I have had Pippa, a 12 week old shepherd mix, for 4 days now. She already knew her name by the end of day 1, and she started coming when she was called sometime during day 2. She was coming every time she was called, and i would always praise her with an ear or belly scratch and lots of verbal love, and i would give her a treat whenever i had one. Sometimes i would run out of them mid walk, but she still always came when she was called... until today. We went for a walk on the beach, she met other dogs, chased seagulls, rolled in the sand and had a general fantastic time. She came to me when i called her every time, until the very end when we were beginning out last stretch to the car. I called her over and she looked at me and turned away. She knew what she was doing. I called her again and she stayed exactly where she was, and wouldn't look at me. I had run out of treats at this point, and she knew that too... What should I do when she disobeys on purpose? I don't want to punish her, because she'll never come to me then. How do I make it clear to her to come when I say so?
LOL. Don't you just love German Shepherds! They are so smart that they keep you on your toes. We just completed a training where the instructor taught us to use the clicker for the Come Command only. What she had us to do is to give the dog a premium treat, hot dogs, chicken or cheese but since Pippa is so young you can use what I used for my babies which was the GRADUATES LIL’ STICKS instead of regular hot dogs since the Lil' sticks were easier on my babies' sensitive stomachs. No runny poop. What you do is click and give them the treat at the the same time. She said that the dog will connect the clicker with the something wonderful and will come running.
The trainer suggested we do it as much as possible. She said to be as consistent as possible because inconsistency is where many owners fail with the Come Command. She told us that the Come Command could one day save our dog's life so I did it when everthe opportunity presented itself and it works!
And I use it for all of my dogs. Trying to get them to come when they are having fun was hard, but now when I use the clicker they stop whatever they are doing and come running. I love it and use it when ever I need to get their attention and they are not responding to my vocal command.
I have 3 shepherds under the age of two. I bred my Shepherd last year, was blessed with 7 and placed 4. The plan was to keep two out of the litter but I ended up with 3 of the puppies. So life is never dull! It even works on their mother! LOL.
Good Luck!
Keep in mind her age. Willful disobedience is part of having an intelligent pooch. She's testing boundaries, again smart on her part. My Lola was frustratingly similar but she is not a food motivated pooch at so all the treats in the world wont make her "come" or "wait" or anything really. Lola wants me to be happy, that's what motivates her. So when she was testing boundaries, extra enthusiasm was used to get her to budge.
Sometimes offering a short moment to acknowledge she didn't want to be done playing and knew you were headed to the car us enough. Giving her a breif moment and then with enthusiasm (genuinely) calling her to you. If she holds out still the consequence is being put on the lead and walking "with you". She wont see it as a consequence, that's really more for us people, but it will be a new directive from you to her. A new challenge and she'll engage and walk "with you", and you'll be so pleased and rewarding when she does.
Patience is key and knowing she wont always test these boundaries will help. Its part of her development, I'll bet that in another 3 months you'll be working together on a completely different level.
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Pippa is young and it sounds as though she is very smart as well. What you are currently doing sounds right to me. Just keep up with your consistent approach to training. Make sure you are using the exact same commands, continue the positive reinforcement training and when she does not obey don't reward. You might consider less treats and more petting for a reward, don't over due the treats.