Regression

[Jeanine Bandini]

Wally is 7 months now and recently started to regress. Not coming when called, getting up on the couch and getting things from the table and counter. He listens fine to my husband so I figure I need to up the training. I need suggestions besides sit, down, over, stay, come. (all of which he does when I have treats) Also when do I remove the treats? (I had but brought them back when he started to regress) He is also getting my kids toys and not dropping them upon command. Help!

[Carol Brand]

So what does he do when you don't have a treat?  Will he still comply?  What about adding a physical correction when he does not comply?

 

I think owners typically handle treats incorrectly.  They show the treat before delivering a command in order to bride the dog.  The treat should be delivered almost unexpectedly and it should be interspersed with physical and verbal praise.

[Jeanine Bandini]

Ok, so thats part of the problem! I am using the treats wrong! Sometimes he complies without a treat but not all the time.  I think he does need a physical correction: do I need a special collar for this?Keep him on the leash around the house until he complies?

Why do they give you a dog without a manual???

:)

 

[Carol Brand]

I mean BRIBE the dog.  I swear my typing is getting horrible.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

What is your husband doing that you aren't?  Is Wally listening to him only when he has treats or is he respecting that he's "the boss"? 

[Jeanine Bandini]

He is respecting that he is the boss. My husband says I am too affectionate with the dog. (Talking to and petting him too much) My husband shows much less affection.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

That's interesting, because it's the reverse in our house.  I'm guessing that your husband is very clear when he gives a command and does not allow Wally to "blow him off".  He is probably following through, and Wally is respecting him as a leader.  I think you're going to have to show him that you require the same respect that he is giving your husband.  That means teaching him that you mean what you say and you will follow through to MAKE him do whatever it is that you asked.  IMO affection is something that must be earned.  It's right up there with food, and it is a reward that the dog earns.  Have you done any work with a trainer or taken Wally to any obedience classes yet?

[Carol Brand]

So withhold petting and affection and for a while, only offer it as a reward.  He only gets it if he performs a task for you.   If he tries to initiate contact, get up and walk away or tell him to scram.  

 

As far as a correction goes, yes he can drag a leash around the house.  Before you tell him to COME, make sure that you have access to the end of the leash.  If he does not come directly at a quick little trot, give the end of the leash a sharp tug.  (This is his consequence for not coming right away.)  Then you can run backwards and make a BIG deal about him coming in.  I like to toss treats between my legs as the dog comes in to get them to come in quickly and to come all the way in.  

 

RE physical corrections..... you can deliver a collar pop on a simple buckle collar with or without a leash, but it is easier with a leash.  Say SIT!  If Wally does not sit right away the 1st time you give the command, then give him a pop up and back with the leash.  If you need to, you can push his bottom down.  Then break him off and try again.  Say SIT!   Ideally he will sit right away but he may need to be corrected a time or two.   When he finally does sit without a correction, PRAISE PRAISE PRAISE TREAT!  Wally will soon learn that he can do things the hard way (i.e get corrected) or the easy way (get a praise, treats, affection etc).

[Ben & Amos Zeeman]

Amos hit that same problem right at 7 months. He listens much better to my other family members, however, they mostly only give him attention when they have a treat. He does tricks more for me though. I have a thread and talked in another one about this same type of thing. I try not to let him blow me off, I try not to use his name when he does something wrong, and I got him a head collar, which is a bit different than a pinch, or prong collar. THe head collar worked almost instantly to help him settle down and stop pulling. It helped him to calm down and play more gently with my nephews and niece. I also have started praising him more for coming, and sometimes call him just to let him go back to what he was doing so he knows it's not a bad when I ask him to come. He is doing much better now. I am treating him much more, so I need to find some better compromise between kibble and treats. He doesn't obey for kibble. 

 

I also spent quite a bit of time talking with multiple trainers, both online and in person to get different opinions. I went back to the trainer for his puppy class and she spent a free half hour with us. I know the petsmart classes are guaranteed, and I assume others are too (our first classes were at petco) which often means that when they regress, they are happy to help you get them back on track without major costs, even if it means going through the class again. 

[Adina P]

Are PetSmart classes guaranteed to lead to a well trained, obedient dog on and off leash? Or are they only guaranteed to the extent that they'll keep giving you free/low cost classes forever?  Just wondering because the former is the only 'guarantee' I'd consider.

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

When I was looking for a trainer for Tara I visited 4 or 5 local trainers and sat in on one of each of their classes (without Tara). The trainer at Petsmart was touted as being a former trainer of police dogs, etc and supposedly the BEST! Well, I happened to over hear her talking with another person and she said that her OWN dogs jumped all over visitors when they arrived at the house!! Her reasoning? "Well, they are LABS!"!  Needless, to say... I went elsewhere...:) I don't mean to imply that it isn't possible to find a good trainer at a PetSmart store but that was my experience.

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

OMD! I remember when Tara hit this age and it seemed as though she sudden forgot every command that she had ever learned!  I have nothing to add to the good advice that you have received here other than moral support!! It was at that time that I had to switch from reward only training to a mix of correction and reward which works really well for her.  The reward only training had turned me into a treat dispenser! :(  (I was probably doing it wrong too!)  Good luck and just remember, repetition, patience and YOU"RE the boss!!!

[Adina P]

It's probably the way you are using the treats as Carol mentioned above.

The other thing to keep in mind is that until a dog is trained past contention to be reliable both on and off leash in just about any circumstance (dog park, store, downtown, beach, front door, near small critters, around scary things, etc) that dog is not yet 'trained.'  It may have started training but it is far from done. Most people teach a dog what words mean (i.e. put butt on floor when you hear the word 'sit') via bribes and once the dog shows competence at understanding basic commands they mistakenly think they are done with training. However, that's the easy part and the part young pups learn at lightening speed.  But once a dog enters gets to be about 5 months and they realize there are no down sides to NOT obeying they will gradually quit.

 

Even the 'finished' dog still needs to be practiced to keep up his skills.  Use it or lose it -- after all training is not like programming a computer where you type in a code and the computer just does it perfectly forever.  Training has to be finished...and then maintained.

 

I would either find a new training class or continue with the same trainer but move on to intermediate, advanced, etc.