Embarassed myself...

BurberryShaw · 05-31-2008, 07:59 AM

So I've been working with Sentry on many "tricks" as it were (sit, stay, come, down, up, touch, and heel).... most with hand signals that she executes without words.

I take her to a friends house last night, a new environment for her with 2 other dogs and 2 little kids. She behaved well but was extremely excited ...pissed on their floor even tho she never has accidents at our home... but when I tried to show my friend how much Sentry had learned and how smart she was...I couldnt get her to listen to me for anything. I tried the hand signals, words, words and hand signals...but to no avail. We put the kids and the dogs away, but she still wouldnt do anything...my buddy probably was thinkin "I thought dobermans were supposed to be smart, even my freakin chichuawa (sp?) can sit!". lol

How do I fix this? Is this just an age problem? How do I train her to listen to me no matter what is going on around her?

Any suggestions would be great.

Thanks

Rauschund · 05-31-2008, 08:02 AM

Take her to a puppy kindergarten class where she will learn to listen to you when therre are distractions around. You have to teach her to focus on you no matter what. Take her out tons and tons so different situatins do not phase her so much. Sounds like she was just nervous and did not want to concentrate.

BurberryShaw · 05-31-2008, 08:06 AM

Thanks...obedience classes have been weighing on my mind since I got her...just with gas prices at $4 here...its been hard to find the extra money to get her in...so I've been doing all the training on my own.

I take her for walks daily, she goes with me to work sometimes, where she is around diesel trucks, banging pipes, forklifts, and new people, etc...

I was hoping that would do. -=[

Kylie · 05-31-2008, 08:09 AM

you placed your dog in a totally different environment.

when placing your dog in new places with new distractions of course they wont listen, you need to train her to not only obey in quiet places but also new, tain her in the bedroom, train her in the park, train her near a busy road, train her at a dog park, train her around food etc. You cant just expect that because she obeyed them at home she will obey them everywhere, its a whole new situation and you need to train her to obey in these new situations.

heres a good video which explains what I am saying.

YouTube - How to train your dog to: lay at your feet at a cafe

another

YouTube - Re: Every Dog Must Know This: How To Train Your Dog To Stay

then theres this one which is showing her training a dog the leave it command and showing you the different things she does to make a reliable command.

YouTube - How to teach 'leave it'- without intimidation

Rauschund · 05-31-2008, 08:09 AM

Puppy classes are normally 8 weeks long and only once a week, so it might be worth it to bite the bullet and go.

**Kratty** · 05-31-2008, 08:47 AM

I agree with Kylie. At that age you can not expect them to follow commands in new environments if they never done it there before. If you can get your dog to sit in the kitchen and only do this in the kitchen, why do you expect the dog to sit on command in the bedroom, when you never practice it there. They don't think like we do and young puppies have no logical thinking process. The world is big to them, so many new distractions out there. Thats why you need to practice it in every room in the house.

Even now, when we venture into new environments, we have to start from scratch some of our commands, they already know, because of the new distractions the new environment posses. Thats why its good to expose them to everything you can and practice these commands in every situation you can. The more you do it, the easier it becomes. Remember these guys mature slowly and I can remember not seeing any type of logical thinking with my latest girl until she was well into 8 months old and now that she is 15 months, I still see the signs of natural reactions vs actually thinking process going on. Just keep practicing.

gracieface · 05-31-2008, 09:25 AM

what you described is exactly the reason I discourage people from taking private obedience classes, any dog can be amazing when they are on their own, but what you want is them to be amazing around others. I know $ can be tight, I definitely understand about gas prices, but tighten somewhere else in the budget and get enrolled in a class. I don't know where you are but take a look around, sometimes kennel clubs offer classes at a better price than dog businesses.
good luck