Training - Page 1

What do you do when your dog just "shuts down" and refuses to cooperate while training. Make the training exercise easier and start another day? Thanks!

Baxter, In order for us to help or make suggestions, it would be helpful if you can tell us more. What are you doing, how are you doing it, how long are you doing it, whatever "it" is. How old is the dog? How long have you had the dog? The bottom line is that each dog is different. Most people make many mistakes trying to do too much, too soon. If it is not fun and done to create a desire in the dog to interact, the dog will get bored. If you are too long at what you do, or too impatient or harsh, the dog will disengage...... Tell us more. Give specific examples and perhaps some of us can help you.

As Hodie said, each dog is different. Without more information it is really hard to say exactly why your dog is shutting down. First, look at your attitude and emotion when you are training and the dog is shutting down. Are you tired, upset, angry or frustrated? The dog will be able to detect this and will react acordingly. If that is not the case, then is this dog fairly new to you? You must be able to read the dog and tell wheter the dog needs soft commands or hard commands. I have had dogs that I needed to raise my voice as loud as I could to make them listen and others that if I said "no" too loudly they would drop to the ground. Every dog is different and you train each dog a little differently. You must be able to read the dog as well as he can read you. This come with experience and training many different dogs. Try to look at what you are doing when this happens and how you and the dog are reacting. Change something and see if that helps. Give more information and maybe someone can help you with your situation. Good Luck!!!

Early in my dog training days a trainer video taped me and I was shocked on how hard and loud I was during my training. She taught me to have fun and the dog will also. Years later I can whisper commands to my dogs who eagerly do what I want. Good luck with your training.

He is 3 years old GS and I have had him since he was 8 weeks. He likes to play fetch in our family room and he refuses to put the ball on his return where I ask him. I ask him to put it on the coffee table in front of me and sometimes he does and others, its on the floor. He is not a hard dog and he has probably sensed my frustration and disappointment. I play fetch with him inside and out every single day at least a hour. He likes to hunt for the ball...I hide it and he goes and finds it. He sits very patiently and waits for the search command......problem is there are only so many places I can hide it. Sometimes, I take him to the childrens playground (when its empty) and he likes to go thru the tube slides. When he "shuts down" he goes to the corner and lays down...only when he is pushed.

An hour??? Every day?? You'd probably surprise and motivate him if you made your sessions shorter and very active and dynamic.. have you always trained this way?? Surprisingly, a 15 minute fun, active, play session (or less) will probably do more good than anything long and drawn out.. There are times where I will go out and do 5 minutes of very active interactive play/work.... Regarding your example, what kind of reward does he receive for putting the ball on the table?? What is your reaction when he doesn't?? If your negative reaction is more memorable than your positive reaction for doing what you want, then yes, he is stressed out and doesn't probably know what you really want... If he thinks the ball is the most awesome thing, have you ever tried using the ball as the reward for the behavior you are asking for?? (ie putting it on the table???) So, you give him the command to out or drop or whatever and as soon as he does.. you release him wiht a yes, get it!! and let him have it again!! Dog training is a lot about balancing ..... putting pressure on and taking it off and that could mean something as simple as outting on the table or learning something new and involved.... Some of my favorite books are Building Blocks for Performance but Bobbie Anderson....Shaping Success by Susan Garrett.... Ruff Love by Susan Garrett as well teaches a lot of motivating games.. good luck, relax and have fun... cut your dog some slack.. he is just a dog after all, a very simple honest creature....

I agree, an hour a day is a bit much. Shorten the sessions and make them really fun, always end on a positive note. Try something other than fetch or find he may want to learn something new. If you have always used a ball for him to find -- every day for an hour, try something else. Maybe a rope toy or something or anything else for that matter. When the dog finds it give him the ball as the reward for doing good. Give him lots of praise make sure he knows when he has done what you are asking. If you become frustrated then have him do something as simple as a sit and praise him then end the session. This way he has not finished a training session feeling as if he has displeased you.

One rule of thumb is to quit working your dog before he's had enough. Know your dog. One hour is extremenly long. I agree with keeping under 15 minutes and make sure you change up your routine. Somedays just let him play and have fun. When I get out my tracking gear my dogs run to my truck, jump in and get inside their crate. They are excited to go work, they never know if it's tracking, swimming, playing at a park, going to pets mart, etc...They do know it will be fun and rewarding.

Teach him something new. A GSD gets board doing the same activity over and over. Mix it up. Tracking, obedience, protection, agility, flyball, herding, etc. etc....GSD's can do it all, they enjoy being challenged with new activities.

My personal story: when trying to finish my females' CDX (AKC OB title) I practiced the SAME 6 excersises OVER and OVER, she NQ'd so many times I stopped counting. She knew everything and performed very enthusiastically. She just picked something different to screw up at each show. In AKC if you screw up even one excersise you are done. Then I started Schutzhund with her and stopped practicing the AKC excersises all together. She started learning NEW things, tracking, different OB excersises, playing tug with the helper, etc.... After two months we entered an AKC trial and she QUALIFIED without any practice and did it again at the very next trial to finish her title. Lesson learned, don't bore a GSD, LOL.