So my friends farmdogs had puppies. The father was black lab, and the mother was an Australian Shepherd. We had it get its shots and everything, so its all good. But I have a few questions about it.
(1) Is it normal for him to be distracted by everything? For example, teaching him tricks and bite inhibition has been difficult. He learned sit easily, but when I work with him on stay, lay down, shake, etc. he get distracted. If I'm using a treat, he sits right away, but when I attempt to teach him to stay, or to lay down, he always turns his head frantically, trying to find the treat. If I keep the hand with the treat open all the time, he just lunges for it. How do I teach him these tricks without him being distracted everytime he sees my other dog, or hears someone else in my family, or a bird chirp outside, etc. And how do I teach him to not lunge for the treat?
(2)Bite inhibition. This is similar to the last problem. He has made pretty good progress since I started teaching bite inhibition. But he could have made much more if he wasn't so distracted by everything. To teach him how to not bite hard, I've been offering him my hand as my other one pets/plays with him. I let him lick it, and lightly chew on it. But if he chews too hard, I yelp, or say "Ow" in a firm voice, and look away for 10-15 seconds, and repeat. The problem is, in those 10-15 seconds, he finds something else to do. How do I keep him feeling like the game is over for those 10-15 seconds?
When we are lightly playing, he's good about biting hard. But when he gets riled up, he forgets all of that and bites hard whenever I try to take away something he can't have, or bring him inside. How do I reinforce his biting inhibition during these times?
(3) Finally, I know Austalian Shepherds are the kind of dog that always has to have a task, so what are some I can give to my dog when I don't have the opportunity to play with it?
Thank you for these answers, and i'm sure I'll have more questions soon enough. Thank you all.
(1) Is it normal for him to be distracted by everything? For example, teaching him tricks and bite inhibition has been difficult. He learned sit easily, but when I work with him on stay, lay down, shake, etc. he get distracted. If I'm using a treat, he sits right away, but when I attempt to teach him to stay, or to lay down, he always turns his head frantically, trying to find the treat. If I keep the hand with the treat open all the time, he just lunges for it. How do I teach him these tricks without him being distracted everytime he sees my other dog, or hears someone else in my family, or a bird chirp outside, etc. And how do I teach him to not lunge for the treat?
(2)Bite inhibition. This is similar to the last problem. He has made pretty good progress since I started teaching bite inhibition. But he could have made much more if he wasn't so distracted by everything. To teach him how to not bite hard, I've been offering him my hand as my other one pets/plays with him. I let him lick it, and lightly chew on it. But if he chews too hard, I yelp, or say "Ow" in a firm voice, and look away for 10-15 seconds, and repeat. The problem is, in those 10-15 seconds, he finds something else to do. How do I keep him feeling like the game is over for those 10-15 seconds?
When we are lightly playing, he's good about biting hard. But when he gets riled up, he forgets all of that and bites hard whenever I try to take away something he can't have, or bring him inside. How do I reinforce his biting inhibition during these times?
(3) Finally, I know Austalian Shepherds are the kind of dog that always has to have a task, so what are some I can give to my dog when I don't have the opportunity to play with it?
Thank you for these answers, and i'm sure I'll have more questions soon enough. Thank you all.