Fun training.

[boehmeca]

Lately Kobe and i both seem to be bored with our usual training sessions. He doesn't seem to be as motivated. So I am looking for some new ways to get his attention and interest and would love any ideas on how to make training fun for both of us. He will be 7 months on monday and i think he may also be getting to an age where he is testing the limits more (trying to ignore well known commands or doing them half assed). We need a spark. Also after reading some of the other training threads I have been trying to teach the Stand command. It is not happening, but we're going to keep trying.

 

[MyBuddy]

Is he food motivated? Buddy is and when I want to train something new or really get his attention, I use the treats he loves, which could be hot dogs, tiny pieces of meat, stuff like that. And, of course, it's MY excitement that trickles down to him too! Make it fun, sound like you are having a great time and that he is such a GOOD Dog! lol Happy voice and lots of praise. Start with the stuff he knows already so that he gets a treat from the get go (and realizes what you have!) and then work on something new and praise the least little effort! They're smart! He'll get it!

 

[JanS]

There are also lots of fun training tips in this thread, if you haven't checked it out yet.
Training Challenges for lil Miss Riley! - Doberman Chat Forum

 

[MLR]

He's just being a dobe teenager. Both mine went through that phase. What is the weather like where you are. Is it warm enough to be outside? If so I'd try taking him someplace where he can run off leash for a while, safely, and then train a little on the way home if you can walk there and back. That ought to perk up his interest. I know this worked with my two dobes when they were that age. He's just asserting his independence. There has to be some give and take or he'll get naturally bored. He has to figure out some things in his own mind. You won't loose him (I mean the control of him) by allowing him a little more freedom at this point. You know, sometimes on walks, let him decide where you go. Then bring his attention back to you once his curiosity is satisfied. That's how trust is built. Sometimes you just have to read their body language and let them figure things out. You might be surprised at what he has a natural ability to do. Then play on that when you're training him. I'm not saying to completely abandon all regular training by any means. It's just that dobes are so smart and they're thinking all the time. Let him experiment with some of this. Somewhere around this age my male, Hercules, developed the ability to sniff out drugs. Pretty amazing to me since he never had any formal training in this area. I just followed his lead and praised him for doing a good job when he began going pocket to pocket on people who probably had drugs on them that we encountered on our nightly walks in my inner city neighborhood (not where the suspected druggie could hear me of course, but shortly after we were out of ear shot). I built on his natural ability and willingness to preform this task. I'm not saying that this is what Kobe will excel at but you will never know what he's capable of until you start to pay attention to him and what he's trying to tell you. Does that make sense?

 

[Ingrid H]

Great answers so far! How do you train? Do you train one behavior per session or work on many commands in one session? For teaching a new "trick" I think it's best to focus on one per session. Are you familiar with marker (clicker) training? Marker training is a blast and gets the dog actively trying to figure out what it is you want.

MLR is probably right about Kobe just acting like a teenager... Besides food and praise rewards, it might be good to teach Kobe to touch your hand with his nose even if he has to jump to do it. Touch is a fun trick that lightens the mood of the dog and owner when a session isn't going that well. I taught both my dogs touch in one session, and they love to do it. Start by holding your hand out like you want the dog to sniff it, and when he does, lightly touch your hand to his nose, say "yes!" or whatever you use as a confirmation that he did right, and then reward. They catch on real fast to the touch command

 

[hrd2gt]

When karma got to be a lump, (when she was younger) I brought in a toy... lot of my older videos you can see her weaving... then I throw the rope ball at the end... she wouldnt get it unless she did it right, but i would make a big deal about it, like HAHA SUCKER YOU GET NOTHING!!!! and she would actually get pumped do it right... then go and attack the ball when i threw it.

then when we started OB (year and half)... it wasnt as fun (more serious, but i still had to be upbeat) i had to bring in the prong... it is weird, i have to stay up beat and keep her happy... yet on same note... get it clear that we are working, and we are not going to quit when YOU want to quit... we are done when i say we are done. that was sooooo hard cuz i would get frustrated and be like thats it!! but then got lectured for doing that, lol

Fate on the other hand gets distracted (about 9 months) i had to break out the prong on her already. Hate to say it, but man, that collar makes a huge difference in paying attention. mind you, its still all positive, not used as a form of punishment at all

 

[DobesMom]

then when we started OB (year and half)... it wasnt as fun (more serious, but i still had to be upbeat) i had to bring in the prong... it is weird, i have to stay up beat and keep her happy... yet on same note... get it clear that we are working, and we are not going to quit when YOU want to quit... we are done when i say we are done. that was sooooo hard cuz i would get frustrated and be like thats it!! but then got lectured for doing that, lol

Fate on the other hand gets distracted (about 9 months) i had to break out the prong on her already. Hate to say it, but man, that collar makes a huge difference in paying attention. mind you, its still all positive, not used as a form of punishment at all

I had to bring the prong out on Emmie too. Let me tell you, she's a whole new pooch. You put her prong & therapy vest on...tell her "time to work" and she is snappy on the commands. I was sick of her pulling me , since I have No arm strength. Solved that with 1 tug. Best purchase yet!

