Wont Obey without treat

[Mannyf50]

Hey all! i need a bit of help i have a smart 6 month old rottie, and so far ive gotten him to do almost every command the thing is he only does it when he sees i have a treat in hand... when i have no treat he will not obey, when i have a treat he obeys, ive tried making the amount of treats less and less, and he goes by it but when he sees i dont have a treat in my hand he just will not do the command, any tips would be greatly appreciated, Im new to the rottie world and just love these dogs!

[hokisteph5]

I was taught to treat three times when teaching a new trick/command and then not treat when I asked the fourth time. That way the dog doesn't get in the habit of only working for treats.

That said, Gretchen has a habit of sniffing the air to see if what I have is worthy of her doing the requested command. What I do is say the command and then wait. I don't repeat the command.

[Canadianrotti]

I am curious if you have done any training classes, or is this all stuff you do on your own? I find classes very valuable for a few reasons. The trainers will pick up on body language that I am giving my dog that i am not aware of. They also help with different ways to reward that might be more effective (you can reward with a simple "yes", a but scritch, or play with a fav ball).

Good luck with the training, have fun!

[Mannyf50]

ive actually done on my own, ever since i got him at 10 weeks i jumped on it, and i do this with him about 4 times a day 10-15 minute sessions, hes really smart, sometimes shocks me lol now when he does do it i tend to reward him by rubbing his head, and after a good training i play with him, i have him fetching after a frisbee which he just loves running after!

[spidey]

You need to get into a class to learn how to train with treats correctly. You haven't been training with treats, you've been bribing with treats, if your dog will only work if he can see a treat.

[Mannyf50]

Thanks allot, i guess ill have to find classes then!

[groupieindenial]

There's a fine line between reward, and bribing, and it all has to do with timing and rewarding randomly theron after.

[Canadianrotti]

Originally Posted by groupieindenial

There's a fine line between reward, and bribing, and it all has to do with timing and rewarding randomly theron after.

I had a hard time figuring this out, and the trainer was very helpfull at getting my timing down.

You said that your dog is a smart guy (he is a rotti after all! ), so that makes it that much more important to get the timing right. I am still amazed at how much dogs read body language.

I was strugling doing one particular turn in agility with Raelin. The trainer said that I was leading her with my shoulders by turning in one direction and telling her to go the other and she was confused . All I did was adjust my timing so that she got the command, understood what i wanted her to do, then I turned. After that, she never mised the turn (unless I forgot ).

What I am trying to say is that when a trained professional is observing you and giving you feedback, it is because they are seeing things that you could never see.

Good luck and have fun with your pup.

[Tywaknya'sBABY]

I asked this same question when shyla was "out-smelling" me. It was suggested by a member not to hold treats when practicing things that are being re-enforced and not taught. He said that he made a big ordeal after the command was done to go to the treat jar. That way the dog would never know if there was a treat in store.

This worked as well as only stating the command once and enforcing it. I had to leash a 50 lb pup to me at all times to get in the habit of never letting her get away with not performing the task-on time.

We went through Obedience 1 twice because she enjoys it but it's more about training the owner how to train the dog than anything and is so worth the money.

Good Luck

[Mannyf50]

thanks allot guys,really appreciate it luckily theres a rottweiler club here in south florida and they have obedience classes

[LolaLaRue]

I have always trained with a clicker to start, when teaching sit for example we would lure the dog with the treat then click and treat, after they got the idea and we named the cue "sit" we would click and treat but never with food in our hand, my trainer always suggested a pouch or putting it in your pocket, because if you have a treat in your hand they are looking at the treat and not obeying or hearing you, they just start offering behaviours to get the treat without listening. then sometimes we praise and sometimes we give a treat so they never know whats coming. we also fade the clicker and teach a release word so you dont have to carry a clicker and treats for the rest of your life.

to sum up my rambling, once the dog understands the command have the treats in a pouch or pocket never in your hand!