# How do I get my dog to respond to my BF



## Kat72 (Sep 3, 2014)

Odin defiantly has come a long way from when we first brought him home. However I notice that he will respond ONLY to me. Brian (the BF) has no reaction to a command AT ALL and it's extremely frustrating for him. Odin won't come (even with a treat), sit, down, stay, easy.. nothing. Literally. And his solution is to put him in his room since he won't listen. Right or wrong?

Tips for: 1. Focus
2. Response
3. Anything helpful

Odin literally runs the other way when Brian speaks to him. He knows the command because it works for me, is it because Brian freaks him out? Am I right in saying that they need to build a reward based relationship? Will clicker training work for this? 

Could it be an extension of what happened to him in the past year?


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## misslesleedavis1 (Dec 5, 2013)

I guess you can have the bf do some basic ob work with him but sounds like Odins problems with Brian are deeper then him just not wanting to listen. 
As for putting him in a bedroom bc he is not listening to Brian, i would not do that. Does brian live with you? If Odin does not have confidence putting him in a room wont help- tell brian to leave him be and work on a few trust exercises first, every watched a movie called what about bob? they did baby steps and maybe that is what Odin needs with Brian, baby steps and trust before expectation


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## Kat72 (Sep 3, 2014)

Yes, we've lived together our whole relationship. He's tried baiting him to listen with treats, but no matter how soft he makes his voice, he still runs the other way, even with repeating the command


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

Don't have him give commands.  When something isn't working, lower your criteria, so the dog has a chance to succeed. 

Have Brian hang out with Odin when you're not there. He should ask NOTHING of Odin, just hang out and observe. When Odin looks at him, mark and reward, either verbally ("yes!") or with a clicker. Lots and lots of positive reinforcement with absolutely NO pressure to do anything in particular. Have him try this briefly a few times a day if possible (or even once a day), for a few weeks. You want Odin to get to the point where he seeks out engagement with Brian because it's fun and rewarding. Until you get there there's no point in Brian trying to make him comply with commands - build the relationship first.


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## Kat72 (Sep 3, 2014)

Ok I'll have him try that, thanks guys, keep 'em coming please!


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

This is basically exactly what I do when I bring home a new puppy. Obviously, it doesn't know any commands yet, so instead of trying to tell it what to do, I mark and reward anything it offers up on it's own. Even though this is an adult dog, there's no reason you can't go back to the basics.


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

Is the puppy scared of your BF? To me that's a bit of a different issue than just not responding to commands from someone else.


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## Kat72 (Sep 3, 2014)

I'm not sure if he's scared of him...hes always been a little shy and sketchy around people, but having been home with just the two of us...he could be scared of him. Which idk why..brians never beat him or been 'overly correcting'. Maybe its just a guy thing? He doesn't trust men? Can dogs distinguish that? 

side note: can dogs be racist?


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## Kat72 (Sep 3, 2014)

Liesje said:


> Is the puppy scared of your BF? To me that's a bit of a different issue than just not responding to commands from someone else.


 
he's not a puppy, he'll be 3 in february


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## Sabis mom (Mar 20, 2014)

You will never know his adventures of the last year, so let it go. Deal with him as he is now. I would start with having the BF do everything for him. Walks, feeding, etc. You step back for a bit. 
Have Brian? keep really yummy treats in his pockets and just randomly drop or toss them to Odin, with no commands or impulse attached. I had a really shy girl here for a bit and I would sit on my computer and just drop/toss treats while ignoring her. One night I was focused on something and felt a gentle brush against my leg. She was crouched beside me waiting for a treat.
Don't lock him up, and make sure there is no pressure. Just keep the treats flowing and Odin's tummy will win the day.


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## Kat72 (Sep 3, 2014)

I am well aware I won't be able to get back the past year. However, if yours turned up missing for a while and then turned up one day, you'd wonder what happened, and how it changed them. I am dealing with Odin as he is now, and he's still doing remarkably well. Bounds and strides in the past month, and I'm exponentionally proud of him. But at the same time, he is this way because he was missing. So it all circles back to what changed in him while he was gone. And that's really why I'm in this site. To diagnose his behaviour issues from puppyhood, to his adolecense which may have been caused by me. And then what was a result of his life while he was gone. I'm just trying to fill in whatever pieces I can so its easier on everyone when I try to fix them.


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## misslesleedavis1 (Dec 5, 2013)

Sabis mom said:


> You will never know his adventures of the last year, so let it go. Deal with him as he is now. I would start with having the BF do everything for him. Walks, feeding, etc. You step back for a bit.
> Have Brian? keep really yummy treats in his pockets and just randomly drop or toss them to Odin, with no commands or impulse attached. I had a really shy girl here for a bit and I would sit on my computer and just drop/toss treats while ignoring her. One night I was focused on something and felt a gentle brush against my leg. She was crouched beside me waiting for a treat.
> Don't lock him up, and make sure there is no pressure. Just keep the treats flowing and Odin's tummy will win the day.


IMHO you would be best to do as cassidy and the others suggested-
Trust before expectation


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

Even if you did know everything that happened to him to make him the way he is, the techniques of bonding, treats, and lowering expectations would still be the reccommended steps to follow to gain his trust back with Brian.


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## Kat72 (Sep 3, 2014)

Oh I'm not arguing that it's not good advice, not at all. And thank you guys, I do appreciate it. Honestly


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## wyoung2153 (Feb 28, 2010)

Kat72 said:


> side note: can dogs be racist?


Yes.. not sure it would be "racist" to them in the way humans might be, but different races/cultures have different smells and act differently sometimes. AND if you haven't had him around a variety of races he may be unsure the first time he meets someone.

Titan is not fond of darker skinned people.. he's fine for the most part after introduction but he is much more vocal and weary around them. I think it has to do with him growing up in Germany in a small village where there weren't any darker skinned people around.

When we moved here, it was his first experience and he was not fond. It was some of the reason we stopped SAR training because he would startle certain people with barking at them instead of ignoring them like he's supposed to.


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