When will it stick?

[hmeadq]

I know that classes are for training ME more than poor Doc and WOW do I need training.

He's the first dog I've ever trained and is having to get through my problems.

I think he is basically a good puppy (8 months). He is a jumper (wants to be pet by everyone!) but we are working on that, our new trainer says keep working he'll grow out of it. But we are in our 4th class and he is still having problems with some of the most basic commands! At home his down stay lasts the entire time it takes me to make dinner, but at class 2-3 minutes TOPS!

At home he will heel but at class he just wants to smell the floor! And on and on and on...

I am starting to wonder if it is ever going to take or what I am doing wrong. Do we not have the right relationship? Is he not bright, am I not bright?

We are working with him every day practicing stays (more then just a dinner time of course), heeling, downs, ect focusing on basic stuff. But he is not making any progress that I am seeing. So my question is when will it stick! and should I maybe take a break in classes until he grows up a little more... or is it just because he is my first dog to be trained...

[Judi W]

He is being a dog, no more, no less. Relax. Some doggy behaviors last as long as the dog! You just both learn to manage them better.

[spidey]

Are you practicing anywhere other than home and in class? Petsmart and places like that are wonderful places for proofing - you can start in an out of the way corner and work up to the busier areas (remember to reduce your criteria a LOT at first - if he'll stay for ten minutes with you ten feet away in the living room, only ask for a few seconds with you right next to him in Petsmart at first, and only change one of the three "d"s (distance, duration, distraction) at a time). The park or anywhere public is also good.

[2rotties2luv]

Heather, you sound just like me when I started training my first dog years and years ago.

Relax, and don't be in a hurry for your dog to do everything perfectly! He's a puppy, and everything is SO interesting and distracting! The first beginners class is hard, because YOU have a lot to learn, and your pup dooesn't know what is expected of him. As you continue with training, he'll start to "get it" and realize what fun it is. So don't give up. All of my dogs loved training once they got into it. And we just took the beginner classes over and over until I felt that they had learned everything at that level. Only then did we enroll in intermediate obedience. Don't worry about him not learning everything in the first beginners classes. Just repeat them and practice and eventually he'll be ready to move up to the next level. Have fun and don't rush!!

[SonnyRott]

3 minute down-stays at class for an 8 month old puppy are very good!

Slow and steady wins the race. The only time I practice "training" indoors is if the weather is poor. 99% of the time I like to train during walks, in the park...just about anywhere outside. Short, short sessions. When we are done, we play.

Don't give up! It will get easier as he matures and if you both keep at it!

Try this at the next class.....

Bring a pocketful of yummies (something he's never had before like chicken tenders from McDonalds). Don't give it to him at any other time but training class. The moment he starts sniffing the wonderful doggy smells on the floor, give him a "click click" with your tongue and tell him to "Watch Me". The moment he looks at you, reward him! He'll catch on real soon.

Good Luck!

[Canadianrotti]

Tonnes of grat advice above!!! I had the same question about my pup a few months back, she is now 16 m/o. I don't recall a specific date or time when it all clicked with her, but when I think back to when she was about 8 m/o , what a big difference to today!!

Enjoy the puppy hood, it will soon be over!!!

[hmeadq]

Thanks everyone!

We are going slow, took Basic twice and then Advanced. Now we are at a diffrent place and in Intermedate.

I try to take him out to public places to practice, found a great little service parking lot 10-15 feet from a very busy pathway near a nature center at a park here, but it is 30 minutes away. Unfortantly the park closer closes at 4:30 until April and now is not very used anyway. We live in an area where the minimum lot size is 2 acres and most people have 5-10 so there are no sidewalks, and if we walk down the road don't see hardly anyone. We do go to Petsmart sometimes and it helps. As the weathe gets nicer, more people will be in our local parks!

I'm stopping at McDonalds tonight on my way to class. We have been using cheese, but I bet Chicken fingers will be WAY BETTER!

I am getting better about relaxing, he is really a VERY good puppy. We are lucky to have found him...