So proud of him today!!! Sorry but I must brag to someone.
Six months ago I was very reluctant to take Ragnar to the soccer fields because he was such a bull. High energy, highly distractible and just would not listen. Barking at everything- dogs, kids, wind blown flags, etc.... people would literally scatter. It really got frustrating because it seemed that all I did was correct and jerk the leash all the time. It was just not fun at all, for him or me. I was also worried that one mishap would get us kicked off the complex and my girls and I practically live there with all the time spent for practice/games.
Then, with the great help from DChat, I realized that I just needed to chill out, have more fun but stay consistent and be patient. He is just a puppy and it will come.
We have trained and worked on obedience and skills practically every day. Again, lots of fun, consistency and patience.
Today he performed absolutely splendid. I started in an open field and worked him offleash through commands and reward him with his favorite ball/treats. Then put him on leash and walk around busy soccer fields at heel, sit and down, then back to heel. Then back to open field to work more offleash. I placed him at sit in middle of field, stepped away about 200ft and circled him while he was in the middle, at given times telling him to sit, down and sit again. He never broke his position in the center and came immediately when called. His recall is 100% in open field but yet untested amongst busy fields with kids and other dogs around. I don’t plan on gambling with that until he is older and more mature. He still has too much of a crazy mode that he gets into from time to time. When he gets in this mode, it’s very difficult for me to get him out of it. He just goes nuts.
To finish it off, walking from open fields to where my daughter was playing, I would purposely walk him down the busy sidelines full of people. Many comments of admiration and praise was given from the parents on the sidelines. At one time Ragnar had five people standing around him wanting to know more about him and how he got to be such a good Doberman. A lot of them were watching us train on the open field.
Our hard work in the back yard is paying off and I can see the evidence. Now, he can still be what @Kaiser2016 calls a donkey at times! Haha..... but damn, I am super proud!
Six months ago I was very reluctant to take Ragnar to the soccer fields because he was such a bull. High energy, highly distractible and just would not listen. Barking at everything- dogs, kids, wind blown flags, etc.... people would literally scatter. It really got frustrating because it seemed that all I did was correct and jerk the leash all the time. It was just not fun at all, for him or me. I was also worried that one mishap would get us kicked off the complex and my girls and I practically live there with all the time spent for practice/games.
Then, with the great help from DChat, I realized that I just needed to chill out, have more fun but stay consistent and be patient. He is just a puppy and it will come.
We have trained and worked on obedience and skills practically every day. Again, lots of fun, consistency and patience.
Today he performed absolutely splendid. I started in an open field and worked him offleash through commands and reward him with his favorite ball/treats. Then put him on leash and walk around busy soccer fields at heel, sit and down, then back to heel. Then back to open field to work more offleash. I placed him at sit in middle of field, stepped away about 200ft and circled him while he was in the middle, at given times telling him to sit, down and sit again. He never broke his position in the center and came immediately when called. His recall is 100% in open field but yet untested amongst busy fields with kids and other dogs around. I don’t plan on gambling with that until he is older and more mature. He still has too much of a crazy mode that he gets into from time to time. When he gets in this mode, it’s very difficult for me to get him out of it. He just goes nuts.
To finish it off, walking from open fields to where my daughter was playing, I would purposely walk him down the busy sidelines full of people. Many comments of admiration and praise was given from the parents on the sidelines. At one time Ragnar had five people standing around him wanting to know more about him and how he got to be such a good Doberman. A lot of them were watching us train on the open field.
Our hard work in the back yard is paying off and I can see the evidence. Now, he can still be what @Kaiser2016 calls a donkey at times! Haha..... but damn, I am super proud!
my hb has said ALL that before, it's beyond frustrating when you know the dog knows his commands but chooses not to comply - especially recall. These smart asses, it's so true that they are too smart for their own good.
Makes total sense doesn't it? Why would any dog "drop it" if all I do is confiscate the item he loves? Next up, try training with ball or tug, channel his prey drive as the reward, no treats. The best shot for me would have been the smiling face, but there's one even better - him looking up at you in a heel. His eyes are focussed! I LOVE focus! Kaiser is finally giving me that face too, it's like 
