Whistle & Clicker training.

Poppy3008

My dog is about 3yrs but quite immature as she is a rescue. Yes I think I probably need to take a few steps back and get a more confirmed recall. I use sausage as a high value treat and only for recall. Even though she is 3 it's like she is an adolescent when I read about it.
I'll start again with recall on the,long line. Thanks!

Katiehound

High value treats are something extra yummy- which only appear for training. Similarly if your dog likes toys keep a really special one for training- it's not one you leave for her to choose to play with by herself.
Once she has mastered what ever command you are working on cut back on the treats but not the praise, however from time to time give a treat. (As before will keep her guessing)

Dogs can learn to predict very quickly. Owner puts on coat, gloves etc= walkies!
If you ever get to the stage of a recall to the front, and then a send to heel- basic obedience- you can find a dog may well not sit at the front but run round the back immediately- they know what is coming!!

Training needs to be fun.
Keep a nice higher pitch 'excited' happy voice.
Be fun to be around!
Try to concentrate on all the things she does correctly and ignore the wrong ones
Better to train for 3 x 5 minutes then 15 in a whole stretch, especially for a pup.
You can start to train from the very beginning- that's what they do with assistance dog pups

Puppy classes should not be a free for all with puppies doing their thing- I hear that happens! It should be a mix of some teaching for the owner and some play for the puppies.(I always have young rescue dogs so we don't qualify for the puppy classes- but I still need to teach the basics!)

Do expose your puppy to as many experiences as possible indoors and outside- even carrying her with noisy traffic etc and especially with household equipment.
My boy never went into a house until I had him at 2 years old consequently he hates the vacuum cleaner, the washing machine, loud lorries, men.........

She looks very cute

Enjoy!

sheramber

High value treat are whatever your dog considers a high value treat.

One of my dogs was only interested in dried liver.

Another had no interest on food. Her treat was chasing a toy.

You can try small bits of cocktail sausage, garlic sausage, dried liver ( cook liver, cut up into pieces and dry in a cool oven for hours until dried.) pieces of liver cake/ sardine cake- recipes online but not too much liver for a puppy, small bits of cheese.

Pieces no bigger than your pinkie nail. Several small treats fed individually are better than one big one.

Vary what you use so it doesn't become boring.

A good idea for small puppies who cannot have a lot of treats is a tube of squeezy cheese which they can lick.

For recall play hide and seek. Have someone hold the dog and go into another room. Call the dog and encourage her to find you. Reward with lots of praise or a short game. then get the other person to call her back again and do the same.

On walks be unpredictable, Don't be boring and just walk along leaving the dog to do her own thing. Change direction and then turn back again, start walking backwards and encourage her to come with you. Hide behind a tree, a bush anything. It doesn't matter if part of you sticks out . Lots of praise and 'have a party' when she comes to you.

Make it fun, fun, fun.

Remember, a long line is not to pull the dog to you. You need to encourage her to come to you while the line prevents her going off somewhere else. If she is ignoring you give the line a gentle shake to get her attention and then lots of encouragement to come to you. when she is paying attention walking backwards can encourage her to catch you up.

If your dog is ignoring you don't keep calling. that teaches her to wait until you call two, three, four times.

Call once and if she ignores you quietly go and get and bring her back to where you were and then praise her- not a lot as she did not come when called but she still needs to know coming to you is good.

Make a habit of taking hold of her collar when she comes to you then letting it go and send her away again. That way she will expect you to take hold of her and not duck away to avoid you catching her.

Sometimes call her, put the lead on and have her walk beside you for a few steps the release again. Don't always putt he lead on at the same point before going home.

Katiehound

Poppy3008 wrote: »

My dog is about 3yrs but quite immature as she is a rescue. Yes I think I probably need to take a few steps back and get a more confirmed recall. I use sausage as a high value treat and only for recall. Even though she is 3 it's like she is an adolescent when I read about it.
I'll start again with recall on the,long line. Thanks!

Maybe even go further back.
Call her from the end of a training lead (about 2 metres?)- and gently remind her she cannot do her own thing when you call / whistle. Huge praise , treats etc. Then let her go again. Repeat ad nauseam!!
Then a longer line
By any chance is she a scent hound?

Not only do I blow the whistle but I act like a loon waving my arms and calling, bending lower so I am also very visible (and wearing orange!) However just sometimes professional deafness sets in- I have scent hounds.
One of my dog trainers after many years has given up with one of her dogs simply because she takes off after a pheasant and turns up at home hours later having made her way across fields and roads. Dangerous. So I'm afraid she has to go on a long line unless they are on the beach where there are no scents.

