# How do you get that perfectly trained dog?



## Pepper311 (Sep 11, 2011)

I have a 11 month old shep she is solid on many commands she loves training and I do too. Her list of commands are sit, down ,wait, stand, leave it, come, off, enough, paw, up, go to blanket, get out, whoa, look, get the ball/it, find it, and around (she spins).

She also will wait and do the sit and down from a distance. I can have her wait and walk around her and turn my back and walk away. She will wait at the open door. She is good. She kind of knows heel that's so hard for her because she has so much energy we will get there with time. She does walk well on a leash but not right at my side yet. 

How do you get your dog so well trained that if you say sit from any place in the yard they sit? How do you get your dog to NOT RUN AFTER Small animals? When off leash my dogs knows Whoa means slow down she is good at that. She will even whoa and I can tell her to wait for me off leash. BUT if there is another dog or animals everything she knows is out the window. But her recall is good she always comes back.

How do I get that perfectly trained dog? I think time and constancy is the key. 

My main thing is getting a good heel off leash. I got the off leash heel with my old dog but I used the chock chain and it took a year to get there. I want my dog to listen to my commands when tempted by a small animal. How do I do that? I am thinking life rewards. Example I make her wait then let her chase the animals if it's safe. that the ultimate reward right. 

Sorry for the blabbing.


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## Andaka (Jun 29, 2003)

She is still just a baby. Keep up the work you are doing and she will get there with time.


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## Pepper311 (Sep 11, 2011)

Andaka said:


> She is still just a baby. Keep up the work you are doing and she will get there with time.


Is it that easy. At what age do dogs really seem to get it? I feel like she will never listen if there is a small animal on the move.


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## DukeTxDad (Mar 22, 2012)

I know I am a "newbie" on the forum, but I will weigh in here.
I think the other comment(s) were spot on.
I used to raise and traing heeler breeds (blue and red).
Talk about a drive to chase!!
I always told folks that got heelers to understand that to chase/ follow was in their blood, and rather than try to stifle it/ control it, to enhance it by looking for ways to train the chase/ herding instinct.
If my guess is correct, you will see other GSD owners that know WAY more about the breed than I do say the same....that it's in the blood, and something you will have to work diligently on.
I must admit, I am very impressed with the training you have done thus far, and I have no doubt that with your level of diligence, you will get there!
Hope this helped in some way.


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## Packen (Sep 14, 2008)

It is very simple! First you define your expectation of a perfectly trained dog in detail, for example item 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and so on. Now you break the different items apart and train the behavior required to fulfill each item one by one (takes about 200-300 repetitions for each item so be patient and keep the course). Takes about 2-3 years to get there depending on your definition of perfection, but very doable.


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## Pepper311 (Sep 11, 2011)

This is not my first dog. But it is my first dog I got at a young age. My others have been rescues or package deal. I married a man with 2 dogs. This is my first pup first blank slate. 

Thanks. Yes the drive is some thing I am learning to Try and control but not discourage.


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## Pepper311 (Sep 11, 2011)

Packen said:


> It is very simple! First you define your expectation of a perfectly trained dog in detail, for example item 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and so on. Now you break the different items apart and train the behavior required to fulfill each item one by one (takes about 200-300 repetitions for each item so be patient and keep the course). Takes about 2-3 years to get there depending on your definition of perfection, but very doable.


Thanks that makes sence.


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## DukeTxDad (Mar 22, 2012)

Please keep the thread going, Pepper.
I'm learning from you and definitely taking notes!


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## Catu (Sep 6, 2007)

The hardest thing with your first dog is not to teach that many things, but focus in proofing every behavior until you know it is completely reliable.

I think that not only the dogs need to mature, but also I've matured with each dog I've owned. My Border Collie could do a hundred things and they learn so fast that it was a real game to teach new stuff, but I could trust her to perform only a bunch of the outside the house and for all of them the dog needed a lot of clues from me to understand what I was asking, simply because each exercise was not well taught and there were too many doubts and grey areas inside her brain.

