[Patches Mom]

I have a question Buddy & I do not seem to be connecting on obedience if I give a command in a regular voice he just looks at me.I guess he does not think I'm serous Buddy will be 12 months old on the 28th I only give the command one time if I get a little rougher voiced then he will usually do it if not I show him what I want. Is it just his age???
Patches mom
I also have two other dogs Gizmo & Patches I try to work with Buddy when the other two are in the house.

 

[dobes4me]

Does Buddy seem to be distracted while training (i.e. looking around, wanting to play, etc)? I know with Indy it seemed that up until 18 mos, he was always distracted with something. Then, all of a sudden, he became a totally different dog. I was able to teach him a bunch of tricks in no time. That was also the age at which he became totally housetrained. I don't know if there's some correlation there. Also, I noticed that he wasn't very praise oriented (meaning he didn't respond well to just receiving praise). When I started adding treats, specifically string cheese, he became VERY interested and learned in no time!

 

[Kratty]

You probably needs to find a motivator that gets him going. Most people use food as a reward. Some dogs it might be a toy, or a quick play session with a toy as a reward. In one of my classes, I used both a food reward and a toy reward just to changes things up a bit. You just need to find out what motivates him, be creative.

 

[MaryAndDobes]

I'm just guessing that if he doesn't take you seriously unless you use a different tone, you've probably been lax in ensuring that action follows when using a regular tone during the regular day (ie not training sessions). They are smart dogs and they definitely will test to see if you really mean it. If they have gotten away with ignoring commands during the normal day, and let's face it -- they often do (sometimes I think we give commands that we aren't paying attention to that much), then they offer the same behaviour during a training session.

 

[JavasMom]

At a year he will still be testing you, so you have to make him work for everything. I know it's extra work but having them obey you when they need to is well worth the time and effort.

 

[Riagogogo]

Rudi and I started intermediate obendience 2 weeks ago. He is generally very well behaved and responds to my commands on the first try. Seldomly I have to use my "man" voice on the second attempt. It is just he and I. There are no other people in his daily life. I guess if I had a family or a husband things may be different getting commands from many different people. Usually when I am commanding him or in obedience class I use a deeper tone anyway. I don't think it matters if he is a male and you are a female. Most dogs try to get away with a little bit. LOL
Rudi is almost 4 1/2..............which makes it much easier!!!

 

[alwayshadpets]

I have a question Buddy & I do not seem to be connecting on obedience if I give a command in a regular voice he just looks at me.I guess he does not think I'm serous Buddy will be 12 months old on the 28th I only give the command one time if I get a little rougher voiced then he will usually do it if not I show him what I want. Is it just his age???
Patches mom
I also have two other dogs Gizmo & Patches I try to work with Buddy when the other two are in the house.

If a command is given he must (no excuses obey)
You will probably have to back up with his training. To me that would be, put a leash on. Stand close, give a command, have a reward ready. You have
1 1/2 seconds to reward or correct. Reward (have a word that means it is right--I use yes, but you can use anything--ok is used too much for my taste) Than give reward. Correct by leash and collar,or put in a sit, or pulled to come --whatever you are asking for. He just needs to know what you want and you do mean it. Keep training to about 5-10 mins. at a time. When he has mastered it close to you, put him on a longer leash. Last add distractions with a leash on. Don`t give a command unless you know he will do it. Most of all, he will think it is the best game, just you and him.
Also you can use training when you feed him his meals. Sit means sit--no dinner until you sit and release him to get food. Release word can be anything--I use free.
For dinners I have Tamora trained to sit-down-stand. I mix it up-she can do all three commands on her own several times with the food in front of her, but she can`t have it until I say free. This is what you should work up too.T. loves it. She`s working for her food and she is a working dog.

 

[dobebug]

I have a question Buddy & I do not seem to be connecting on obedience if I give a command in a regular voice he just looks at me.I guess he does not think I'm serous Buddy will be 12 months old on the 28th I only give the command one time if I get a little rougher voiced then he will usually do it if not I show him what I want. Is it just his age???
Patches mom
I also have two other dogs Gizmo & Patches I try to work with Buddy when the other two are in the house.

Doesn't have anything to do with being male--it has to do with training techniques. Somewhere along the line you have allowed him to NOT respond to first commands at an ordinary tone of voice.

So first things first. Modify your training techniques. I think Alwayshadpets gave you an excellent run down of what to do and how to do it. I use praise, toys and treats to train and never train more than about 10 minutes at a time--Dobes get bored easily and short sessions several times a day will beat longer sessions with a bored do anytime.

I also incorporate training into everyday activities. So when the dogs are hanging around the kitchen being pests or waiting for their dinners I have them do things that they know how to do (sit, down, stand, stay) and they get rewarded either with their dinner or a treat.

The best advice though was to never give commands that you can't back up--keep your dog on leash so that you can control their response--that doesn't mean that you should be rough with them but rather to keep them close so that you can say "sit" in a normal tone of voice and have the dog there by your side to help him into a sit position. It just goes for anything you are trying to train. Teach him heel position first and then heel in motion one step at a time.

This should make it easier on you and your dog--but really--it's not because he's male and it's not because of his age.

 

[DobeMom616]

I also would work alot on attention. My mistake was not working that attention enough with Cole. We are paying for it now. I work attention with him all the time and switch up between treats, praise and a toy.

 

[Patches Mom]

Thanks for all the advice

I may just go back to keeping a leash on him at all times when in the house I just recently have tried him off leash he runs around with a toy in his mouth all the time.We did start back at obedience classes tonight was our second class we had tried before but dropped out due to his Pano,he did well in class. I think maybe I tried working with him too long at one time just need to break it up more.Thanks again for all the advice.
Patches Mom

 

[Patches Mom]

Yes Buddy is easily distracted next week in class they say they are going to put food all over the floor and expect the dogs not to touch it.Will work on it at home but Buddy loves food plus at a year old he is a teenager they are always hungry.Seems like this is a very fast class hope I can keep up with it.
Patches Mom

 

[Tessa]

Maybe you should start working with a trainer to help you . I agree with the testing age. A dog that age I would play with that one toy that only u give him and is not left with him to get him amped up. Put it away and start training with food lots of food, lots of motivation. Maybe start with something simple like when he looks at you feed. looks again feed now say look when he looks feed. This is an awsome positive exersize. Every exercise should be THAT positive at that age

 

[tjmom]

I have learned that my "kids" will indeed act like human kids. At times they will test you to see if you will indeed make them mind. Just be consistent and you will do great. You can also try taking Buddy for a little walk before any training. This will help with any unspent energy and help him focus on the tast at hand. Good luck. I'm sure you guys will do great!