# Improving response time



## LoveEcho (Mar 4, 2011)

So Echo is very good with his obedience; sit, down, heel, heel/finish, come, place, up, lengthy stays, stays from another room, etc, on leash and off...however...he does it all SO slowly. I can't tell if it's because he's unsure of himself, which I really doubt-- I praise the heck out of him, it's stuff he knows well and we've worked extensively with the trainer on, and he doesn't show any signs of anxiety-- or if he's testing me, or what. How can I get him to respond in a more timely manner? He doesn't hesitate, he just...ambles. Any ideas on what I may be doing wrong/how to encourage a little bit of speed?


----------



## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

Common with traditional dog training methods. The first dog I trained did everything perfectly, well perfect and slow!!!

Newer methods focus on first working on engagement and 'teaching' our dogs that training in general if fun plus training with us is a BLAST! So in the same way that chasing a squirrel is a blast and FAST  training with us should be the same!

You may want to stop training for a bit and work on 'engagement' rather than 'behaviors'. 

Click this ---> http://www.germanshepherds.com/foru...ime-owner/162230-engagement-key-training.html

Adding 'trick' training is also important. It teaches the owner/handler to back off and make training more fun! Teaching a trick is the least important part of teaching a trick



> When teaching tricks, teaching a trick is the least important part of it. The reason why I started teaching tricks was because I wanted to teach puppy La that working with me is fun.


----------

