Weird Session

[Sue J]

Not sure what to think about tonight's training session. Jett acted really weird from the get go. Seemed afraid of trainer when she started to teach us the stay. Jett tried to bolt & run, tail tucked, ears back. I took Jett and gave the same command and she jumped up from sit and tried to jump into my arms, John took her and tried and she tried to do same with him. She acted scared to death of the hand signal if that makes any sense. We changed location and went back to our normal process since Jett didn't seem ready for anything new. She ignored, refused everything, wouldn't walk, lunged, you name it. It seemed like a huge battle of will. I think we lost tonight. I was dumbfounded by her behavior. The trainer took her and finally got her settled down and walking, but it took probably 30 min.,just to do that. We all thought it took way too long. Trainer says she thinks Jett is really trying us and it's important we ensure she absolutely understands we're alpha. At one point she said it was worse than her first session. She also said Jett may have regressed tonight, which 6 mo. old ones do in her opinion. She said to spit in her food and be in tune to everything Jett does and remain in alpha position. What I found odd is, that as soon as we came in the house, Jett immediately went to my bed. She doesn't ever sleep there. I put her off 3 times before she gave it up. Later, I gave her a treat, petted her for while and she's totally wiped out now. As I've mulled it over now, I'm not certain I buy the alpha thing about tonight, I think for some odd reason she got stressed out and what I saw was stress reaction. What's your thoughts on this? As always, advice is welcome.

[Dobs4ever]

Dobes are famous for pulling an avoidance act to see if they can get buy with it. The key is you stayed with it until you got her to heel - at least you did not stop because of her behavior. This will help teach her that you work through a problem not avoid it.

Aren't They just too much fun????

[SnuzerDog]

This reminds me of how firm and steady you have to be with 2-4 yr old children when they start to decide for themselves what they think they are going to do, despite what Mom and Dad think... :D It is my opinion that kids and dogs are both going to have some really good days, some really bad days, and days where they really do try to see what they can get away with.
My thought, and what has always worked for me in the past in dealing with all types of creatures (including humans :rolleyes:) is that you must first and foremost not allow your emotional state to vary- you must KNOW that you are ultimately in control of the situation, which you are! Remind yourself that you love this being, and want only what is best for it. While your companion may not be acting as you like, you still decide how you are going to feel, think and react about it- this in my mind is the key. Then you can make thoughtful, sensitive and logical decisions on how to proceed. This state of mind and follow-through makes you the alpha. I think it is possible to carry the wolf/dog instinct/behavior thing past it's usefulness, but each animal is it's own being, and you have to find by trial what works for you and the dog!
Personally, I agree w/Dobs4ever- it was good you stayed with it. You were engaged in doing something that benefits the dog, and the dog must know that it does not call the shots, especially in strange situations. We all, including dogs, must learn to work through uncomfortable situations and fears. Good job hanging in there! :)

[Sue J]

Thanks!!! She hasn't tried us since, cross your fingers for us that she got it then.

[jelly8bean]

It always seems to be one step forward and two back with training. One day all my puppies are spot on with commands and then the next they seem to have forgot what the whole thing means. Especially when you are in the baby/teen stage. Good luck!

[tidibole]

It always seems to be one step forward and two back with training. One day all my puppies are spot on with commands and then the next they seem to have forgot what the whole thing means. Especially when you are in the baby/teen stage. Good luck!HOW TRUE. I started to train my first Weim at 6 months. (he is now 7) I just assumed that he would learn quickly, probably compared him to a dobe. He just appeared to refuse to comprehend. THEN..at 9 months, it was as if the light blub went on and he remembered everything that he had taught earlier...

[dobeshowgirl]

Hi Sue :-)

It sounds like your girl was just having an off day. In my years of experience in confirmation training (I am not experienced with obedience, but you do have to have your dog in tune and listening to what you need her to do in the confirmation ring) I have found many times that these babies are just like people! They have good days and bad, some things set them off and some don't :-) I have found that some of my showdogs respond better to frequent short training sessions throughout the day or week and some respond far better to just 1 or 2 longer training sessions during the week. Find what seems to work best for your girl and run with it :-) The key is definitely patience and it sounds like you are on the right track! I definitely agree with having her work through what may trigger or frighten her, and it is absolutely ok to take a break and then go back in a few minutes and then do it again....and again....and again....and again... LOL......Now if only it were that easy to train my children Ha Ha.

