Please help.

[Annamal]

I'm new to this site and joined just for this reason:

I have a beagle dog who is almost a year old, and she really needs obedience training, but I don't know what to do, and I can't afford to take her to a trainer.

I understand that pets are meant to be part of the family, and are not there to be puppets and do tricks...but my dog just doesn't listen.

She ignores everyone, and when she's doing something wrong. (example: on the couch when she shouldn't be, or getting in to something she shouldn't)
You tell her no, call her name, yell....nothing works.
She knows her name and her hearing is fine(someone suggested checking that).

She knows how to sit, laydown, and crawl. But she only does those thingsevery once in a while.

When I try to make you listen to me for a reward(dog treat) all she does is stare at the treat in my hand, then won't listen. You can never get her to look at you.
And when she doesn't get rewarded, she just loses interest and leaves.

I doen't know what to do. She is house trained (we live in the country, so she is fine going indoors and out when needed), she doesn't chew up shoes or anything bad, she just does not listen, and it is very, very frustrating.

I love animals, and all my pets, but I get to the point where I am so frustrated that I don't want to deal with her.

Please help. I would appreciate any advice I can get.

Thank You.

 

[Saintgirl]

Beagles are tough little dogs! They have a mind of their own and can be very stubborn. My beagle is 10 months old and has certainly challenged us in ways our other two dogs hadn't, but we love him dearly!

Have you tried using the NILIF program with you little trouble maker?

http://k9deb.com/nilif.htm

This was the first link that I came across for NILIF and a quick google of the term and you will find a ton of information about the subject. I recommend that you give this a go to establish authority with your beagle.

Patience and consistency is the number one thing that will help your beagle turn into a good obedient dog. The problem with consistency is that everyone living in your home has to abide by the rules you set in place, otherwise your beagle will not learn that some behaviors are unacceptable. One of the things that I always ask when people are having trouble with a dog is about the amount of exersise the dog is getting. The old saying "a tired dog is a good dog" rings true. Without an outlet for their energy they will try to find one for themselves, and typically this can mean finding different ways to get into trouble!

Mostly, don't become frustrated. Stay focused on what you want to teach your dog and follow through. Our dogs are only as obedient as we teach them to be.

 

[houndlove]

I am just about to take my guys for a walk but when I get back I do have some specific advice for you. Classes help, but I started my coonhound on obedience at home by myself before being able to attend a class, and it can totally be done. I can already see some things that you're doing wrong and I'll be back in a bit to offer some suggestions.

 

[Annamal]

SaintGirl, thanks for the link, I'm reading about that now.

And you had said, "One of the things that I always ask when people are having trouble with a dog is about the amount of exersise the dog is getting."
Both of my dogs get plenty of exercise. Like I had mentioned, I live in the country, and they have 5 acres of yard, and around 10 in woods. Both of them love the outdoors...well, one is a rabbit dog, the other a squirrel hunter, so I understand that.

And when she isn't outside, she inside playing with toys. Other than just being a pup, I don't know where she gets the energy!

Again, thank you for the link.

 

[lizzybeth727]

I understand that pets are meant to be part of the family, and are not there to be puppets and do tricks...but my dog just doesn't listen.

I don't understand this statement. My dog does lots of tricks because she enjoys learning new things and it makes me happy. She's still a member of my family. Why can't they be both?

She ignores everyone, and when she's doing something wrong. (example: on the couch when she shouldn't be, or getting in to something she shouldn't)
You tell her no, call her name, yell....nothing works.
She knows her name and her hearing is fine(someone suggested checking that).

First of all, manage your dog's environment so that she can't get into anything she's not supposed to. New parents make a big deal out of "baby-proofing" their house, I think it's equally important to "puppy-proof" your house when you have a dog. If she's getting into something she shouldn't, it probably means that you've left it someplace where you shouldn't've.

Next, try to keep yelling and "no" to a minimum. Only use those for very important times, like when she's running out into the street. That way it'll really get her attention. Right now, if she's hearing yelling and "no" a lot, she's probably learned that it doesn't mean anything so she can ignore it. Also, whenever you do use a verbal correction, you MUST follow it up quickly with taking her away from the thing that she's not supposed to be doing. You can even give her a time-out in a very boring room or the crate, so that she calms down a bit (and it'll give you time to clean up her mess, if she made one). If you yell at her and she turns and looks at you, reward that quickly. Try to get her to you, and then give her something else to do (like a stuffed kong, new toy, chew bone, etc.). Be sure to praise her a lot when she's doing the right behavior.

