He FINALLY gets it!

evybear15 · 01-17-2012, 01:30 PM

I posted a little while ago in the training section on how to teach Baxter the "Speak" command. We tried everything - barking at him, videos of dogs, knocking on the door, etc. Nothing would work.

We had our training session yesterday, and the trainer decided to give it another shot, even though we haven't made any progress with it aside from once...MAYBE twice. Magically, he DID it! Granted, it was the highest-pitched, wimpiest bark I have ever heard come out of that boy (including when he was a tiny pup), but still. He barked!

We've been working on it consistently since then - he's tried to get away with just the motion of barking with no sound, and gets mad when he doesn't get a treat for that...but he KNOWS what to do now. It finally clicked! Hooray!

Courtney · 01-17-2012, 01:50 PM

Good boy Baxter!

1sttimeforgsd · 01-17-2012, 03:57 PM

Atta boy!

evybear15 · 01-17-2012, 04:09 PM

Thanks, guys! At first he did his usual routine of wave, shake, high-five, sit, down, get frustrated, punch us in the stomach... Poor guy was trying so hard to figure it out that he would go through his whole repertoire of tricks to get to the right one.

It's like this light bulb went off and he had this look of, "OH! So THAT'S what you want!!" I loved that moment of realization for him. I might even be able to differentiate "Speak" and "Talk" - he kind of grumbles half the time instead of giving me an actual bark. I think it's cute.

ladyfreckles · 01-18-2012, 05:32 PM

Aww! Good boy Baxter! You must be a proud mama.

01-17-2012, 01:30 PM	#1 (permalink)
evybear15 Elite Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Ohio Posts: 1,560	He FINALLY gets it! I posted a little while ago in the training section on how to teach Baxter the "Speak" command. We tried everything - barking at him, videos of dogs, knocking on the door, etc. Nothing would work. We had our training session yesterday, and the trainer decided to give it another shot, even though we haven't made any progress with it aside from once...MAYBE twice. Magically, he DID it! Granted, it was the highest-pitched, wimpiest bark I have ever heard come out of that boy (including when he was a tiny pup), but still. He barked! We've been working on it consistently since then - he's tried to get away with just the motion of barking with no sound, and gets mad when he doesn't get a treat for that...but he KNOWS what to do now. It finally clicked! Hooray! __________________ Evan Baxter - aka "Basher" GSD 9/27/10 Boomer - aka "Black Panther" 05/2006 Star - The Angry Princess Kitten 05/2006 "No matter how little money and how few possessions you own, having a dog makes you rich." --Louis Sabin

01-17-2012, 03:57 PM	#3 (permalink)
1sttimeforgsd Crowned Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: West Virginia Posts: 4,891	Atta boy! __________________ karen, mom to: ace-gsd (bi-color) 6/14/2010 mandy-yellow lab 1/31/2009 baby-terrier mix 11/25/2000

01-17-2012, 04:09 PM	#4 (permalink)
evybear15 Elite Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Ohio Posts: 1,560	Thanks, guys! At first he did his usual routine of wave, shake, high-five, sit, down, get frustrated, punch us in the stomach... Poor guy was trying so hard to figure it out that he would go through his whole repertoire of tricks to get to the right one. It's like this light bulb went off and he had this look of, "OH! So THAT'S what you want!!" I loved that moment of realization for him. I might even be able to differentiate "Speak" and "Talk" - he kind of grumbles half the time instead of giving me an actual bark. I think it's cute. __________________ Evan Baxter - aka "Basher" GSD 9/27/10 Boomer - aka "Black Panther" 05/2006 Star - The Angry Princess Kitten 05/2006 "No matter how little money and how few possessions you own, having a dog makes you rich." --Louis Sabin

01-18-2012, 05:32 PM	#5 (permalink)
ladyfreckles Elite Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Seattle Posts: 1,822	Aww! Good boy Baxter! You must be a proud mama. __________________ Viking vom Zeder-Kamme (11/19/2011)

01-17-2012, 01:50 PM	#2 (permalink)
Courtney Knighted Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Ohio Posts: 2,907	Good boy Baxter!

Remove Advertisements Sponsored Links
German Shepherd Advertisement