With my new pup I spent the first year working on focus and a bit of heeling. At 18 months old he knows to do about 5 things and is not even ready for his BH, but I know with certainty that no matter where we are and what distraction in the surroundings if I give a command compliance is immediate, happy and with far less stress for him.


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## ponyfarm (Apr 11, 2010)

Here is how I have handled the prey/chasing squirrels drive. As a puppy, if he saw something small/quick or large/ fast that got his attention..I would quickly divert his attention to me with treats/fun/games/chasing me. Did this all the time. I do let him run off leash in a five acre woods, but at first he drug the leash. I could grab or step on the leash if he started to chase something and quickly call him/treat/play.As you are loose leash walking, do lots of games where you let him get ahead of you..call his name, run backward with a treat, then lots of praise when he arrives. Try to do this without leash pressure. Do this over and over.

I do let him chase squirrels (he wears a bell to give a fair warning, lol), but only after I tell him "Squirrells!". Otherwise, he still defers to me if he sees something he might want to chase,,he asks first. 

Does that makes sense? I have taught him basically to redirect to me if when he sees "prey". But, I do allow him to chase, on my terms. We also play lots of games with a toy tied to a horses lunge whip to let him get out his prey drive.

Starting as a puppy and being consistent is key.


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## LoveEcho (Mar 4, 2011)

Be consistent! I've learned that the thing that makes GSD's so "easy" to train also means that they pick up on any inconsistencies and try to exploit them (especially at this age). "Well, sometimes you make me do it the first time, sometimes you don't, so how long can I get away with not doing it until I get corrected?" I have to watch myself on this when I'm not paying attention (like... not strictly doing training.... if we're at work or something and I'm distracted).


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## Courtney (Feb 12, 2010)

I hold myself & dog to a high standard but not perfection, having this mind set has helped us alot with training & our bonding relationship/partnership


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## codmaster (Aug 5, 2009)

Packen said:


> It is very simple! First you define your expectation of a perfectly trained dog in detail, for example item 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and so on. Now you break the different items apart and train the behavior required to fulfill each item one by one (takes about 200-300 repetitions for each item so be patient and keep the course). Takes about 2-3 years to get there depending on your definition of perfection, but very doable.


*Great post!*


*Makes so much sense that it seems too simple (till you think about it!).*


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## Witz (Feb 28, 2011)

As life will have it, everyone does there best when committed to training a dog. The issue is training a behavior, from a dog now understands it, to the day when the dog will be proofed or there is a 99.5% probablility they will obey the command in any situation. My last one was no where near perfect, but it took 2-3 years of relative consistant training to have most commands proofed. Sometimes you take 2 steps forward and one back, but just keep on stepping.


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## Pepper311 (Sep 11, 2011)

ponyfarm said:


> Here is how I have handled the prey/chasing squirrels drive. As a puppy, if he saw something small/quick or large/ fast that got his attention..I would quickly divert his attention to me with treats/fun/games/chasing me. Did this all the time. I do let him run off leash in a five acre woods, but at first he drug the leash. I could grab or step on the leash if he started to chase something and quickly call him/treat/play.As you are loose leash walking, do lots of games where you let him get ahead of you..call his name, run backward with a treat, then lots of praise when he arrives. Try to do this without leash pressure. Do this over and over.
> 
> I do let him chase squirrels (he wears a bell to give a fair warning, lol), but only after I tell him "Squirrells!". Otherwise, he still defers to me if he sees something he might want to chase,,he asks first.
> 
> ...


Yes that is great. Very good way to do it. I will have to try that.


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## Pepper311 (Sep 11, 2011)

Catu said:


> The hardest thing with your first dog is not to teach that many things, but focus in proofing every behavior until you know it is completely reliable.
> 
> I think that not only the dogs need to mature, but also I've matured with each dog I've owned. My Border Collie could do a hundred things and they learn so fast that it was a real game to teach new stuff, but I could trust her to perform only a bunch of the outside the house and for all of them the dog needed a lot of clues from me to understand what I was asking, simply because each exercise was not well taught and there were too many doubts and grey areas inside her brain.
> 
> With my new pup I spent the first year working on focus and a bit of heeling. At 18 months old he knows to do about 5 things and is not even ready for his BH, but I know with certainty that no matter where we are and what distraction in the surroundings if I give a command compliance is immediate, happy and with far less stress for him.


