# Koda just will NOT pay attention



## Halion (Apr 15, 2012)

I'm trying to train my 7 month old puppy new tricks. He knows Sit and Speak. I use the Natural Balance rolls, all flavors are mingled into a pouch so he gets a flavor at random to keep it interesting.

No matter how hard I try, how much patience and time I put into trying to train him the Down command, he just walks away. Well, any command as a matter of fact!

He's gotten down that if he just automatically sits then speaks without me or my boyfriend telling him to do so, he thinks he'll be rewarded. Yeah, we're guilty of giving him treats for it because we thought it was excellent behavior until we realized it really isn't unless given the command.

It actually get's annoying and I've been trying to switch it up on him. I've been trying to get him to Speak standing up on all fours, but he insists to sit then speak. not sure if it's preference, but it kind of bothers me.

Does anyone have any input on how to get him to be more interested, please post here! I'm open to all suggestions!


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## Freddy (Apr 23, 2009)

What is your goal with your puppy?


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## middleofnowhere (Dec 20, 2000)

The best think I know to do is to wait until the dog volunteers the behavior you want, then name it, praise it & reward it - lavishly.

so just sit around some evening. When doggo gets bored and lays down - there's your opportunity.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

i read "when your dog isn't doing what you want you have to
and ask yourself what am i doing wrong". maybe you need a trainer.


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## Halion (Apr 15, 2012)

My goal is to get him to focus on me and stop walking around. That's the real problem is him wandering off like he doesn't care. Like I said, I'm trying to keep it interesting with different treats. I'm rewarding him with one and lots of pets and verbal praise.

Also, I don't have funds for a trainer. I do however have the patience and time.


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## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

First... what motivates your dog? Maybe treats aren't his thing and he's not so food motivated. Does he like the ball? A certain tug toy? Those can be used as rewards just as you'd use a treat. You need to find something he wants to work for and it can be anything.

And when you train... is he engaged with you or is he focusing on other things? You can't train unless your dog is focused. Eye contact is key. Have you worked on eye contact?

First find something that he feels is worth working for. Then you want to engage the dog and make him focused on the task or whatever you're trying to teach. Then once you have this... then you'll start getting better results. 

Is this your first dog? Have you trained any other dogs before? Have you done any puppy classes with him?


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## Freddy (Apr 23, 2009)

try a mouth full of hot dogs or cooked chicken. I'd also incorporate a clicker. When he looks at you, mark with the clicker and spit a piece at him. You'd be surprised at how well that works. I have two GSDs. I take every opportunity to mark attention, including while my non working female is drinking (they do not have free water). He looks at me until she is done, if he looks away, he gets a ah ah and a reset. When she walks away, after a few seconds it's his turn. You'd be surprised how many opportunities there are to work on this, both with treats and not.


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## Halion (Apr 15, 2012)

Lucy Dog said:


> First... what motivates your dog? Maybe treats aren't his thing and he's not so food motivated. Does he like the ball? A certain tug toy?
> 
> And when you train... is he engaged with you or is he focusing on other things. You can't train unless your dog is focused. Eye contact is key. Have you worked on eye contact?
> 
> ...


He loves these treats. He knows they're in the fridge and when we walk past it or open it we is sitting right there at our heels waiting for a bite.

Balls and other toys don't phase him at all. He knows eye contact, which is the command Focus, but he's just walking around as if he's bored when I'm showing him what to do.

He is my first dog. I don't have any prior experience with any dogs. I have not done puppy classes only because I do not have the funds for them. Not only that, but my work schedules me at random hours on randoms days, so I wouldn't always be able to make the classes if I were able to pay for them.

It goes like this: I say Focus, he looks at me while I have the treat in hand. Reward. I put another treat to his nose and pull it downwards and he's looking at my hand and still sitting. I say Down and I know he knows what it means. After a few seconds he gets up, walks away and lays down somewhere else. If it's not Sit or Speak, he's not interested.


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## Halion (Apr 15, 2012)

Freddy said:


> try a mouth full of hot dogs or cooked chicken. I'd also incorporate a clicker. When he looks at you, mark with the clicker and spit a piece at him. You'd be surprised at how well that works. I have two GSDs. I take every opportunity to mark attention, including while my non working female is drinking (they do not have free water). He looks at me until she is done, if he looks away, he gets a ah ah and a reset. When she walks away, after a few seconds it's his turn. You'd be surprised how many opportunities there are to work on this, both with treats and not.


LOL! That's insanely hilarious, but it's worth a shot I guess. He is on the clicker, too. I do use Ah Ah to mark mistakes and I wait longer to reward him.


