we have a german shorthair pointer that is almost one year old. she is just so anxious, i expext that, but we try and get her to sit and wait for the treat but instead she lunges for it. she is the first dog we have trained and i think its my fault because when training with her at an earlier age i pulled the treat away from her and i think that is what caused it. Any help is appreiceated.
breaking a dog of a bad habit
- Thread starter rachet
- Start date
Don't make her wait too long at first. Let her succeed at sitting and waiting for just one second or 1/2 a second if need be...and then hurry and shove the treat in her mouth and immediately release her. (get a release word in there fast) You can choose whatever word you want, like, "okay" or "release" or "free" ...just use the same one. This release word is very important for waiting, sitting, lots of things. That tells the dog that, good, you sat, now you may get up.....so she doesn't break the stay or wait or sit....whatever. Again, don't make her wait to long at first. Build duration gradually in low distraction areas.
Now, once she is reinforced many times for waiting for one second and she gets the treat BEFORE she gets up, she will learn that sitting and waiting WORKS to get the treat. But getting up or lunging does not work. If she does break the wait or sit, you've waited too long and you can not let her have the treat. Swiftly pull your hand behind your back and wait and see if she'll sit on her own. Don't scold or even say anything. Try waiting. This will help develop the default behavior of sitting when you have a treat. If she still doesn't sit for quite some time, you can remind her again. Just try not to get in the habit of repeating cues over and over.
Once she gets onto waiting for one second, increase to two seconds, then three. Only increase the duration as she is successful with the previous duration. If she messes up, you're asking too much, too soon. Go back to where she was successful and work up again.
Make sure she's getting plenty of exercise and mental stimulation. (not sure what you're doing with her) This can help to settle her down. Work on obedience every day....a few very short sessions. Use positive reinforcement type methods so she'll love working with you.
Here are a few good links. Relying on this concept is a must with dog training:
26. Zen
One of my very favorites:
How to Train a "Crazy" Dog! | Karen Pryor Clickertraining
Now, once she is reinforced many times for waiting for one second and she gets the treat BEFORE she gets up, she will learn that sitting and waiting WORKS to get the treat. But getting up or lunging does not work. If she does break the wait or sit, you've waited too long and you can not let her have the treat. Swiftly pull your hand behind your back and wait and see if she'll sit on her own. Don't scold or even say anything. Try waiting. This will help develop the default behavior of sitting when you have a treat. If she still doesn't sit for quite some time, you can remind her again. Just try not to get in the habit of repeating cues over and over.
Once she gets onto waiting for one second, increase to two seconds, then three. Only increase the duration as she is successful with the previous duration. If she messes up, you're asking too much, too soon. Go back to where she was successful and work up again.
Make sure she's getting plenty of exercise and mental stimulation. (not sure what you're doing with her) This can help to settle her down. Work on obedience every day....a few very short sessions. Use positive reinforcement type methods so she'll love working with you.
Here are a few good links. Relying on this concept is a must with dog training:
26. Zen
One of my very favorites:
How to Train a "Crazy" Dog! | Karen Pryor Clickertraining
Placing it on the floor, in the case of a sit, may tend to cause the dog to stand up, move around to get the treat. It is important that the dogs remains sitting until given a release word. The release word must come before the dog gets out of the sitting position. The sequence must be: dog sits, reinforce, release. If you treat after the dog gets up, you're rewarding getting up and not the sit/wait.
Later, once the dog is rock solid on a sit/wait, you could always teach him to remain sitting no matter where you put the treat. But in early training, I would recommend putting the treat right to his mouth in such a way to reduce the odds of him breaking the sit/wait before you get a chance to reinforce and release.
Later, once the dog is rock solid on a sit/wait, you could always teach him to remain sitting no matter where you put the treat. But in early training, I would recommend putting the treat right to his mouth in such a way to reduce the odds of him breaking the sit/wait before you get a chance to reinforce and release.