Why Obedience Train? ...

[kissbox]

it is hard to say if you gave up too soon without witnessing you and your dog in action, or without knowing all there is to know about your baby. (traits, personality, etc)....But dont worry!!! If you find that he is starting to stray again, just re-tether and do some refresher lessons. there is nothing wrong with that.

also if he's lost motivation, it may just be because he's bored with the lessons, etc.. i dont know how you practice at home, or how you respond to him..i try to stay away from using treats (unless its absolutely necessary to make way with a dog) ...you are right, you cant just drop and give a tummy rub in the middle of the street!
but you can get superexcited and bouncy(not too bouncy if this will lead them to jump on you)

but do you use treats at home when you are training? i once had a great dane in class who all of a sudden 'fainted' when he had to heel. this huge dog, would just lay on his side.. knowing he was way too big for his owner to pull a long a bit..treats didnt work, all of us getting excited and saying 'lets go' didnt work... it was funny(well funny now, but not then..lol) for this dog, the only motivation that worked was his favorite toy!! you may want to try that for at home --instead of using treats, use lots excited praise and reward with his favorite toy... if he starts to associate training as FUN, then possibly when you are away from home, he wont think 'oh no not again', each time you go into 'training mode'...

again, these are just suggestions and not a diagnosis for your baby. its hard to know everything you need to know about a dogs behaviour and owner interaction from a messageboard!! but they sure are fun!>

(quick question: you mentioned he loves tummy rubs.. does he go into 'tummy rub' mode during training? like when you tell him to 'down'? or when you want him to do something, he sorta does it, then goes straight into tummy rub mode? just wondering =) )

GOOD LUCK AND HAVE FUN!!!!

[new2dogs]

LOL, yes, he does go into tummy rub mode while we are training. He's still getting used to me too. I've had him less than a week. (He's a rescue from the pound...it was his last day to live if you know what I mean...) He gave up at the shelter, and then of course, the day after I got him, I had to take him to the vet for emergency treatment and I'm afraid he associates me with pain, especially since I'm putting ear drops in his ears twice a day and feeding him pills, not to mention he got a hefty dose of flea/tick medication.

I'm trying to convince him that I don't want to hurt him, that in fact, I love him. It hurts me to hurt him...even though I know he'll be better with the medication

[MissAmandasZoo]

oh i don't like obedience classes! We took our sheltie to one. A woman there had a rotti and wasn't stepping on the leash like she was supposed to. Her rotti ran over and attacked our sheltie. He was so beat up we had to put him to sleep. I'm not saying that something like that is common in obidience classes, or that the class was the problem, it was just the irresponsible owner, and vicious dog. But i'll never take one of my pets to one, that has any type of dog that can do a copious ammt. of damage to another. (Not saying that rotti's are bad dogs.) But there are many good sides to obedience class, as listed throughout this thread.

[Nikki6496]

Amanda, that's horrible! I'm so sorry. I have been taking my Pommie to puppy classes and the trainer said that the next step is basic obedience. She also said that if your dog is aggressive they will not let them into the class. I can't believe that that happened to you! My Pom, Joey is better off though having gone to puppy classes and getting properly socialized with other pups.

I am babysitting a Chihuahua that has never been to classes or been around other dogs and she is barking and growling and snapping at Joey and my GSD, Coral. She is getting better with Joey, probably because he is around her size, but Coral every time she tries to come into the bedroom she barks and barks. Next time I'll be more careful in saying I'll watch someone elses dog. Only three more days to go.

Other than socializing your puppy, I think that its possible to train your pup without going to classes. Joey learned everything before class.

Amanda, again I'm sorry for your loss!

[heidi]

I am new to the site and found your post helpful in many ways. I currently am trying to train my 13 wk German Shepard Ceszar who is very stubborn to say the least. Currently I am having issues with him bitting everyone in the household and barking to no stop. I've tried the loud noise such as clapping but it doesn't phase him one bit. Any suggestions?

[tomncp]

I just read the article... Thank you so much for posting, there is lot of useful information in the article.

[rat freak]

Hey that is a really good article! Also I hear that the most trainable dog is a german shepard and I think its true cause our dog is part german shepard and she was potty trained in like 3 days!!

[Formula86]

FYI:
This thread is very old, and Deja isn't a member anymore. So if you have any questions concerning what you've read here, you should probably make a new thread in the dogs section. Then we can help you out more!

Heidi - Your best bet is obedience training when he's old enough. He sounds just like a typical puppy to me. Just work on making him know you are the leader by teaching him some simple tricks, like recognizing his name and sit. You can find out how in most puppy books.

[Southland]

Great information. You really know your stuff.
Southland Dog Training

[soldierswife]

This was a really great post and I am so glad I joined this forum! I too, have been going through some trying times with our Yorkie (now 5 months old)...and sometimes, you just don't know WHAT is right or wrong as you care for pets. He has had a terrible time potty training and I have been at my wits end! I feel bad for getting so angry at him, but I know he will do much better when I fully learn and understand HIS instincts and work WITH them instead of AGAINST them. It makes perfect sense when you think about it (obedience training). In one - of many - desperate attempts to get my hands on some information that would actually HELP with our training problems, a friend recommended a really great program. I decided that I had nothing to lose (except more clean carpet and furniture!), so I jumped right in and am more than halfway through with it. Anyway, you could never learn too much and I'm always open for any new ideas! I love this site! Keep 'em coming!