I need help. Recall. Leash Manners. Counter Surfing.

[mrose_s]

Argh.... he just seems to be getting worse the harder I try.

This is half rant, I know the theory on training these things but I'm getting SOO frustrated with him.

Nothign I can do seems more interesting than say... eating grass. Considering I want his recall at the point where I can call him off chasing a rabbit it's so disapointing.
He;s finally started playing tug in public but as much as he likes that game, I always have to stir him up with it first so using it as a reward doesn't work fantastically.

He is back to constantly wanting tension on the leash. I have been stopping, waiting, turning around and clicking good behaviour for over a week and a half and he's just getting worse. I would love him to be a dog just happy to stroll along at my pace next to me, but he always wants to be out ahead, even if he's not pulling he's within cm's of doing so.

and he's started stealing food off the bench, he's NEVER been the sort of dog to do that.

I'm feeling so frustrated with him. Sometime when we're out you know he's listening and connected with you and working with you, but latley he's just been disconnecting more and more. Come to think of it its probably as my frustration levels go up he just shuts down.

He's getting out of the house more now than in his entire life but tomorrow I just want to spend the time training and trying to work through this, especially the leash manners and recall. I hate watching those 2 things slip because we've worked so hard for them.

Argh.. just a few more weeks, then my tax money gets here, then we can see a behaviourist.

[Saeleofu]

As far a counter surfing goes, if there's no food to steal he can't be rewarded for counter surfing. It's one of those things that is reinforced every time they do it because they get food. For starters try to keep the places he surfs clear of food. I know that the point is you don't want him to do with with food there, but you've got to re-start somewhere :/ I hope you can get these issues worked out!

[adojrts]

[quote=mrose_s;1481883]

He is back to constantly wanting tension on the leash. I have been stopping, waiting, turning around and clicking good behaviour for over a week and a half and he's just getting worse. I would love him to be a dog just happy to stroll along at my pace next to me, but he always wants to be out ahead, even if he's not pulling he's within cm's of doing so.

This could be part of the problem, depending on what and when you are clicking. I never click/reward if I have to fix a problem, if I have to stop or gently bring them back into position etc, they are never reward at that point. When I start forward again and they offer the desired behaviour I would then reward. To me it is a win/win for the dog, they get out of position, we bring them back and then we reward them, so no matter what they do they get a reward. And it ends up being yo-yo heeling, forward .........back with no clear set rules of what is rewarded or when.

I hope that makes sense.

[Doberluv]

Before being able to call him off a rabbit or other highly motivating critters and things, he needs to get a good recall on him in much, much less distracting environments, as you know. Start over....in the house or in an area that's very boring. Make yourself a very exciting and cool person. LOL. Play his favorite game, scratch his itchiest spot, give him a super tasty treat anytime he comes to you. Remember not to use your cue unless he's already coming to you. Don't use it to elicit the come if he's regressing with the recall. Gradually add distractions and change environments up.

Prey "resistance" training is specialized. There are some neat things you can do to practice this, where you have a helper, a fake prey animal, a bucket, a string, a better fake prey animal. It's a little involved, but I can tell you more about it later if you like. I did these exercises with Lyric, my Doberman when he was young and I could call him off mid chase of deer and things. But that's more advanced and takes lots of practice and the regular recall needs to get pretty darn sharp as a pre-requisite.

As far as counter surfing. Saeleofu nailed it.

With the tension and pulling on the leash, a week in a half is nothing. This can take months with some dogs....months and months of absolute consistency, focus training (at home), practice in boring places, a no-pull halti harness where there are too many distractions. Keep your leash about the same length always. never once take one single step if the leash is taut. Do keep mixing things up....stopping dead in your tracks until he gives you some slack, make turns, reinforce VERY frequently with tiny tid bits of yummy treats on an empty stomach. If he even takes two steps nicely, keep those treats coming, one after the next as he walks nicely. BEFORE he gets out to the end of the leash, playfully tell him "lets go" and spin around for a turn. You can take your hand, put it near his face to get his attention and swing it around with you as you turn, bend down a little, make big, funny, playful steps....like this is a game. Take a rope toy along with you and get him excited to work with you and get him engaged with the game. Keep practice sessions short. Quit if he gets bored or switch to working on something else for a while.

Regular walks are a great time to practice, but ONLY if they're in non-distracting areas. Otherwise, work in your yard and then use a no-pull (Halti harness....attaches from the front) when you must be in areas that are difficult for him. This is what I've done with Toker. She was a terrible, and I mean terrible puller. She is so much more engaged and is keeping the leash loose. She's not perfect always, but so much easier to walk. AND she's engaged with me, enthusiastic and tries hard to do it right.

Good luck.

[mrose_s]

Thanks guys, gonna start working on it all again today. I was expecting to have to do a lot of work with him when I got him back considering I knew he had no onleash walks and probably very little training at all for the last 3 months. Maybe he was just stressed at being in a new place so he was "easier"

ahh, I feel better now. I've been so unbelievably frustrated the last few days and I need to relax.

[Doberluv]

One thing that always helped me with training my dogs the essentials...when they were younger was the mind set that I never felt in a big rush. I didn't compete and so there was no big hurry to get everything all set right away. I worked on things when we took our walks or off leash hikes. That's the main time I spent on teaching a lot of things. Sometimes in the yard or in the house, depending on what we were doing. I don't know....it's hard to explain, but I just never feel like there's an urgent need to fix everything right away. So, that helped me relax I think. Training....learning is a process...kind of a fluid thing to me, that spans over the dog's life time. Some stuff that's really obnoxious, I might work harder on, I guess. And there will always be times when they have a little bit of regression, due to various factors. Stress, definitely can affect them. And if you're stressed, they pick up on that too and it bugs them. So, try to relax, make out a plan, take your time and most of all, enjoy the journey as much or more than the destination.

[mrose_s]

Thanks doberluv. I didn't end up taking him out yesterday, figured I'd jsut give it a break.
Took him out today and just figured we'd go into town for a short walk. I actualy had my patience and stopped every single time he put any tension on the leash and he was a perfect gentleman, we ended up out for an hour and a half. lol.
He needed a bit of reminding but he was trying really hard so I'm happy with that.

[vmills]

Originally Posted by mrose_s

I'm feeling so frustrated with him. Sometime when we're out you know he's listening and connected with you and working with you, but latley he's just been disconnecting more and more. Come to think of it its probably as my frustration levels go up he just shuts down.

In one of the Victoria Stilwell episodes, Victoria keep telling the woman walking her dog that she was communicating her frustration to the dog "through the leash." This dog barked incessantly when a stranger came toward her, so Victoria had the owner turn and walk away before the dog got excited. Then they quickly walked back toward the stranger. The owner felt less stressed, and so did the dog.

I know every dog is different, but there seems to do less of a problem (with training) if my attitude is positive. So I agree with you 100 %.

[Doberluv]

Oh that is good to hear. Give it time and consistency like you're doing, and it will come.

[mrose_s]

Today he turned a 15 minute walk into a 40 minute walk lol
But I had my dad with me and he's never been as well behaved when I have another person with me. It will come.