Help needed please.

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#1
Okay, so I have a 2 year old rottie cross and I'm just getting so frustrated! She keeps doing so many things that I keep trying to correct and feel like I'm just not getting anywhere. She's been through basic obedience, but that didn't even help. I'll work with her and she'll be fine one day, and then the next all of her training just goes out the window. She gets distracted so easily it drives me crazy and I don't know what to do about it. She doesn't even behave for treats anymore. Ahh.

She's my first dog (we've had other dogs in the house, but my parents always dealt with them and they were purebred show dogs, so yeah) and there's no one in my area that can help me with this so I'm hoping someone on here can help me!
 
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#2
Do you practice NILIF at home? For many dogs, especially in the beginning stages of training, very strict NILIF needs to be practiced for them to fully understand what is expected of them at home.
 

corgipower

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#3
It would be easier to help if we had specific behaviors that are an issue. Also, what have you done to try to train her, what methods have you used?

What treats do you use and how? She might need different treats or toys to be motivated. When you say she "doesn't even behave for treats anymore" what is it she's doing, what is it you're doing? Are you luring or rewarding?

The things that you're trying to correct, how are you trying to correct them?

For the pottying issues, first rule out any medical causes - UTI, incontinence, etc. Then get her on a regular schedule of pottying - I would go back to a puppy schedule, taking her out every couple of hours and after eating, drinking.
 
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#4
Do you practice NILIF at home? For many dogs, especially in the beginning stages of training, very strict NILIF needs to be practiced for them to fully understand what is expected of them at home.
Yeah I do. And she'll be fine for a couple days and then it'll all go out the window and I feel like I'm restarting again. And I work with her almost every single day so it's not like she's just forgetting or something.
 
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#5
It would be easier to help if we had specific behaviors that are an issue. Also, what have you done to try to train her, what methods have you used?

What treats do you use and how? She might need different treats or toys to be motivated. When you say she "doesn't even behave for treats anymore" what is it she's doing, what is it you're doing? Are you luring or rewarding?

The things that you're trying to correct, how are you trying to correct them?

For the pottying issues, first rule out any medical causes - UTI, incontinence, etc. Then get her on a regular schedule of pottying - I would go back to a puppy schedule, taking her out every couple of hours and after eating, drinking.
She has no potty issues. That's one thing I've never had problems with. She was trained to go outside and on walks within two days of having her at home, lol.

Okay, issues. Jumping, on everyone, all the time. That's the biggest one that drives me and everyone else in the house nuts. Also real annoying when on walks. Not fun when a 100lb dog is pulling you down the street, haha. Not sitting and staying. Not coming when called. Not heeling. There's more, I just can't think of them. As they come up, I'll add.

I use little dry liver treat things. She absolutely loves them. The method I use is ignoring bad behavior or saying "no!" or "bad" when I catch her doing something bad. Like when she jumps when I come in the door, I'll say "no" or "down" and then make her sit nicely before I pet her. But the thing is I think she even view me saying "no" as positive attention. So that's not really helping.

The only time I have ever used treats as a lure is when she decides to take off out the door. Otherwise I wait until she does what I'm asking before I treat her and tell her she's a good puppy and all that. And when I'm luring her I always use a different treat then what I use when I'm trying to train her. But the whole not behaving for treats anymore, its like, hm, how can I put it. She like doesn't even really care that she'll get rewarded for good behavior some days. She just gets in this mood where she doesn't care, she's going to be bad all day and that's the end of it. And then other days she'll be perfectly well behaved all on her own without me even telling her what to do or asking for anything.

And its so hard when training her, she's gets distracted so easily. I think that was my biggest problem when I had in her obedience training. She wouldn't listen to me or the trainers because all the other dogs and people were far more interesting. And when I'm working one on one with her I'll try to make sure there's no distractions, and she'll be good, and then as soon as I try to use it in "every day life" she'll just get distracted all over again and we're right back where we started. Again.

So yeah. Give me ideas, correct me if I'm doing something wrong. I won't be offended lol. I just really want to get somewhere with my baby. :( It doesn't help that my mom's getting so frustrated she's talking about getting rid of her either. Bleh.
 

adojrts

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#6
When training or using treats do you have them in your hand? If so that is the first problem.
Your correct, by giving any attention, even 'no', is self rewarding because she has your attention, even if it is negative, then you give her a reward......
I would suggest that you start with focus games like 'watch me', which should be done in the home, then outside, then finally in other loactions for distractions.

