
  
  My boy can:
  sit/sitz
  down/platz
  stay
  come
  play dead (BANG!)
  wave
  high five
  shake
  take it
  leave it/lass es
  drop it
  go upstairs on command
  is only permitted to go through doors on command (which prevents the dog from running out through the door accidentally) -- Geh Draussen, and Geh Rein
  and we're working on Fuss (heel).
  
  Most of these have hand signals, so I can give him just the verbal cue, just the hand signal, or both together, depending on the situation.
  
  I think there are some other things that he can do, but I can't think of anything else specific at the moment.... We also do clicker training; that's a lot of fun. If you've never tried it, give it a shot : )


• You could teach her to crawl, rewind (back up), take a bow, chase your tail, Wave hello. All of these are taught in the Click-A-Trick class @ PetSmart. Its a 6 week course and its fun. As far as treats go, try putting the treats on the counter and have her do a sit, then get the treat off the counter instead of having it in your hand. Then make him do a sit and a down before rewarding. Then 2 sits and 2 downs then rewarding. Slowly wean him off the treats. But dont brake them off completely because hes been taught using positive reinforcment. Basically to him you'll end up being like a slot machine. He'll continue to give you his all because he never knows when hes gonna get it. Dont go to long without rewarding though or he'll give up on you. Good luck.


• Go here u might find somthin useful!!
  petvideo.com


• Put the treat into the palm of your hand, let her smell the treat. when she does what you want give her the treat.
  Start with normal size pieces. then gradually, make the pieces smaller until she does the tricks without the treat.


• make ur dog dance for a treat