Obedience at 5 Months - Expecting too much?

[mamamia1]

My Kali is a couple weeks shy of 5 months and is graduating from beginners obedience next week. She does very well in class and gives me her full attention about 80% of the time. The rest of the time she still listens but she only gives me partial attention and spends her time sniffing the floor instead of watching me. She is consistent with her sits and we are working on longer stays, waits and drops. We've learned "park" to the left and right in the past couple weeks.

Now out in the real world, of course with many more distractions her attention drops down to about 50% and I'm having trouble consistently keeping a loose lead while heeling. I have been very diligent in trying to do all of this while keeping her only on a flat collar, although lately I have been very tempted to switch her to a training collar. My hubby swears I should get her a prong collar. I have no doubt that would work to get her attention level more consistent, however I really think she's too young for a prong and doing quite well given her age.

Am I expecting too much??? I remember having our last Rottie very well trained, but I'm having trouble remembering exactly what level she was at at different stages in her life.

[Mini Me]

First of all, training collars are not bad, you just need to be aware of how you use them. I'm sure you know that already. ;-) Your girl sounds like she's getting it, just let her progress at the pace which your time allows. They're only as good as your effort and consistency.

If your goal is to work with a flat collar though, then work with a flat collar. I switched my guy to a slip collar when we started our novice obedience, having done puppy class in a flat one. It did help, but I'm not entirely convinced that it's any more effective than I am when I really get into it. The absolute fastest way to get my guy's attention is for me to go crazy with the high happy, 'this is SOOO exciting' voice.

We always talk here about setting our dogs up to fail. Maybe you need to take your attention work a little slower when you're out in the real world. Get her really solid in mildy distracting environments, and be very aware of her progress when you start upping the distraction levels.

I would (and do) keep a slip collar in my arsenal for times when I can't afford to be anything other than completely in control. We train in it because that's how he was taught, and when we go somewhere really exciting, but I do as many of our walks in the flat collar as the slip.

Hope my experience is helpful. Knowing this board, you should have a few very informative answers soon.

[Nishasmom]

I think you are expecting too much. I felt the same way when Nisha was that age...she would get distracted by a leaf, bird, dog, ect. Then one day, I noticed how good she was; I guess it was a gradual thing. They have to gain the maturity to be able to focus 100% in high distraction places.

Also make sure you are using HIGH value treats....a treat that your dog sees as "the mother of all treats". ONLY use these in high distraction places.

Practice makes perfect, and remember she is just a baby! Keep the sessions short and productive. If you notice her starting to get bored, throw the ball around for a few minutes, then continue.

[Skip]

I think you are expecting too much too soon also. I keep the outdoor training sessions VERY short at such a young age. The majority of the time when I am walking a young dog on a leash outside, I only expect a few things. The dog does NOT have to stay close to my side, but just needs to adjust to my pace and change of directions. With such an incredible sense of smell, I'm sure the dog is constantly being bombarded with new and interesting odors on a walk, and I allow the dog to sniff everything and investigate stuff as long as the dog is not pulling. The dog needs to have fun on the walks.

[mamamia1]

Thank you for your responses. I'll start to carry around a few pieces of weiner or something really smelly and yummy.

This morning I was changing up kibble with periodic pieces of cheese and she did fantastic. We even did some off lead work on the beach. She was VERY attentive... until we came across that dead fish head. There's no match for a dead fish head! I offered her up a whole handful of treats and she let me at least get close enough to get the head out of her mouth, but she wasn't about to give it up on her own. I just clipped the lead back on and we continued on our way.

Hmmm... Maybe I should carry around a fish head in my back pocket. LOL :)

[speedy78]

Originally Posted by mamamia1

Thank you for your responses. I'll start to carry around a few pieces of weiner or something really smelly and yummy.

This morning I was changing up kibble with periodic pieces of cheese and she did fantastic. We even did some off lead work on the beach. She was VERY attentive... until we came across that dead fish head. There's no match for a dead fish head! I offered her up a whole handful of treats and she let me at least get close enough to get the head out of her mouth, but she wasn't about to give it up on her own. I just clipped the lead back on and we continued on our way.

Hmmm... Maybe I should carry around a fish head in my back pocket. LOL :)

I took gypsy to classes at 4 1/2 months she is now 7 months and in her second set of classes and I still dont let her off leash outside of the yard or training. She is very attentive and makes me look like a pro in classes but outside with other dogs she is still not obeying completely. I have a choke collar and she knows the difference when she just has her cloth one on. I can tell her what to do in the yard and house when she has her choke on with no leash but with the cloth she doesnt listen as well. I am still in training but she is so much more enjoyable now then before classes. like I've been told, not all dogs train the same as the ones we may have had before. good luck and have fun

[lengel]

One other thing from what's been said already. Our Zooey is a little over halfway through teething and she just turned five months. I picked up two baby teeth off the floor just yesterday. In the last week especially, Zo's attention span has been slim to none. Sometimes she doesn't even respond to her name.

However, she has graduated from puppy kindergarten and beginning obedience. I think she's just hurting. How does your pup's mouth look?

[Terri Lambert]

Instead of a prong or slip chain you may want to try a martingale collar with the chain as it has helped my girl out alot. It does not choke them like a chain collar could.

[mamamia1]

Originally Posted by lengel

One other thing from what's been said already. Our Zooey is a little over halfway through teething and she just turned five months. I picked up two baby teeth off the floor just yesterday. In the last week especially, Zo's attention span has been slim to none. Sometimes she doesn't even respond to her name.

However, she has graduated from puppy kindergarten and beginning obedience. I think she's just hurting. How does your pup's mouth look?

I actually just posted a question about teething and obedience a week or so ago. I had asked if lack of attention could be attributed to teething along with the normal signs such as crazy chewing, being nippy and quirky ears. Kali has all new incisors and it doesn't look like the rest will be too far behind. I am pretty sure this is a factor here.

[Patience. Patience. Patience.] I will try to keep this in my head. :)