bored with training

jenns

 We can only work on obedience for like, 3 minutes and then he just wants to do something else and stops cooperating.  I start getting really frustrated and I know he senses my frustration and now it's no longer enjoyable for either of us.  Any ideas?

Not sure about the down issue, but even with Kenya who is 4 years old and earned her 9th title this weekend, I don't typically train for more than a few minutes at a time.  She catches on very quickly and is easy to reward, so that is the difference with her, not the length of time we train.  If I have something in mind, I will often train during commercial breaks, so sessions are very short, but I'll do 2 or 3 of them and that's really it for the day.  The only time we really train for more than 5 minutes is when we are actually in class.  If he can give 3 minutes at a time, I'd work with that amount of time for now. 

 I loath drilling.  fortunately for me, I've chosen a breed to work with primarily, that loathes drilling also.  However, I'm working with a dog right now who eats it up - weird as he is an Aussie and most of them hate drilling worse than BCs.

Anyway, if you've got a smart dog whose attention wanders quickly, he's asking one of two questions of you.  Either, "What's in it for me" - ie, your reward isn't high enough.  Or, "What's the point?"  That is, he needs a context to continue the "job" you are requiring of him.

What's the context for the down stay?  First, try raising the stakes.  If he's old enough to keep his attention, do one minute stays, three minute stays, and work your way up to thirty minute stays.  Obviously do this when you've got something to occupy you, but not so distracting that you'll not notice non-compliance.  Watching TV or doing crafts is perfect.  Ask for the stay, then when he tries to release himself (he will), just say, "Ah-ah" or "Sorry!" and call him back to exactly where you asked for the previous stay.  Don't reward for the "down" or he will try skipping to that part.

Second, stays can be used for guarding or watching.  Put something down and say, "Stay!"  Many task oriented dogs instinctively understand that their job is to stay with the item that smells like you.  Then when the stay is over, reward him BEFORE the release, release, and then ask him to "bring" the item.  This really works, it's weird. 

If he likes the ball, do honor down stays while the ball is thrown.  Any ball-driven dog puts two and two together lickety split if you say, "DOWN-STAY", toss the ball, and then snatch it up before the dog can and make it go bye-bye, with a regretful, "Sorry!"  Then ask the dog back to the original spot (that's important - I call it "reset to zero";) and repeat until success.  This produces a rock solid stay - it's one of the ways Guide Dogs teaches their dogs to ignore outside influences.  And it's really fun and cool to show off.  The dog is very proud of himself too and it makes the ball game that much more nice - more of a partnership than your being the Ball Throwing Pez Dispenser.

Good luck! 

brookcove

Second, stays can be used for guarding or watching.  Put something down and say, "Stay!"  Many task oriented dogs instinctively understand that their job is to stay with the item that smells like you.  Then when the stay is over, reward him BEFORE the release, release, and then ask him to "bring" the item.  This really works, it's weird

I just tried this with Ben.  Neat!

I've been working on down-stays with Zack, and he does a great job initially with the down command and is very eager to work for his high value treats. We'll work on down stay for a couple of minutes, and then move to sit stay.  Then back to down stay

another thing to consider- if he's "got it" one way to keep the dog's interest is to gradually make it harder and harder not repeating the same difficulty level over again every session. Take it out in the real world instead of formal sessions- you know, take the dog to the mailbox and ask for a down-stay while you collect the mail or something.

Or really mix it up for brisk short session of training- heel, sit, stay, come, heel, down, heel, sit, do silly trick, heel really fast, sit, stay, come, get the ball, etc.