When I try to make you listen to me for a reward(dog treat) all she does is stare at the treat in my hand, then won't listen. You can never get her to look at you.
And when she doesn't get rewarded, she just loses interest and leaves.

This is a very common mistake. To fix it, just don't keep treats in your hands. Keep them in your pocket, treat bag, or even on a counter or table close to you. Otherwise, your dog will never do a behavior you cued without seeing the treat. If you're trying to get her to look at you, you can make strange noises (click your tongue, make kissy sounds, meow, roll your tongue, whatever you can think of), until she gets interested and looks up. Give her lots of treats whenever she does look at you the first few times, and once she gets the hang of it you can give fewer treats. If she looses interest any time you're training, it means that you are not being interesting enough, so you'll have to work on that.

 

[houndlove]

To add to lizzybeth (with whom I largely agree here) on the "no" issue....

Try to focus much much more on what you want the dog to do, not what you want the dog to not do. Life with dogs is a million times easier if you are proactive about deciding (as a family unit if you live with other people) what you wan the dog to do in various situaitons, and then training for that. "No!" means next to nothing to most dogs. It's a loud noise that gets their attention, but that's about it. They hear it a million times a day, in a million different contexts, it carries no information. If you are proactive with your training and management, you'll never need to utter "No" again, believe me.

So with the furniture issue, have you ever trained "off"? That's a remedy when you want the dog off the furniture. Instead of screaming "no", you just say "off" and the dog gets off. But you have to train it. It's pretty easy to do. Get a pocket full of really special treats and next time the dog is on the furniture, coax her off--get down on the floor yourself, call her in a friendly, happy way, get one of her favorite toys in to the picture, make the floor be awesome and then when she gets down off the couch, reach in to your pocket and give her an avalanche of treats. As was noted above, don't hold the treat in your hand--keep the treats hidden until she gets off the couch. If you really want to put this new command on speed-dial, invite her back up on the couch, and then repeat the coaxing her off and rewarding, several times. Make being on the couch very boring and ho-hum but being off the couch a happy wonderful good time. And does she have her own really comfy dog bed? We made huge strides in getting the coonhound off the furniture when we purchased a huge fluffy new dog bed. He just wants to be cozy. Hounds are like that.

Anyway, the "off" thing is how I deal with pretty much everything here. I wanted the dogs to keep their nosey noses out of my business when I was cooking and to butt out when guests came over, so I trained them to lay down and stay on a couple bath mats. Now when I'm cooking or people come over, I just lay the mats out and they go and lay on them and the mission is accomplished without a lot of scolding and punishment and yelling.


And here's my favorite link about NILIF: http://www.westwinddogtraining.com/NILIF.pdf

It gives a bit different of a perspective than the one saintgirl supplied. I used to give that link out but I realized that I don't really completely agree with what it's saying and someone gave me that new one that I like a lot more.

 

[Annamal]

I don't understand this statement. My dog does lots of tricks because she enjoys learning new things and it makes me happy. She's still a member of my family. Why can't they be both?

I know what you mean. My terrier knows a lot of trick and loves doing them, showing them off all the time, and she is a great dog and part of the family.
All I meant was that I understand she doesn't have to be like my other dog or need to know how to do a lot tricks to be a good dog...and I don't want to make her do the tricks she doesn't like. For now, I just try to turn what ever she is good at into a trick.

And thanks for the advice. I'll work on the treat idea with her. I just can't have them on me, even in my pocket. She has a very good nose on her.

 

[Annamal]

So with the furniture issue, have you ever trained "off"? That's a remedy when you want the dog off the furniture. Instead of screaming "no", you just say "off" and the dog gets off.

The 'no' normally comes in when she's ready jump up, or has her feet on the couch, but with my other dog, "get-down" or just "down" works well, and I'm trying to teach that to her too.

Just within the last couple days, I've realized that the dogs new thing is to only want on the couch to lay on the blanket that is there, or to look out the window. So I've been trying to make sure the blanket isn't where they can lay on it, and the blinds are shut.

The dogs to have their own beds though, two, and then they have a comfy cage that is always open. I'll have to work on how much they use them.

Thanks for the tips.