Help, My Doodle is Smarter than ME!

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

Hey everyone, last week Sophie graduated top of her obedience class. She's awesome at obedience, IN Class! Outside of class is a different story.

 

Last night I had them running around inside the tennis court because she would not settle down and I didn't want to go to the dog park in the dark (it was like 10pm). She was playing and jumping really agressively with winston and I could tell he was getting frustrated even though he didn't really react, he never does. So I tried to grab her and she bolted...story of our lives.

 

There was neighbour walking by with her dog and we were chatting a bit and it started up again with the aggressive play. I sheepishly told the neighbour that this is somewhat new behaviour and I'm working on it. Then I tried to leash them up to go but Sophie wouldn't come anywhere near me. I kept calling her and she just stood there looking at me. I told my neighbour she graduated from obedience class with near perfect marks but you'd never know it. She said she totoally believes it, Sophie is a smart girl and knows exactly what she is doing! I guess that's true. My doodle is outsmarting me!

 

Sometimes I feel like I'm begging her to come. It's so frustrating. If I pull out a treat, she's there instantly, but otherwise, forget it! I have to get someone else in the dog park to grab her for me because if she senses I want to leave she won't come near me. She's such a brat! Sometimes I just pretend to walk off with Winston, and go out the gate to the leashing area where the water fountain is. So far that has worked, she follows us thinking she's getting some water, which she does, but as she's drinking I make my move and grab her harness.

 

So yea, I need to nip this in the bud. I've started doing more training at home, like down stays and such, but she's even defying me on those. Winston sets a perfect example, and goes straight down, getting his treat instantly, and then waits patiencly as I have to repeat the cammand like 5 or 6 times and she just sits there looking at me like "what the heck lady??, hand over that treat now". I then have to lure her down with the treat, which is something I never needed to do in our obedience classes.

 

Did I meantion she's 10 months? *sigh*.

 

So I need some tricks and tips for improving recall, and generally reminding my puppy that she is not in charge here (even if she is *slightly* smarter than me).

 

 

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

it's actually 'down' that she doesn't do well. sit is fairly solid (still working on it at street corners though).

so basically, I put the leash on her, (at this point she will likely already be in sit),  I tell her "Sophie, Down". If she doesn't do it, I pop the leash upward really quickly?

and in the park while she's playing I let the lead trail behind her. When I want her to come I just grab the end of it, and say "Sophie, Come" and if she doesn't come, I pop the leash the same way?

Won't it be confusing if she's on a 8 foot lead and I have to walk up close to her just to be able to do the pop? it sounds kind of awkward to me...

[Jennifer and "Cooper"]

This is how we were trained.  If you are doing a directional command, you "pop" in the direction you want the dogs head/neck to go in.  So "sit" you "pop" up cause when the head/neck to move in an upward motion as the dog sits.  "Down" you "pop" towards the floor cause that's the direction the head and neck will go when lying down.  "Come" you "pop" directly towards you, etc. 

If she's trailing a leash and walking and you say "come" and she doesn't, sometimes just stepping on the leash will give enough of a "pop" as a correction.  (Obviously you don't do this if she's running)  If she's standing still and has the leash on and you give the command and she ignores you either just pick it up and pop it or if it's not within reach, calmly walk over to it (don't run towards it or she may think it's time to play "Chase Sophie"), calmly pick it up and calmly pop it towards you.  You do not have to be next to the dog to pop the leash.  I've done it from 30 feet away during distant recall drills.

Like others have said, not every technique works for every dog.  You may find one technique works with Winston but doesn't work with Sophie.  (We used prong collars with our Lab and our Boxer because they were both hyper, stubborn monsters when they were young.  I've only used a flat collar with Cooper because he has always been much calmer and more submissive than either of them were as puppies.)  You may want to try different techniques until you find the one or combination of different ones that works for you.    

[Carol Brand]

No.  If she won't go down then you'd pop the leash down, perhaps applying pressure on her shoulder blades at the same time.  Personally, I teach a DOWN from a standing position.  I do this for a number of competition reasons but overall, I think it is easier help them fold down from a standing position. I think it is fine in the beginning to lure a puppy with a treat, but your dog is 10 months old. It sounds like she understands but she is being just plain stubborn.

 

Re long line:  In the park when you want her to come, I'd reel up all but maybe 10' of the line and then give the recall command.  You want the line to be taut.   If she comes right a way, then PRAISE PRAISE PRAISE.  If she doesn't, then you give her a sharp tug (pop) towards you to get her moving in your direction.  Then PRAISE PRAISE PRAISE even if you have to reel her in.  Either way, running backwards will help encourage her to come in quickly.  Heck, if she loves the ball, then toss the ball between your legs as she comes in as a reward.