Yes my first dog was a boarder collie mix. Teaching her was so much fun she would pick things up so fast. It was a game for me to think up something to teach her. BUT you are right You need to focus more on perfecting what's important then training many tricks for fun. Focus On one thing at a time be consistent with everything every your mood during training. 

I am 29 and I think you are right with each dog I will too mature in my training.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

1>>>> i taught my dog hand signals so i can control him
from a distance. i started giving the hand signals at close range
and then i started moving further and further away. for verbal commands
at a distance i use to have my dog sit. then i would stand in front
of him with my back to him and give him commands. i slowly started walking away from him.

2>>>> i never allowed my dog to chase things as a pup
so that helped. then i exposed him to a lot of animals
and he wasn't allowed to chase. when we were around
animals i always used that time to do some training. i made sure
he was around a lot of animals (birds, cats, horses the animals
we came acroos in the woods).

3>>>> time, consistency and exposure is the key. i like training
in sessions. each session last 5 to 10 minutes. i have
lots of sessions during the course of a day.

4>>>> you could teach your dog to heel on either
side, on or off leash and on command. i taught my dog
"other side". when i say "other side" he switches sides
no matter which side he's on. when training him to heel
i use to say "other side". i would keep walking but i passed
the leash behind me to my other hand and guided the dog behind me
to the other side. this comes in handy when approaching other
dogs or horses on the trail. he does "other side" on or off
leash.

5>>>> train around other animals. i wouldn't allow my dog
to chase things as a reward. i think you're teaching them
to chase things if you reward chasing. i use to train at the dog
park a lot. i started training in the parking moving
closer and closure to the enclosure a s my dog learned.
i use to train along the fence. the dogs can close but there's no
contact. as time went along we starting training in the dog park.
i went through his commands on and off leash. sometimes i close
to him when i gave commands and sometimes i moved away
and far away. his reward for listening was being allowed to play with
the other dogs (on a release command).

i think once they learn they're not allowed to chase a few
different animals it carries over to other animals. my dog learned
not to chase cats, dogs, horses, chickens, squrriels, ducks,
geese so he doesn't chase after cows, people riding bikes, joggers,
skate boarders, etc.



Pepper311 said:


> 1>>>> How do you get your dog so well trained that if you say sit from any place in the yard they sit?
> 
> 2>>>> How do you get your dog to NOT RUN AFTER Small animals?
> 
> ...


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## katdog5911 (Sep 24, 2011)

This is very good advice. Quality not quantity for now. Stella is 9 months and has been taught sit, platz, wait, stay, belly, stand, watch me, around, swing, find it, leave it and come. But she is not consistent at all in following the commands. So I decided to go back to basics and just saturate her with the basic commands like sit and platz. And of course come. In obedience class and inside the house she is excellent with her recall....not so much in real life. I am making her sit for almost everything she wants to do and I have noticed the difference. Just a few weeks ago I was trying to get her to sit at the street corner before crossing.....I am sure I gave some people a good chuckle- lady trying to get dog to sit-dog totally ignoring her! Yesterday did the same exercise in town with a totally different result. She sat almost always the first time I gave the command. So I think this will be my approach.....pick a command or two and just bombard her with it. Of course I will keep up the others too.


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## Pepper311 (Sep 11, 2011)

I am focusing on Well I am focusing now on teaching her to stop when I tell her. It's working well. She was off leash and wanted to go meet some little dogs that were kind of off in the distance leave it and come she did. That was pretty good. Then we were walking up to a person she wanted to run up and meet them. She was off leash I told her Whoa. She slowed down to a stop. But still not perfect almost. Because as soon as I start to walk closer she moves. Still work to be done for sure. We have a set back with her now being fearful of some strangers. I feel I need to focus my training and work on over coming this new adolescent behavior.

