I can't get my dog to pay attention to me! And a lot of other questions... please help!

Also, I'm teaching him commands like sit and stay, and he learns them very quickly so I know he's smart, but with other people around he just gets so excited (and he's not normally a really excited dog) and doesn't listen to me when I tell him what to do,

 
this is quite normal. Dogs have to be gradually taught to listen and obey in the face of distractions. You need to gradually increase the excitement level over time while working on getting him to listen to you. Take him to lots of different settings and work on getting him to listen to you.

Krista, I almost replied to this thread yesterday but it looked like it was dead, so I held off.
 
What a hoot!  Your Andy sounds so much like my Manny!
 
Manny is a neutered male shepherd/collie mix, around a year old.  He too, needs to be more human attentive.  At the dog park he runs with the other dogs, seldom checking what I am doing.  My other, Sadie comes over and checks me out every few minutes.
 
I guess it was the "male" that took Manny to the dog pound when they gave up on him.  He does like girls much more than men.  I watch the tail wagging, there's much more with females.
 
Manny is still learning to respect doors and gates.  Kinda funny for a dog that shows some sign of seperation  anxiety to want to just wander off if he gets a chance.
 
Get that formal training.  Call, or visit the sites of rescues in your area and see who they use for training.  It may not be as expensice as you think.  Both of you go, so you both use the same methods with your dog.  Training is really more about training the humans  than the dogs anyway.
 
Sadie pulls and the head harness didn't do much to help.  For her, I take a 6 ft lead, hook it to her regular collar, wrap it once around her waist, and off we go with few problems.  Not sure how well that works with a male since Manny does well with a slip (choke) collar.  That's what the rescue trained him on, and if it's not broke, I'm not gonna fix it!
 
I am glad to see you are aware of the importance of the dog obeying you!
 
David
 
 
 

Krista, you've gotten a lot of responses that are similar to what I'm going to say, but I just wanted to throw my two cents in. Your situation sounds a lot like what we're going through. We adopted Odin 3 months ago. He had just been neutered and we have no idea about his background. He has bolted on us three times--the first being right when we brought him home. Luckily all three times, he stopped to mark on a tree and we caught him. He doesn't run from us, just runs for his freedom, so I think he likes his new house, but I was worried about that at first too. Also, just like you mentioned, he responds really well to us at home, but as soon as we go out of the house, he doesn't even look at us. He's like another dog. We've tried brining yummy treats along, calling him and playing with him, but he wants nothing to do with us on a walk.
 
I would 100% agree that obedience class would be the best thing to bond Andy to you. We took Loki (who we raised since he was 8 weeks) through Puppy and Intermediate class at Petsmart and he starts Advanced class next week. When we got Odin, we enrolled him in Beginner class and he graduates next week. We have seen such a change in him since starting class. He loves sitting in the ring with the other dogs, he loves our trainer and he loves to learn. He's learning that we're fun people who give him love and treats when he does what we ask.
 
As far as the class itself, we've had great luck with Petsmart. You're going to get a lot of variation from any trainer you go to, so you run the risk of getting a bad one anywhere you go. But Petsmart has consistent standards that it holds its trainers to. They do have an 8 dog max, so the class isn't out of control. And you are in a closed in ring in the middle of the store, which I think is great. The dogs are forced to deal with the distractions from the store and sit calmly with 7 other dogs for 1 hour. What I got out of the classes the most was the experience of having the dogs learn while being distracted. The techniques are good too, but if you're really wanting to learn more about "how dogs think", I'd recommend reading a dog psycology book such as Cesar's Way (the dog whisperer). Sorry this post is so long!

Davb--wow, that is amazing, it is like you are describing Andy when you talk about Manny!  Don't they remind you of teenagers?  When we take them out in public it is almost like they are embarrassed to be seen with their parents!  I've never taken Andy to a dog park simply because I'm afraid I might not be able to catch him once I let him loose.  I can already see myself--the red-faced embarrassed dog owner who just keeps on calling and calling to a dog that just isn't going to come.

