dog training

crake

I'm at a bit of an impasse with training my dog - and I always reach this same impasse with dogs. He's about a year old, retriever/dane mix. I've had him for about a month and a half, and have achieved all the usual training goals. Sit, stay, come, off, drop-it, shut-the-fuck-up, etc.

The problem I always hit is making them obey when distracted or outside. He wont work for treats, which makes this even more frustrating. He does like to work for a sock, but no sock in the world will make him obey when we're outside.

I know, I've only had him a month, just be patient, etc. I've had enough experience with dogs though to know that this is going to be a trouble spot for him for the next couple of years. He's a runner, too - so I'm keen to get these commands to work outside as soon as possible, as they could very well save his life the next time he manages to escape.

Anyone have any suggestions? Just don't bother with snack suggestions. Trust me on that one.

Gear Girl

Honestly, I have had the same problem with dogs in the past. I find it is a bit easier once they get past the super excited puppy that could run in circles for 10 hours stage. They never listen to me at this stage but they have ALWAYS listened to my mom, she does the sort of yelling but not really mom voice and they come every fucking time. I asked her how she does it but she can not explain it...I guess it's just a mom thing.

Positive reinforcement seems to work the best for me. When he does come you shower him with praise..don't use too many treats because they he will start to expect it..but just make him feel like he is the best dog in the entire world.

Nucsh

http://www.simplysarah.com/

Absolutely amazing when it comes to training dogs and giving advice on the matter. Look into some of her books, or browse her site for a bit.

Yar

A few things:

1) Train the dog with a "look at me" command. This is a good first step in any kind of training. Regardless of what you're using, treats, a sock, whatever, train the dog solidly on command to look at you. It's a good opener to any other command.

2) Long lead. Like a 30-foot leash. Play around outside with the dog on the 30-foot leash. When you want the dog to come, tell it to come, then make it come by reeling it in. Eventually they'll learn. A really good trick if he's running away from you is to issue the command (stop, come, look at me whatever) just a second before you know the slack on the leash is going to end. So you're like "dog, heel!" or whatever, and a second later he hits the end of his slack and is slammed onto the ground by his neck.

3) Angel collars can be pretty effective. They aren't choke collars, but they encourage the same obedience nonetheless.

StephenB.2006

Are you familiar with the heel command? If your dog can handle heel, it should be receptive to other commands when outdoors. I've found that the circle walk is actually quite effective. Essentially, you keep the leash short and force the dog to walk beside and slightly behind you. Teach the dog that this is heel. Over time, you can allow the dog plenty of slack and call it to heel when desired.