He would rather give UP his fav toy then sit for it.

[x0emiroxy0x]

Rocky has been testing me the past two weeks and I responded by upping exercise (hour walk/run (split halfway between the two paces) in the AM, 45 minute walk at night) and stopping on these walks/runs every 5-10 minutes and refuse to move without him following my command.

Instead of setting myself up for failure, once we stop, I wait for him to focus on me before I say the command. If he isn't looking at me, it falls on death ears. He is focusing much much quicker now, and in result doing his commands quicker.

Tonight I played with him for about twenty minutes after my final and his walk. He would chase his ball, drop it in my lap, then do a command upon which I would throw it again. After about 10 times of this, he would NOT do ANY command but sit. He just kept licking my face (which actually is a trick).

He sat and then I would say "down" or "high five" or "shake" or even "kiss" and he would 1/4 of the way do them then CRY when I didn't give him the ball. For down, he would bend over for a second. High five he would lift his foot a centimeter. Same with shake. Kiss never happened unless I didn't say it.

Finally he just left me and went to his bed.

How sad is it that he would rather go to sleep then do what I say and get his ball?

[msvette2u]

The key is to quit JUST before he quits

[Jack's Dad]

Originally Posted by msvette2u

The key is to quit JUST before he quits

Yes to what msvette2u said.

Your pup sounds bored tired or both.

I also think maybe it would be better to have a short training session and then just let your pup have some fun. Stop training and just play with the ball or something else he likes.

He may just want to go to sleep because he is tired. He's not doing it to you. they don't think like people.

[brembo]

GSDs are smart, so they get bored really easily. Doing the same thing over and over will grind them down. Keep training sessions exciting and fresh, and keep the sessions on the short side, and do them several times a day rather than one long one.

I don't know Rocky's age but from your post I'd guess he's adolescent and he's probing his limits. You weren't training him, he was testing you. Remember GSDs are very, very smart.

[Rerun]

He shouldn't have had the option at this age of choosing to walk away from the training IMHO. That has just told him that he gets to decide when he isn't interested in doing something. The fact that he choose to sleep vs do something for the ball is just slowing a lack of drive on his part towards what you say his is favorite ball.

I'd up the fun in training, up the reward to something he truely loves and will work for, and shake things up. Don't just do fetch and trick over and over for 20 minutes. I agree that he was likely bored. You will kill the drive to work for that ball if you do this kind of thing regularly. You want to stop training while the drive is HIGH, not when they are tired and fizzle out.

I don't understand the wait for 5 or 10 minute thing on walks either. I wouldn't stand around for 10 minutes waiting for my dog to obey a command he was just given.

[x0emiroxy0x]

I meant that we stopped after every 5-10 minutes ((start at 8:05 ... at 8:15 when we reach the bus stop, he must sit and focus on me even with all the kids getting on the bus. at 8:25 we stop again and lay down while another person walks by without getting up. etc etc.)) but we only stop for about 30 seconds.

He always used to sit immediately but now it takes between 2-5 seconds (split second hesitation - short hesitation) and then he will completely ignore me. I have NO idea what to do about this. I just stand there and once he looks at me, he gets praise for focus and I tell him the command and then he does the 2-5 second hesitation thing again.

I don't let him get away with not doing it...but I do this via waiting for him to do it.

I really am at a loss for how to respond when I issue a command, while he is focused on my face, and he looks away and completely ignores me.

I am thinking of bringing the crate back out (haven't used it in 4 months) and no longer allowing him free roam of the room. This hesitation behavior began after I stopped crating him during the day while I was gone. Not immediately after, but it has slowly gotten worse and worse.

Could it be possible that giving him that much extra freedom has changed his role with me? His recall has also gone bad.

It has nothing to do with exercise.

I don't use treats when we train outside. Should I start over and bring the clicker and treats with me on walks again? Once he had it perfect, I started bringing it half the time, then he did all his commands with no clicker. Then I stopped crating him around that time.

So treats/clicker + crating during the day?

Please help. I don't want to mess up anything. Obviously this isn't the dogs fault.

(And thanks for the ball advice, I wasn't thinking of it that way and now I see! PS: RR---What would you have me do if he tried to walk away from training again?)

[Rerun]

If he's unleashed (at home, I do most of my OB off lead) and walks off, I would recall and be happy happy happy to get him to want to come back over. If he still ignores you, leash him back up, make the training more fun to engage him, get at least one positive out of him, then end the session. As far as his recall starting to lack, many dogs go through this at about his age. People rely on the puppies natural inclination to want to be with their owner/handler when theyare young, but by 6 months or so and onwards to about a year, most pups are going to become much more inquisitive about their surroundings and much more independent about wandering off. So I reach the recall from a very young age and proof it so this doesn't happen. I would put a long drag line on him when out in your yard, I'm talking enough line that you can easily snag the end of it should he decide not to come to you. Recall and when he gets to you , you want to act like he just won the doggie lottery. Lots of praise, treats, loving. Tell him what a great dog he is for coming to you. Then let him go again and wander off. Repeat ALL THE TIME. Recall, praise, let him go. Don't teach him that a recall means he's going back inside, or you're leaving, or whathave you. The line is for when he ignores you. Call him once, if he blows you off, don't call him again. he heard you the first time. Nothing lessens the importance of a command more than needlessly repeating it over and over and over to the point the dog is deaf to it. Get the line, reel him in, praise, treat, and let him go again.

I was just talking about this last night with another member here who goes to advanced OB with me. She was building her dog up in drive, and he was getting amped up but still under total 100% control, on lead as well, and the trainer said to calm him down. 99% of society doesn't need or want to get their dogs drive built up, they want a calm compliant dog that does what they say calmly. But the rest of us, including most on this forum, DO want to bring out that drive, excitement. You need to make training fun. Use the ball for a few minutes, use a tug, try different treats, pat their side and jump around a little. Get them EXCITED to train.

No I don't think the crate has anything to do with this. He's ignoring you simply because he can. You give the command, he doesn't do anything, so as you stated - you just do nothing. I would have a training collar on him (prong most likely, but hey that's just me, if he responds well to a flat then use that) and he would be on leash on these walks (I'm assuming he is?). If I said "sit" and he ignored me, I've give a sharp pop on the prong and make him sit. This isn't a little puppy, he knows what the command means based on posts you've written. He is simply seeing what he can get away with. Make him sit, praise him up, and continue on. Repeat as necessary.

I do not like to use corrections for little puppies, because they haven't learned the command enough to really "correct." But your guy isn't a little puppy anymore, he knows the command, and he's chosen to ignore it. therefore, IMHO, it's time to issue a correction when he blows you off. You want training to be fun, but he also must listen.

If the clicker/treats worked for you guys on walks, then by all means, start using them again.

[msvette2u]

What I do (for instance) is if you're losing them, you give them a command they cannot fail...if you see his butt heading towards the floor, give a quick 'SIT!' command as if you thought of it yourself. So when their butt hits, they still did what you wanted.

You have to just know your dog's body language and how long to keep the training up without losing them. Losing them before you're done is the worst, but you can still accomplish the "last word" so to speak by doing something as in the above.