If you want to do fun activities related to OB....why not try rally? they just showed us the Rally class when we graduated OB1. Looks fun, I will be starting Emmie in that class after we graduate OB2 & before we go to advanced OB.

I too go the lecture for getting frustrated and wanting to quit or being overly negative/bossy. They said just stay relaxed & try to keep it fun. They said Emmie is "sensitive" and it shows once my frustration level rises. She gets clingy or wants to lie down instead of work.

 

[boehmeca]

Thanks for all of the feedback ladies! Things are turning around a bit. I'm trying to make sure that i stay upbeat and positive when we are training. I think i was starting to get frustrated and it did trickle down to him. We went for a walk a few days ago and I let him decide where we were going and we found a new trail that we had never been on it was a lot of fun. I have never seen his nose to the ground so much before. I may look into getting a prong collar I didn't think they used them over here but saw them at the pet store today. Things are getting better though. Ingrid I did "Touch" with Kobe a few days ago he had down in about 5 min. It was a lot of fun for both of us. Thanks again everyone.

 

[Apollo]

i just made the decision to try Rally and agillity, found another club here, what really offers classes, so yesterday i went with Apollo and Gunnar and his parents to check it out and i'll do those two classes and see, how Apollo does and i would be interessted to do the therapie dog too, since Dobe's have not so a great rap and i think that would be very good for us and the breed, to show people, dobe's are not that bad at all

 

[Ingrid H]

Ingrid I did "Touch" with Kobe a few days ago he had down in about 5 min. It was a lot of fun for both of us..

Awwww... That almost made me tear up a little bit... See...! Kobe is smart! You already knew that though. Your thread title was right on- "fun training". Kobe is too young foir corrections IMHO. But he is ready to learn. Keep it fun and don't get frustrated.

I nearly perfected "stand" in two sessions over the weekend with Hans. He will work for food. I just waited him out very patiently but he knew I wanted some sort of behavior out of him. I'm marker training him, and he sees training as a puzzle game. When we train, he knows thqt he needs to offer behaviors to figure out how to get rewarded.

 

[Ingrid H]

I'm so happy for you! See how smart Kobe is??? Everyone just has to have a lot more patience and less frustration with training dogs. Your thread title nailed it- fun training! Well, at least for now... I'm getting close to introducing corrections into Hans' training since he knows his comands and is nearly a year old. I added a prong collar recently but am not giving corrections with it yet. I'm just letting him experience the feel of it when he pulls on leash for now.

ETA: Ooops! I thought my last post didn't get through.

 

[hrd2gt]

i dabbled a bit in rally, but being i am doing competition obedience, i stopped since i dont want to mess up what i am learning in OB. After we get farther along in OB i may get back into it, but i dont want to learn bad habits. my ob class... man o man... talk about serious perfection... mind you we probly wont compete in ob til Karma retires from agility... something to do later on down the road. since its nothing hard on their joints

 

[Neox]

I have never seen his nose to the ground so much before.

lool! he was really really intersted by the new place :-D

 

[dobermarge]

Try to shake things up, without really changing the routine of training. Sarge went thru a little of this and I had to do was change his training treats. Or maybe change location where you do your training to jazz things up a bit. Good luck!

 

[hrd2gt]

Location is a huge thing too. Maybe for when your more serious tho, my backyard was playground, and they would get so distracted (my house backs a busy street) so winter break I went to elementary school across the street that had a lit up parking lot... then when school came back i moved to a back street that is closed. Its great, cuz they know we are there to work and they dont screw around, lol

 

[dobermarge]

Try to shake things up, without really changing the routine of training. Sarge went thru a little of this and I had to do was change his training treats. Or maybe change location where you do your training to jazz things up a bit. Good luck!

sorry for the typo training treats.

 

[Apollo]

Try to shake things up, without really changing the routine of training. Sarge went thru a little of this and I had to do was change his training treats. Or maybe change location where you do your training to jazz things up a bit. Good luck!

i have to do the same, change the treats all the times, or Apollo will get tired of them and then don't works that good like he should
and a empty belly works wonders too