As for dogs going after things. I had a boarder collie mix that chased little wild furry things but never touch a chicken in the yard of Gpig. She was also great with my indoor bunny. I Don't want to deprive her of the thrill of the chase it's how dogs are. I just want to make it clear that she can chase when I say it's ok. I would like her to get to the point where she looks to me for permission to chase. Yes the easy way would be never encourage the chase agreed.


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## Super_HKS (Mar 6, 2012)

Hi Pepper,

I know one of my favorite commands with my boy is "leave it". This is one of the first commands I taught him around 9-11 weeks and it goes a LONGGGGG way to this day. I know you mentioned your dog already knows leave it but you may want to add to the leave it command by adding some different techniques in. By nature, my boy is a herder so if we are at the dog park and he sees a smaller dog running, he will chase it. If the dog he is chasing does not agree with being chased and is aggressive with my boy, all it takes is for me to say LEAVE IT and he comes right back. If your dog loves to play fetch, you can also use leave it to your advantage when he/she runs to retrieve it. This will teach your dog that while in the commission of running towards the ball, if you give the leave it command, they need to stop everything and return to you.

Best of luck to you


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## ponyfarm (Apr 11, 2010)

Yes, you could never let them chase anything. That is how I handled my last dog..he learned never to chase off leash. He was bored. 

I let my dog chase squirells, he loves it..its the most fun for him! I have never let him chase birds, rabbits, horses, and now he never even makes an attempt. Dogs are smart, they can learn.


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## Super_HKS (Mar 6, 2012)

ponyfarm said:


> Yes, you could never let them chase anything. That is how I handled my last dog..he learned never to chase off leash. He was bored.
> 
> I let my dog chase squirells, he loves it..its the most fun for him! I have never let him chase birds, rabbits, horses, and now he never even makes an attempt. Dogs are smart, they can learn.


In my honest opinion, there are two ways to view the chasing/herding. If your dog is chasing something and being aggressive and or nipping, obviously this is going to be a bad trait to possess, but if your dog is chasing other dogs and is playing and having fun, I don't view this as a bad trait at all. Most GSD's if not all will have the natural instinct to chase/herd. If you are in a situation where your dog is chasing another dog and the other dog is being aggressive because they do not like being chased, you should be able to give your GSD the leave it or retreat command. If your dog does not do this, either your dogs obedience is not up to snuff or their natural instinct is too strong and you should seek professional advice.

As I mentioned above, when I take my GSD to the dog park and there are other dogs running around like crazy, my boy absolutely loves to chase! If the dog he is pursuing does not like to be chased, I give my boy the leave it command and that is all she wrote game over with that dog. There are a few Australian shepherds that are in the dog park when I go and they absolutely loved to be chased.

I should also note that if kids or people are running and playing with my dog he absolutely does not nip or bite.


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## Pepper311 (Sep 11, 2011)

Super_HKS said:


> Hi Pepper,
> 
> I know one of my favorite commands with my boy is "leave it". This is one of the first commands I taught him around 9-11 weeks and it goes a LONGGGGG way to this day. I know you mentioned your dog already knows leave it but you may want to add to the leave it command by adding some different techniques in. By nature, my boy is a herder so if we are at the dog park and he sees a smaller dog running, he will chase it. If the dog he is chasing does not agree with being chased and is aggressive with my boy, all it takes is for me to say LEAVE IT and he comes right back. If your dog loves to play fetch, you can also use leave it to your advantage when he/she runs to retrieve it. This will teach your dog that while in the commission of running towards the ball, if you give the leave it command, they need to stop everything and return to you.
> 
> Best of luck to you


Yes the leave it command is very important. My dog knows it well. We can walk by a rabit on leash and I say leave it and she will keep walking. So with time I hope we will get it. I agree the leave it common should be the first think you teach.


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