She won't listen to me!

[juliefurry]

Ele has a very endearing quality of not listening to anyone ! You call her name and she ignores you (and she does know her name). You tell her off she barks, you tell her down and she runs away, you ask her to come and she runs away, she does however know how to sit.

I need to know how to "get control" of this dog to get her to start listening so that I can actually train her to behave. We offer her treats for doing what we ask and praise but she is still not interested in listening. We know she can hear too she has no problems hearing because she can hear me filling the food dishes downstairs when she's upstairs in her crate.

I've tried training after playing, and after walks. I think she has ADHD or something because she just can not concentrate for even 5 seconds. Does anyone have any suggestions? She does get mouthy too if we try to move her into a down or sit position as well.

 

[blue]

Try running away, she is a herder. BD has selective hearing he is half herding dog.

 

[Mutt Luv]

How old is she? The best way to start getting control is to put her on a leash, she can run away and you can have control, also you need to let her know YOUR alfa, a good way to do that is make her wait before before going out the door and make sure YOU procede first, make her sit and stay before seating and make her wait before getting out of the car and crate.

To teach her to come to you start with her on a leash and have some VERY yummy treats in your hand the say "Ele come" if she doesnt just give a light tug on her leash and say "come" then as she runs towards you give her a treat and TONS of praise, then let her "be a dog" the after 3mn call again then be done for now and try again later

For down, have the leash on her and then put her in a sit and slowly lower a treat down into a L shape if she goes part way down but he butt isnt totally down just VERY gently push it down then give the treat and explode in praise!! Pratice that 3 more times and then be done for now.

Another good command that would be VERY usfull to you in your situation will Ele is to teach her the "watch me" command, I have a video on youtube teaching you how to teach the "watch" command using my dog Rosco http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGmVar7WQkY

Also here is a vid, with me and Rosco about how to give effective praise to your dog http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YoPfMr5S4E


Hope I helped, let me know if you have anymore Q's and let me know if you try this and how it worked


~Reesa~

 

[juliefurry]

Try running away, she is a herder. BD has selective hearing he is half herding dog.

I do run away from her sometimes and she will chase after me I should keep doing that. The main problem we are having is teaching her off. She figured out how to jump on the couch so now she just jumps up whenever she feels we tell her off she barks and tries to initiate play. We try to lure her off with a treat she gets off gets the treat and the praising and gets right back on. She also gets really mouthy on the couch and likes to jump up on the couch and bark and bite on Emily while Emily's just sitting there watching t.v. minding her own business. The off command is what we really need to work on (well that and the biting too but the biting is getting a little better).

 

[juliefurry]

How old is she? The best way to start getting control is to put her on a leash, she can run away and you can have control, also you need to let her know YOUR alfa, a good way to do that is make her wait before before going out the door and make sure YOU procede first, make her sit and stay before seating and make her wait before getting out of the car and crate.

To teach her to come to you start with her on a leash and have some VERY yummy treats in your hand the say "Ele come" if she doesnt just give a light tug on her leash and say "come" then as she runs towards you give her a treat and TONS of praise, then let her "be a dog" the after 3mn call again then be done for now and try again later

For down, have the leash on her and then put her in a sit and slowly lower a treat down into a L shape if she goes part way down but he butt isnt totally down just VERY gently push it down then give the treat and explode in praise!! Pratice that 3 more times and then be done for now.

Another good command that would be VERY usfull to you in your situation will Ele is to teach her the "watch me" command, I have a video on youtube teaching you how to teach the "watch" command using my dog Rosco http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGmVar7WQkY

Also here is a vid, with me and Rosco about how to give effective praise to your dog http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YoPfMr5S4E


Hope I helped, let me know if you have anymore Q's and let me know if you try this and how it worked


~Reesa~

Thanks! Ele is about 4 months old and is a collie. She is leashed just because of housebreaking but obviously sometimes I leave the leash on and just let her run which is when she gets herself into trouble by getting on the couch and being a normal disobient puppy.

She does know how to sit and does it consistently. We also do NILIF so she sits to go outside, to get fed, get attention or treats. We also can't touch her to manipulate her into a sit or down because she gets very mouthy with us.