WantToBeSE

Katiehound wrote: »

High value treats are something extra yummy- which only appear for training. Similarly if your dog likes toys keep a really special one for training- it's not one you leave for her to choose to play with by herself.
Once she has mastered what ever command you are working on cut back on the treats but not the praise, however from time to time give a treat. (As before will keep her guessing)

Dogs can learn to predict very quickly. Owner puts on coat, gloves etc= walkies!
If you ever get to the stage of a recall to the front, and then a send to heel- basic obedience- you can find a dog may well not sit at the front but run round the back immediately- they know what is coming!!

Training needs to be fun.
Keep a nice higher pitch 'excited' happy voice.
Be fun to be around!
Try to concentrate on all the things she does correctly and ignore the wrong ones
Better to train for 3 x 5 minutes then 15 in a whole stretch, especially for a pup.
You can start to train from the very beginning- that's what they do with assistance dog pups

Puppy classes should not be a free for all with puppies doing their thing- I hear that happens! It should be a mix of some teaching for the owner and some play for the puppies.(I always have young rescue dogs so we don't qualify for the puppy classes- but I still need to teach the basics!)

Do expose your puppy to as many experiences as possible indoors and outside- even carrying her with noisy traffic etc and especially with household equipment.
My boy never went into a house until I had him at 2 years old consequently he hates the vacuum cleaner, the washing machine, loud lorries, men.........

She looks very cute

Enjoy!

sheramber wrote: »

High value treat are whatever your dog considers a high value treat.

One of my dogs was only interested in dried liver.

Another had no interest on food. Her treat was chasing a toy.

You can try small bits of cocktail sausage, garlic sausage, dried liver ( cook liver, cut up into pieces and dry in a cool oven for hours until dried.) pieces of liver cake/ sardine cake- recipes online but not too much liver for a puppy, small bits of cheese.

Pieces no bigger than your pinkie nail. Several small treats fed individually are better than one big one.

Vary what you use so it doesn't become boring.

A good idea for small puppies who cannot have a lot of treats is a tube of squeezy cheese which they can lick.

For recall play hide and seek. Have someone hold the dog and go into another room. Call the dog and encourage her to find you. Reward with lots of praise or a short game. then get the other person to call her back again and do the same.

On walks be unpredictable, Don't be boring and just walk along leaving the dog to do her own thing. Change direction and then turn back again, start walking backwards and encourage her to come with you. Hide behind a tree, a bush anything. It doesn't matter if part of you sticks out . Lots of praise and 'have a party' when she comes to you.

Make it fun, fun, fun.

Remember, a long line is not to pull the dog to you. You need to encourage her to come to you while the line prevents her going off somewhere else. If she is ignoring you give the line a gentle shake to get her attention and then lots of encouragement to come to you. when she is paying attention walking backwards can encourage her to catch you up.

If your dog is ignoring you don't keep calling. that teaches her to wait until you call two, three, four times.

Call once and if she ignores you quietly go and get and bring her back to where you were and then praise her- not a lot as she did not come when called but she still needs to know coming to you is good.

Make a habit of taking hold of her collar when she comes to you then letting it go and send her away again. That way she will expect you to take hold of her and not duck away to avoid you catching her.

Sometimes call her, put the lead on and have her walk beside you for a few steps the release again. Don't always putt he lead on at the same point before going home.

Thanks both of you, great advice!
I have bought a training lead, so will start on recall out in the garden when she arrives. And i bought a whistle too, and will start using that every time she is fed.
I will start feeling like Pavlov before long :rotfl:

elsien

The other thing to hear in mind is that dogs don't generalise particularly well. So you can have a behaviour sorted indoors then when you go out they look at you like they've never heard the command in their lives.
So train a behaviour well in familiar settings then extend it, but expect to have to take a couple of steps back when you try new places. This is normal, not your dog being thick. (Unless it's Gitdog, when all bets are off.)

Poppy3008

I second the thanks! What great advice! My rescue is a Staffie - I found she would not even lie down for me yesterday (and yet was doing this kinths ago) but then worked out it's the kitchen floor - it's cold and hard so I cannot blame her. Thanks again, I feel more positive in training and I hope the OP will do too with the puppy! I need to change up the treats too.

WantToBeSE

Poppy3008 wrote: »

I second the thanks! What great advice! My rescue is a Staffie - I found she would not even lie down for me yesterday (and yet was doing this kinths ago) but then worked out it's the kitchen floor - it's cold and hard so I cannot blame her. Thanks again, I feel more positive in training and I hope the OP will do too with the puppy! I need to change up the treats too.

Aww, bless her! How old was she when you rescued her? I dont blame her for not lying down on a cold floor, much better to be on a comfy carpet or bed