Looking for some advice on training

ok I have a lovely hound mix whos roughly 4-5 years old. Sadly before I got her the people who owned her beat her badly (still breaks my heart everytime I mention it) well I'm attempting to training her to learn some basics like sit, stay, gentle, etc. etc. but I get as far as sit before she rolls over tail between the legs and looks away as if she did something wrong..my voice isnt loud or anything like that..i've noticed that she doesnt like people taller then her so I get on the ground with her and tell her commands like sit and try and go through the rest but the minute she sits shes over on her back. Is there anything I can do? I'm trying to "break" her being scared of everything.

With dogs like that...you can NOT use ANY marsh methods...and I am talking things a simple as Choke collars...pinch collars...even some times the clicker can be scary to dogs tat have that past It is very sad.

I cannot offer any advise on training, I have never had a dog like that..but good for you for rescueing her and giving her a good loving home

thank you Lizmo thankfully I don't have anything like that just the basic collar with her tags..its so sweet cause if my doors shut she sits there and literally cries until i open my door she won't go into anyone elses room

Awww that is so sweet! You can tell she just adores you

How long have you had her? It may take months, even a year, for her to learn to trust you so that you can do some basic training.

Awww, how lucky for your girl that she has found you. I certainly feel for you. I don't think Meg has ever been beaten, but she is naturally a very 'soft' dog, and does not handle any correction well; even a verbal "Uh-uh" will have her slinking out of the room or under a table. If you do a search for my name under the training section, there are at least two posts where I got some great suggestions on building her confidence.

Have you tried a clicker yet? I know some dogs don't like the noise, but if your girl is okay with it, the clicker could be a godsend. Paired with really really good treats, it makes training a positive experience and allows your dog to earn her own rewards. I love it because I don't have to use any corrections when I'm working with the clicker; I simply hold off until there is something (anything!) I can click and reward.

When Meg is having a particularly sensitive day, I have to be very careful that she doesn't constantly get things wrong. If we are working on the tire jump (I do agility with her), and she goes under it and doesn't get a reward twice, she says, "Forget it. I'm an idiot, I never get anything right. I'm done." So, if she misses something more than once, I automatically ask for something simple (lie down, over a jump, or even sit) that I can reward and praise for. It keeps her interested in the game.

Do you train with treats? If your dog will take treats from you, and she has "sit" down, I would just spend a lot of time doing that for now. Let her get a lot of things right for a while and see if it helps her confidence.

Good luck with her, and be sure to post updates. I know how frustrating it can be to work through this, but it is such an amazing feeling when they start to come around.

One other piece of advice I got that really sticks out in my mind. I believe it was Sam that posted it, but I apologize if I'm wrong. She said something along the lines of "reward any "brave" behavior". I've really been trying to do that, and I think it has been a big part of Meg's increased confidence. One of the clearest cues for me is watching Meg's "tail" (it's actually docked to about 2 inches). When she is worried, it is pressed down tightly; when she is feeling better, it comes up and she carries it high. If I am in any situation where I see she is carrying it low, I try to just stay upbeat and nonchalant. As soon as it starts coming up, I praise her, try to play with her a bit, and feed treats. It really does seem to be helping.

wow thanks guys for all the comments I've had my dog (pretzel) for roughly 2 1/2 years.. I'm the only one she won't run away from at all. I've started basic sit and shake the paw tricks for now. Although I am curious about the clicker how do you exactly work with your dog and the clicker?

I've got a soft former rescue dog too. His default behavior was to lie down with his head on his paws and look very pathetic. He was actually too frightened at first to show me his belly. I thought it was so cute and rewarded it like crazy, going over and patting him etc- whoops. he learned that that was what I thought "good behavior" was and it's hard to break him out of that "look and act pathetic" mode.

If you want to teach a new behavior try luring the dog into position and giving him the treat when he is in position works well. Once he is reliably and easily luring into the position, you can add the cue. The clicker is a little tool used to mark the correct behavior. You click and then give the dog the reward. The dog learns the association between the two and learns that the click means he did the right thing and that the reward is coming. It's usually very motivating and makes it easier for the dog to learn. To learn more about clicker training, check out www.clickersolutions.com and www.clickertraining.com .

Make sure you don't comfort and coddle your dog when he is showing fearful, shutdown, scaredy behavior. We mean to comfort, but the dog takes it as reinforcement as in - yes you are doing something I like by acting pathetic and you will see more of that behavior.

Hard as it may be, the best thing to do is ignore the scaredy behavior and reward /reinforce happy, brave, playful or normal behavior. If the dog doesn't display happy, brave behavior , reward the best (most normal, most confident) you've got.

Don't try to get your dog to do anything he's afraid of ie interact with people, that just adds pressure. Let the dog decide when it's comfortable and wants to appraoch people- until then just have people pretend the dog isn't there. When the dog does decide to approach, have people say nothing and just toss the dog a treat or give the dog a treat. Don't force the dog to come to the person to get it, (because he'll offer scaredy behavior and it will be reinforced sending the wrong message) just let it all happen at the dogs pace.

My dog is doing great with clicker training! Check out www.clickertraining.com for all the basics of it. It really helps shy, frightened dogs. Well, as long as they aren't afraid of the clicker! If they are, you can substitute something quieter like a ball-point pen.