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questionsquestions

Posted : 6/29/2006 4:30:17 AM

I always thought my dog was dog-aggressive, until someone in this forum said that she was possibly just reactive. Question is, how do I train her out of her reactivity? She whines and cries when on walks, and whenever she sees another dog, she will howl, cry and when that other dog gets near, acts aggressively towards it. Having treats with me doesn't seem to work because my dog is too focused/reactive to respond.

Another thing is that although I have trained my dog, she won't follow the "sit" command unless she knows there is a treat that awaits her. I am not overly generous with treats, and I alternate between them and praise, but how do I wean her off expecting treats and get her to follow the command? It's a hit-and-miss thing; sometimes she will sit but sometimes she will not. Does she really understand that "sit" means her butt needs to hit the floor?

Lastly, how do I teach her "wait" before she goes out the door for walks? I've tried the opening/closing the door thing, but she still tries to squeeze her way out when the door is slightly ajar and stands near the door when it's closed. Also, when I put her halter on for walks, she acts like it is a game and tries to avoid it or puts her head up in an effort to see "what is happening" when it goes on. I tell her to sit, but she won't so I just wait for her to calm down until I can

ut it on. Is this the right thing to do?

Sorry it's quite long, but I'm a first-time dog owner, so you can guess why there are so many questions!

willowchow

Posted : 6/29/2006 4:36:07 AM

Well, I think I can answer a couple of these at least and if I'm wrong I'm sure someone will correct me.

For the sitting---this is what I did/do---if she does not respond to the command, do not repeat it, gently --I use two fingers---push her bottom down to make her sit.

For going out the door---I know there is another way to do this---but I make her sit and stay, I go thru and then tell her "OK". So, for the way I do it, she needed to know stay before I could do it.

Hopefully, this helps a little.

ron2

Posted : 6/29/2006 5:36:32 AM

For the sitting---this is what I did/do---if she does not respond to the command, do not repeat it, gently --I use two fingers---push her bottom down to make her sit.

Ditto for me. Just a gentle reminder.

Terri

Posted : 6/29/2006 8:39:44 AM

I agree, you should never repeat a command. Our trainer recommends to lure them into position with a treat, but if you have to lure them, you don't give them the treat. Once they sit, have them get up and try it again until they do it without the lure, then give the treat.

With Loki, we taught "wait" away from the door first. Once he got the idea, we moved to the door, made him wait and if he got up, the door was closed. He did get his nose caught in the door a couple of times--not hard--but he learned pretty quickly. Now he will wait, I walk out the door and tell him "ok" before he gets up.

As far as the reactivity, that's something we're still working on too. My dogs also don't care about treats, no matter how yummy when another dog is going by. So I'd love to hear some suggestions on that.

HofmannGestalt

Posted : 6/29/2006 9:22:03 AM

wait

I think the easiest way to teach a dog to wait it with its food dish/bowl at meal time. After prepared,

as the dog to sit - while holding bowl up. (If it sits it probably knows what it means)
Say "wait"
Slowly lower the bowl down to place it on the floor.
If the dog tries to get up to get to bowl before you give the ok command, raise it back up quickly, wait for or guide back into a sit.
Repeat until the dog realizes that if it doesn't wait to hear "OK" before trying to get to the dish, then the dish will go away, thus his meal.

Then move on to the door. It will catch on to this wait also .

jones

Posted : 6/29/2006 12:17:27 PM

I agree, Hofmann - that is the easiest way to teach wait. As I recently posted elsewhere, I confess that I began by training Russell to wait at the door, but I didn't pursue it. However, when I was doing it, I would begin to open the door as noisily as possible - jiggling the doorknob or storm door handle - so that the dog would get excited to go through, but only open it the tiniest crack so I could quickly shut it if he tried to barge through. I also would slide my leg in front of him (on the way in when the door opens in) to block his way. And - this is easy for me because I have a small dog - I would hold him back by the leash with one arm while opening the door with the other.

As far as sit goes, I'd bet your dog doesn't really know the command. It can be surprising sometimes to realize you thought your dog knew a command but was really just employing trial and error to get treats! My trainer once told us that many dogs don't actually know "sit" means sit - they think it means "get lower!" If I were you I'd do a refresher course with a clicker. This will more clearly define for your dog what "sit" really means. And be sure to phase out treats as soon as she knows it, but gradually - don't go from treating every time to treating once in 10 times. For instructions on clicker training, I really like [linkhttp://www.clickertrainusa.com]www.clickertrainusa.com[/link]. The videos are great!

Xerxes

Posted : 6/29/2006 1:00:38 PM

I just want to say that when teaching "Sit" I never touch the dog, even with two fingers to guide him. All I've ever done was teach him by having a closed fist, with a treat in it held up above him. Once his eyes were on the fist, I'd move it toward him and upwards.

I never used any physical reinforcing because I never wished to physically force him to do anything. (I'm not saying anyone is forcing behaviors though.) It's just that I read that sighthounds, in particular, do not take well to any sort of manipulation.

I taught "wait" by using similar methods to the other posters. Alot of his other behaviors have been taught by the "clicker" method, but without the clicker. I used the same method to train a cockatoo.

labcrab

Posted : 6/30/2006 9:47:03 AM

All I've ever done was teach him by having a closed fist, with a treat in it held up above him. Once his eyes were on the fist, I'd move it toward him and upwards.

Sorry, I don't understand how this teaches the dog to "sit". Is it meant to be a natural reaction to having a treat above their head? Just curious, I've never heard this one before.

glenmar

Posted : 6/30/2006 9:50:18 AM

I do much the same thing, only with the treat in my finger tips...when my hand goes to that position, treat or no treat, butts hit the floor.

mudpuppy

Posted : 6/30/2006 10:13:45 AM

I never touch them either, it just makes them tense and resist. If the dog doesn't comply, I say Uh-oh, show the dog the reward he might have gotten, and walk away. Try again in a few minutes.
Dogs often have trouble with verbal commands at first. I always start out training a dog by first teaching a hand signal for sit. Most dogs learn hand signals very quickly, and once they have grasped the "idea" of obedience you can transition to verbal commands. For the goal of not-needing-a-treat, try mixing up the rewards right away. Ask for sits often throughout the day, anytime you have something the dog wants, like dinner or a toy. Offer a concrete reward of some type until you are 100% certain the dog gets it-- dog is sitting every time you ask. This may take awhile. Then and only then start replacing some of the concrete rewards with praise.

jones

Posted : 6/30/2006 4:33:57 PM

ORIGINAL: labcrab
Sorry, I don't understand how this teaches the dog to "sit". Is it meant to be a natural reaction to having a treat above their head? Just curious, I've never heard this one before.

This is how I taught "sit" too. You have to hold the treat close to the head, so basically as you move it over their head, they follow it with their eyes, and then when they can't move their head back anymore, they'll sit to continue following it backwards. It is pretty much an automatic reaction as long as they're visually following the lure. You never have to touch the puppy in this method (except to pet him for doing well [

]).