I am also a little confused, your parents had show dogs and they can't/don't help you with training this dog? If they had show dogs, they should know how to fix these unwanted behaviours.
 

corgipower

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#8
She has no potty issues. That's one thing I've never had problems with. She was trained to go outside and on walks within two days of having her at home, lol.
Ah sorry, I misread.

And when I'm working one on one with her I'll try to make sure there's no distractions, and she'll be good, and then as soon as I try to use it in "every day life" she'll just get distracted all over again and we're right back where we started. Again.
A common problem...Add distractions gradually, from a distance and moving gradually closer. Each new place you work with her, each new distraction is a new exercise and you need to essentially start the training over until she has been in enough different situations to be able to generalize her training. A sit in the house is different from a sit in the yard which is different from a sit at the park which is different from a sit at the park with other animals and people around.
 
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#11
When training or using treats do you have them in your hand? If so that is the first problem.
Your correct, by giving any attention, even 'no', is self rewarding because she has your attention, even if it is negative, then you give her a reward......
I would suggest that you start with focus games like 'watch me', which should be done in the home, then outside, then finally in other loactions for distractions.

I am also a little confused, your parents had show dogs and they can't/don't help you with training this dog? If they had show dogs, they should know how to fix these unwanted behaviours.
Usually when training with treats I keep them in my pocket and don't bring one out until I'm actually giving her one.

I'll work with her with watch me. She does that perfectly at home, or if we're just in the yard. I'll work with her when we're at the park and get back to you, lol.

When my parents had the dogs we lived in a bigger center and my parents were never the ones to train them, so yeah. They know basic stuff and they've tried helping but most of the time their dogs were trained for them. And luckily all of the dogs my parents had were practically perfectly behaved from the start. This is the first dog they've ever had problems like this with.
 
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#12
ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! that makes sense now! LOL... yeah.. my dogs know i'm a big mush, if some else tells them no and i'm around they look at me like "mommy... PULLLLLEEEEAAASE!"... maybe I should work on that...
Lol yeah that was a problem of mine at first. But now I'm just so frustrated that I got over it, haha.
 
R

RedyreRottweilers

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#14
Please define "work with her until she watches me"?

Next, try this.

First, use something different than you have been using, something soft, and easy to swallow, such as string cheese or hotdogs. Cut it up into small pieces. I split a hotdog lengthwise, and then slice it the thickness of a nickel. Partly frozen hotdogs are much easier to cut into small pieces.

Cut up a lot, put it in a little bag, and keep it in the freezer so you have it when you get ready to train.

Next, take about 5-6 pieces of the bait in each hand. Feed your dog all of the bait, alternating hands, one piece at a time. Each time you feed her a piece of bait, say YES! in a happy tone of voice. Feed her all the bait, one piece at a time, saying YES! each time, as fast as you can feed them to her, one right after the other.

Then get the same amount again. This time, tho, after you show her you have the bait in both hands, close your hands, leaving your arms down by your side in a normal position, and wait for the dog to look at you.

Ignore everything the dog does as far as licking, sniffing, bumping, or nudging your hands. Be QUIET, be STILL, and wait for the dog to look at your eyes. Pay close attention to you don't MISS her looking at your eyes.

The SECOND she makes eye contact say YES!!! and feed her all the bait, first from one hand, and then from the other.

Then go again. Wait for her to look. Only this time, feed her one piece of bait. (don't forget the YES! Say yes EACH time she does it right, and you are going to give her a piece of bait.)

Every now and then, toss a piece of bait across the room and let her run to get it. As she comes back towards you to work for more bait by making eye contact, say COME. Don't say COME unless you are SURE she is coming back to you. When she gets there, she gets another YES, and another cookie.

Work this "lookie for the cookie" game until she is really dying to play it all the time. You will know when she is ready for you to start introducing distractions, because she will come up to you and OBVIOUSLY look up into your eyes, as if to say, ok, I'm LOOKING, where is the cookie?

At this point, you can put the dog on a leash. Loop the leash through the belt loop on your left hip so you can work hands free. Go to an area where there is MINIMAL distraction. Change your bait up a little bit. If you have been using hotdogs, use cheese, or cooked table meats, etc. SOmething she will work HARD to get. Help her to be successful by not making the distractions to severe at first.

Try this for several days and let us know how it is working.

You also need to develop a positive happy fun upbeat attitude while you are training your dog. If you are discouraged, or negative, the dog will ALWAYS feel this, and will not want to work with you.
 

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