As far as doors are concerned, you might want to try one of the suggestions above--making him sit and stay until you call him through a door to go outside.  It has really helped with Andy's running out on us because he knows the only way he is going to get outside is if he doesn't try to go out on his own.  Also I have been told that it shows to him that you are dominant.

I invested in a head collar yesterday--Andy is still trying to get used to the feel of it.  He does nose dives in the grass trying to get it off; however, I can walk him with one finger now, as opposed to before when he jerked me around!  So I must say that works really well, but I'm having problems convincing hubby that the collar is humane!

Also, I must ask you, did the shepherd/collie mix turn how handsomely on Manny?  I know this is bragging and all (I can't help it I'm a proud mommy!) but Andy is one handsome mutt!  Everyone is constantly telling me what a good looking dog he is.  I wish I could have had him as a baby--I bet he was just the cutest little thing!  And I would bet Mr. Manny had the same good fortune!

Lokis_mom--What kind of training methods are they using at Petsmart?  I got a clicker yesterday and I would like to try that out.  I think those group lessons you are mentioning would be great for Andy--he really needs to get accustomed to being around other people and dogs and, most importantly, learning how to behave around them. 

Andy knows fairly well how to sit and stay (in our home anyway), so do you think he would benefit from a beginners class?  I know he would benefit from the socializing, but what else do they actually teach in the beginners class?  Has Odin become more attentive, especially outdoors, since you enrolled him?

I saw the dog whisperer on Oprah the other day, and I was trying to remember what his book was called so I can look more into it--thanks for solving the mystery for me!

Thanks again, to all of you, for taking the time to help your fellow dog owner!

Krista

Krista, Manny does indeed get his share of compliments. 
 
He has the shepherd body, black on top and brown underneath.  He has a tan collie head,  narrow pointed jaw with ears that droop 99% of the time.  Manny has some golden in him, so add the feathering on the legs and a black colored golden style tail.
 
Nope, no pictures yet.
 
And yeah, I am working on the sit/stay thing for doors, other dogs, joggers, you name it!  []
 
He is just a work in progress.

Davb--Aw, he sounds like a cutie!  Andy, like Manny, has the shepherd body and the collie head.  He doesn't have the narrow jaw, though, he's about average on the jaw.  His body has the coloring of a shepherd, except for his underside and paws which are white.  He's got the white ring around his neck and the pretty white stripe down the nose and around his mouth, and the same droopy ears.  It is funny because his tail is the same as a shepherd except for at the very end it looks like it has a cotton ball on it because the very tip is white! 
 
We will have to exchange pictures some time!  I think we have two long lost twins!
 
I don't have pictures now, either.  I'm going to have to get my digital camera up and running!
 
Krista

Krista-Sorry I never replied to your question. Petsmart trainers use positive reinforcement. Reward good behavior, ignore bad behavior. Once you've gone through beginner class, they have a "click-a-trick" class you can sign up for. I haven't tried it yet, but even in their regular classes they teach you the basics of clicker training. We've had really good luck at Petsmart, but it could be because of our trainer.

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Sounds like you're talking about my dog! Add in low food motivation with minimal attention span and we're in the same boat. []
 
I've got a 8 1/2 month old english setter pup and this seems to be par for the course.
 
Sometimes the key is finding out what really motivates your dog. My dog isn't motivated by food, he's motivated by competition for food. Example: he was barely paying attention to freshly bbq'd hamburger during his obedience test this weekend but volunteering new tricks when I fed the same treat to another dog. (he suddenly volunteered a 2-paw high 5 full extension from a sit for the same treat, he'd never done it before and has performed it repeatably ever since.) [sm=clapping%20hands%20smiley.gif][sm=party.gif]
 
So most of the time short, sweet training sessions after he's burned off extra energy seem to do the trick. Gaining focus before 'taking the edge off him' is typically an exercise in futility except for the really confirmed skills.
 
Re: Petsmart: I was quite pleased with the trainer there. She knew her stuff, was actively working on her skills and actively in obedience/agility competition with her dogs. The other trainer was actively involved in serch & rescue/tracking.
 
The downside is that the environment is VERY high-distraction, which can be tough with the distractable dog. [/size]