Afraid of Training?

[frillint1]

I tried something new today trying to stay away from bow since anytime I tried to train that trick before he cowered and went and layed down. He did know the trick and did it fine for a long time then all the suddon he started freaking out. I started training him to jump trough a hoop today of course I just had is sat on the ground and was praising him for just walking through it, but almost immediately he started getting scared. It's like now he is afraid to learn anything new. He does good with his sit, down, stay, roll over, and shake. Other than those if I try something new he freaks. I don't know what to do this is really upsetting I want to teach him so many things, but I can't if he just shuts down before I try. I guess I was starting to get mad maybe he's afraid of me now or afraid of training? What should I do?

[Lilie]

Is he only reacting to tricks that cause him to be more physical than others? Perhaps he is in pain.

[RocketDog]

What do you mean by "starting to get mad"?

[frillint1]

No it's anything new I try to train him. It's almost as if he doesn't get whatever it is on the first try he gets upset afraid and just runs off. I just started to get really frustrated one day when I was trying to do some obedience outside trying to make a video to post online and he wasn't doing any of the tricks he just kept barking and barking and barking I had a piece of pork chop and I guess I just got mad and yelled at him to hush up. It's just odd, because he is so egar to do all the basic tricks and doesn't get nervous, but anything new he totally shuts down and takes off.

[Bear GSD]

You mentioned in one of your other posts that you have only had the dog for 7-8 months and that he came from an abusive family? I think if you got mad at him while training, he might have rememered something from his past that caused him to shut down.
I think you need to slow down and try and regain his trust and get him to the point where he is not fearful of trying new things again.

[frillint1]

How am I supposed to do that? I thought I was going slow I was upbeat giving him treats and he almost immediately started cowering before I could begin.

[Jag]

Don't coddle the cower. Ignore it. Stop the training. Play, play, play with lots of reward and praise. Do walks, hikes, whatever. Get the trust back first.

[frillint1]

How do I gain it back, should I just stop the obedience/tricks for now, because once he starts to cower he won't play or do anything he will just cower lay in his bed and not look me.

[EchoGSD]

My Echo is so sensitive that if I so much as sigh or she senses/feels me getting the least bit tense she will shut down. And she has always lived with us, no abusive prior life to get over. She has taught me to relax, breathe deep, and keep things very very light.

[frillint1]

I tried playing with one of his squeakies that he actually plays with and he didn't want anything to do with it he just crawled to my lap and rolled on his back. Of course I didn't push the toy I just stood up and started to play with the toy with Smokey.