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## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

It sounds like you're kind of all over the place with the dog training and you might just be confusing your puppy. I'm getting confused just reading about his training.

If I were you, I'd do what you can to get into a puppy training class with a good trainer. Puppy training really isn't much at all... I think they run about $125 for like 6 weeks of class around here. They run these classes all day at different times throughout the day at a lot of these places, so maybe just explain to the trainer about your work schedule and see if they can work with you. I think it would be a huge help for both you and the puppy to have a trainer with experience watching and explaining in person.

In the meantime... check out this guys youtube videos. He does some pretty basic stuff that may help. Notice how focused and engaged he has his dog and the results he gets.

https://www.youtube.com/user/tab289


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

Lucy Dog said:


> It sounds like you're kind of all over the place with the dog training and you might just be confusing your puppy. I'm getting confused just reading about his training.
> 
> If I were you, I'd do what you can to get into a puppy training class with a good trainer. Puppy training really isn't much at all... I think they run about $125 for like 6 weeks of class around here. They run these classes all day at different times throughout the day at a lot of these places, so maybe just explain to the trainer about your work schedule and see if they can work with you. I think it would be a huge help for both you and the puppy to have a trainer with experience watching and explaining in person.
> 
> ...


Great post, I also recommend finding some great classes. It's AMAZING how we don't know what we don't know. And someone who's trained (and learned from their mistakes) with hundreds of dogs as a trainer has WAY more experience than me with the mere 4 dogs I've raised!

I know I have to go back and review clicker training all the time when I get a new puppy. It's not quite as simple as click/treat. There are nuiances that make a huge difference to how well our puppies learn (or stop learning).

click this --> http://www.germanshepherds.com/foru...0-intro-clicker-training-perfect-puppies.html

Additionally, I know I STILL undervalue how much I have to WORK at engagement and play with my pups to work it into focus/attention when training. So it's another good thing to review

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

:wub:


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## Halion (Apr 15, 2012)

Lucy Dog said:


> It sounds like you're kind of all over the place with the dog training and you might just be confusing your puppy. I'm getting confused just reading about his training.
> 
> If I were you, I'd do what you can to get into a puppy training class with a good trainer. Puppy training really isn't much at all... I think they run about $125 for like 6 weeks of class around here. They run these classes all day at different times throughout the day at a lot of these places, so maybe just explain to the trainer about your work schedule and see if they can work with you. I think it would be a huge help for both you and the puppy to have a trainer with experience watching and explaining in person.
> 
> ...


Those were the results I used to get. He got Speak in a matter of 3 minutes and Sit in a matter of 15. All of a sudden he decided he wanted to just walk around and avoid what I was trying to teach him. I'll have my boyfriend get video and maybe someone can tell me if I'm doing something wrong because I guess the way I'm wording it is confusing.


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## Halion (Apr 15, 2012)

Well, I just found a better motivator and now he will go down and that's corned beef.


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

Halion said:


> Those were the results I used to get. He got Speak in a matter of 3 minutes and Sit in a matter of 15. *All of a sudden he decided he wanted to just walk around and avoid what I was trying to teach him. *I'll have my boyfriend get video and maybe someone can tell me if I'm doing something wrong because I guess the way I'm wording it is confusing.


Too much too fast! 

You need to have shorter training sessions. Better treats (I can't use any dog treats, it's people food all the way) tiny and many. 

You ALWAYS want to end a training session BEFORE your dog wants to! If I lose my dog and they wander off I think 'CRAP, I should have stopped earlier!'. They must have the last behavior done RIGHT (so if I have to quickly end with a 'sit' then that's what I do) and then PLAY PLAY PLAY!

Much better to have 3 five minute training sessions during the day than ONE fifteen minute session.


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## Twyla (Sep 18, 2011)

Woolf absolutely drove me crazy with his ob training for a while. Until I figured out what I was doing wrong.

I was doing what I thought were short sessions of 10 minutes several times a day, only a few repetitions of each command. Then about halfway through, he would start offering random behaviors. The look on his face would be priceless. Happy smile like do i get it now do i get it now? He wouldn't get the treat, then would just sulk and wander off.

I backed it off to about 5 minutes, give or take, then realized as well I had a set routine. Same thing every time. Ok that was even boring me lol. I began mixing it up, 1 or 2 repetitions and on to the next thing. Woolf couldn't think ahead of me that way and it didn't give an opportunity to get boring. If it was a new command we were working on, I'd go back and repeat the practice after mixing something else in there.

I began mixing it up ob with ball play or flirt pole. He was more then ready to sit, down etc to get that ball thrown. That accomplished something else as a side benefit - he doesn't try to tackle me when we are simply playing ball or with the flirt pole now.


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