sit NOW! not 3 seconds later...

[iBaman]

So Shel is very good about his tricks. My only problem is WHERE he sits...I'd like to get him to sit directly in front. When he is, he's usually RIGHT on top of me, and he can't lay down without moving. so when I do down sits, he ends up practically behind me!! Also, he tends to do a few steps, and THEN sit. Hints? Tips? Anything? He's clicker trained (haven't used it in a while though), and have been using kibble as treats (when we use treats...he gets UBER distracted when food is present, so we've been doing praise and toy).

[SummerwoodSoaps]

I would try higher value treats.

[iBaman]

treats = no focus. he gets distracted and does his own thing, then gives up when he doesn't get the treat.

[Lucy Dog]

How's the eye contact? I think eye contact is the single most important thing when getting a dog to immediately respond to commands.

If the dog doesn't have eye contact, he's not completely focused, and the commands take longer.

[Cassidy's Mom]

Originally Posted by iBaman

...(when we use treats...he gets UBER distracted when food is present, so we've been doing praise and toy).

Teach him impulse control around food. The sight of food should make him immediately ignore it and make eye contact with you. This is really not that hard to train, and will help you in so many other ways. This game is great for teaching a default leave it and watch (no commands, the dog learns to do it automatically):

"It's Yer Choice" - YouTube

"It's Yer Choice" - YouTube

I did this with Halo a lot when she was a puppy, and here she is at 14 weeks old, the second week of puppy class, watching me with food on the floor in front of her:



By then she had already learned that the way to "make" me give her food was to ignore it and look at me instead.

It sounds like you need to go back to luring with food to get the positioning that you want. Mark and give the treat when he's exactly where you want him. If he backs up to lay down, practice with his butt in a corner so there's nowhere for him to go.

[iBaman]

fair enough. may have to do that. go back to the basics and start over. xP

[Magnolia]

That's a great help.

[Cassidy's Mom]

Originally Posted by iBaman

fair enough. may have to do that. go back to the basics and start over. xP

Sometimes that's the best way. Breaking things down into smaller steps and getting those solid before progressing further can really help.

[MaggieRoseLee]

Originally Posted by iBaman

treats = no focus. he gets distracted and does his own thing, then gives up when he doesn't get the treat.

I agree that you need to take a step back and rethink the training.

With a puppy, if you are ALLOWING hime to give up when he isn't earning a reward, then YOU aren't rewarding enough, or clearly, or using the right treats. WE need to break down training SO OUR PUP SUCCEEDS AND LEARNS. Setting them up to 'win' in a training session, not 'lose' and so give up.

This is why training isn't easy and most of us end up reading, getting DVD's and GOING TO PUPPY CLASSES! We need to be able to break down a training session into little bites of learning meaning our pups earn TONS of tiny rewards, are dying to learn more, are looking up at us and wanting more more more rather than wandering off.

Breaking up a session with tons of tugging and play when they've been particularly amazing. Using real treats. Having realistic expectations.

Making it crystal clear so the puppy understands (clicker is a HUGE help) and their little brains are going 'I am fabulous and brilliant and smart'. So how can I, as a trainer, make it clear how SMART my puppy is. Rather than frustrate them so they give up.

Click this---> Intro to Clicker Training (perfect for puppies!)

[iBaman]

we used to use duck jerky, but he stopped responding to that...I'm thinking about cutting up the hot dogs we have in the fridge and microwaving them until they're nice and dry and using those...puppy classes will be done as soon as my friend's back is a little better (she used to show basset hounds and dobermans, and did dog training for a living, so she's going to do mine free), so hopefully that'll be soon. We've got about 5 books on dog training, but none seem to quite address the problem we're having...so we're working on focus (that video was a GREAT Help, Cassidy's Mom!!)

And I know he understands, cause he used to have this stuff down perfect...he just started slipping lately (his sits have always been really slow and he moves a lot....