Best of Luck!

[Dobs4ever]

Sue - when I work with a dog I set a goal for that particular exercise. 3 to 5 times max. Otherwise Dobes get very bored and will just blow you off. So you have to keep them hopping. I have a member of our club who goes to a trainer whos method is drill drill drill over and over again. She has some awesome bred dogs from a long standing working kennel with excellent reputation and proven performance. So I know it is not the dogs fault - but they are dead beats. Have tons of titles but not a dog I would want to show on the end of my leash as they have been drilled to death. I want to set my dog up to win in each and every practice session.

Here is the thinking - If the dog comes out and does it right first time we are done and move on to something else, otherwise how does the dog know he when he is right??? If you continue to drill this is what tends to happen - . The longer you work on it the worse it gets and since you want to end on a positive you have set yourself up for failure and frustrate the dog.

We may not walk away with the top ribbon everytime we go into the ring but everyone comments on how up beat and willing my dog was to work. I want them to be happy and excited - I have heard so many say that they hate heeling and mostly from what I can see it is becasue of the drilling aspect. So for me heeling is fun fun fun and fun for the dog because we make it a game he can win. Just my thoughts and personal experience.

[Sue J]

She hasn't acted out with me since that night. I think she does get bored fairly quickly so what I've done is put her through her known pace (lets go, sit, figure 8's, down) only at the beginning for a very short period, most of the time only once around. We doing something different each time we're out. Today jogged 15', lured with her ball, have army crawled, around & walk over split rail fence poles, "let's sniff everything" walks to the garden and stuff like that. She seems to enjoy that kind of thing. We always finish with out and out play time. I do think she's getting it that walks aren't about dragging me around and we can enjoy each other on them much better now. After all dancing with jumping toads is a load of fun :) She's such a big ole loveable goofball.

[Dobs4ever]

Sue so glad to hear you are having such fun. Remember you are both learning and this is what makes it the most fun. You are leaning things that are particular only to Jett as each dog is different although there are certain breed specifics you can usually count on.
But it is the sharing and learning together that makes the journey so very special.

I start each work session with play - play inbetween and end with play. I want the dog to go in thinking WOW working is FUN!!

[Big Dogs]

Sue you and jett will have set backs your doing fine and you did the right thing by seeing it through. By seeing it through you have set a tone for your training that will help you succeed with jett. Dogs like to test some more than others but they will all test in different ways and you must do what you did with seeing it through or your training will be greatly affected. I prefer to train 2-3 times a day and you have to read the dog as to how long you can work them. In the beginning usually 15-20 min sometimes 30. As the dog is progressing and working well I like to move up to 45 min to 1 hour and as dobs4ever stated it's play time! Just remember to stay calm don't get frustrated and she will make mistakes it's all part of training some sessions will be better than others just end on a positive note even if you have to repeat something she already knows as that is what she will remember.

[Sue J]

Thanks everyone for the support, all of you are super. At our session today, she didn't want to have the trainer handle her again. None of us can figure out why. At this point it's okay, the trainer just instructed me and we went on with the session. John is over it! He can't get her to respond, but then he is so inconsistent. Each time he had her I had to spend time getting her back on track. I think it's just gonna be me and her for the rest of the training. I just hope he doesn't mess me up in between.

[Dobs4ever]

Sue don't worry about it. He will not mess her up because he does things differently. He will not get the same responses you do and if it is OK with him then let it be OK with you. My hubby does his own thing. DRIVES me nuts. I just have some hard fast rules I do not allow and he knows it or I really let my "HAG NAG" all hang out. The dogs don't seem to have a problem with it at all. Keep up the good work.

Good Point Big Dogs. I too work up to about an hour but we are doing a wide variety of things so not just one thing - play work play work play work play Keeps it moving right along for the dog. With summer coming on I would like to advise everyone to be aware of heat stroke - THE DOG needs water in between and if it is real hot I take them to the hose (Gunner drinks out of the hose) and cool them down by sprayng his belly area and chest and then wetting down his back about every 15 to 20 minutes and then cool them down with cold water again before putting them up.