 

[Adina P]

It's ALL awkward until you get used to it and good at it =)

 

Yes what Jennifer said.  IF a correction helps the dog to BE correct then it has to actually put them into the position of being correct.  When I give a correction for down my dog is wearing a choke chain and I give a jerk at an angle that makes the dog lose its balance and come down -- otherwise you end up wrestling the dog or putting too much pressure on its shoulders to muscle the dog down. The way I was taught is quick and painless and suddenly the dog is lying down and you can praise it calmly, heel away, repeat for practice.

 

If the dog is wearing an 8 foot lead...you get within 8 feet of the dog before you call the dog whenever you are training.  Obviously in an emergency you don't have the luxury of getting within leash distance.  But if and when possible...BE WITHIN leash distance when you call your dog.

[Jaime and Barley Barker]

I second what Carol and Adina wrote. I have often had the same problem with Barley at home. He has gotten a lot better, so I assume at ten months your dog is in the thicket of puppy adolescence. The biggest issue with Barley outside is that he wants to play "chase me". I make sure that we have separate "play time" and "potty time". That has helped so he can get out excess energy. I have also used higher reward treats when working on the recall. Barley cannot resist Velveeta cheese. You might want to try it. It's so obnoxiously yellow that he can definitely see it and the smell is pungent enough to entice him. Velveeta has never failed to get him running to me at a sprint.

In general, if Barley disobeys me, I turn my back on him and walk away. I'm not going to beg him to obey me, and I'm not going treat him for anything but the command I gave him. He ends up following me when I walk away. So I'll turn around and give him the command again. If he obeys, it's a party (praise, praise, praise and pet, pet, pet OR treat). If not, I ignore him and walk away. He really hates that. He now obeys me without treats. It also helps that we have multiple dogs. If the other dogs obey when he disobeys, they get treats and he doesn't.

 

You could also get your pup more excited about obeying you by alternating the kinds of treats you give him, and sometimes by rewarding him with a "jack pot" of multiple treats. That might motivate him more. You will eventually want to wean him off of treats. You could start that by treating him every other time he obeys you, and sometimes using praise, a pat, or a quick playtime with a toy (a combination of rewards rather than a single type). Good luck!

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

those are some good suggestions! thank you!

[Jaime and Barley Barker]

You're very welcome! It will get better, I promise you. I forgot to mention that I also took Barley into a variety of different environments such as PetSmart and Tractor Supply Company. I worked with Barley on training in the aisles to see how he would do with distractions. I'd also pause during our walks and start having him sit, stay, and down. That way, he was able to try it in several different environments and he became more reliable. It was also a good place to work on sitting when he was excited and keeping four paws on the floor when greeting strangers.

 

There are different ways to train, so do whatever makes you feel comfortable. I do positive motivation training with Barley, and I prefer that way as well (not to say other methods are "bad" or "wrong"). My trainer was against the collar pops and we could only use flat buckle collars in class. I'm sure that doesn't work with every dog and others prefer different methods. Follow your instincts. It seems like you have a good plan in place!

[Cindy M, Zachary & the Frenchies]

Sherri, there are ways to train very reliably obedient dogs using  methods that have consequences for not listening but do not involve collar pops or prong collars. If you prefer postive training methods I would really encourage you to work with a trainer who shares your views. Sometimes a one on one consulation with a trainer who you are in sync with can really help you solve a problem behavior and give you tools to help Sophie Bear listen as well at home as she did when she was in school. 

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

There is certainly a lot of food for thought here. I'm going to think this all over and talk to the training school about it. I think I will enroll Sophie in the next level right away, as it focuses on obedience when there are distractions.

[Adina P]

I think that is a great idea!  And given that the NEXT level involves distractions that says to me that your current class didn't prepare you for that yet and that is WHY she's not good with distractions.  There is still work to do and until you've completed all the levels you won't have a dog that is obedient -- only one that knows what commands mean and who will pick and choose which and when to obey.

[Hazel & Chester Wayte]

Thanks for posting this- It seems I (& Chester ) also have a lot to learn with recall and distractions. There was a lot of good tips here.. I also prefer the positive reinforcement methods.

 

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

Thanks Everyone! I am going to implement a lot of these suggestions and see how it goes. Hopefully in a couple of months I'll be able to provide a glowing report!