Unfortunetely our babysitter bailed on us so we can't take her to the normal puppy classes that we took Holly to and sort of have to rely on in-home training.

I don't know if maybe she'll just grow out of this stage, as I know Holly was like this and one day snapped out of it and is now very obedient and eager to learn I hope she does though because I'm about to rip my hair out with this one !

 

[Zoom]

She's going to need a lot more stimulation first off. She sounds pretty bored. Herding breeds are frighteningly smart sometimes and need more work than your average dog.

When you lure her off the couch, don't just immediately give her the treat and be done with it. Make her lie down first and then throw a toy or something for her to chase after instead of jumping right back up on the couch.

You do need to keep her leashed to you, because you should never start chasing after a dog unless you are positive you can keep it up until you've caught them. For every time you let them get away, that doubles the time you are going to have to run after them the next time.

 

[juliefurry]

She's going to need a lot more stimulation first off. She sounds pretty bored. Herding breeds are frighteningly smart sometimes and need more work than your average dog.

When you lure her off the couch, don't just immediately give her the treat and be done with it. Make her lie down first and then throw a toy or something for her to chase after instead of jumping right back up on the couch.

You do need to keep her leashed to you, because you should never start chasing after a dog unless you are positive you can keep it up until you've caught them. For every time you let them get away, that doubles the time you are going to have to run after them the next time.

I was afraid maybe she wasn't getting enough stimulation. I try hard she gets a morning and nighttime walk and we play for about and hour in the afternoon and 2-3 in the nighttime before her walk. We also try to do training throughout the day.

When she is lured off the couch she is put into a sit before getting the treats and praise. However if I throw her a toy there is no way she will be able to get it before Hannah (and there is no way Hannah will hold a stay if she sees something flying through the air waiting to be retrieved ). Plus Ele doesn't really do toys. Hannah is her toy and will run after Hannah when I throw the ball for Hannah.

She always has a leash on and usually I have it attached to my belt loop or I tie it to my chair but when we're playing I just let her drag it behind. She is always leashed and never steps foot outside until I know she is hooked to her cable properly.

So is this behavior stemming from her being bored and understimulated? Would more stimulation help decrease the problems?

 

[Luvntzus]

Hmmm, I think positive methods can be really good, but also sometimes I think dogs should do things "just because". The getting off the couch thing seems like one of those instances. It seems like she's smart enough to think that if she's getting a treat for getting off the couch, maybe she should get back ON the couch so she can get another treat for getting off it.

I really feel for you training a herding breed puppy because they do have a lot of energy and can be too smart sometimes. It sounds like you're already spending quite a bit of time exercising, playing with, and training her- about 4 hours of every day from what you described. It seems like she's a full time job. I don't know what more you could do other than maybe treat toys like a Busy Buddy Squirrel, Tug a Jug, etc. You could get a few different ones and rotate them to keep her interest.

 

[RedyreRottweilers]

Stop giving the puppy the option of ignoring you. Use a leash. Enforce behaviors. Reward a lot. A LOT.

At 4 months old I would not be expecting a lot of precision in behaviors, I would be working more on attention and enthusiasm.

 

[Love That Collie]

Hehehe, I KNOW THE FEELING....
She kinda goes CONVENIENTLY DEAF, doesn't she????

She's just a baby for one, two, she's a Collie and sometimes some Collies can be stubborn, it's a trait some do have. Don't let her get away with anything right now,even the smallest thing. You want her off the couch, put her off and don't let her back on. Neither of mine get on any of my furniture whatsoever. However, when they go to doggie day care they DO get on the couches/sofas there. Believe me they DO know the difference even the puppy Chloe does. If you have taught her to "come" and she doesn't, go and get her.

She's testing you, every now and then Bailey will go "deaf", but NOT for long.
Teach her to "watch" you. She wants to please you she just has to get a handle on what YOU want her to do is what she WILL do, not what SHE wants to do. She will grow out of that "convenient going deaf stage". Make whatever YOU want to do more fun than what SHE wants to do. And actually Collies have LESS of that "ADHD" actions than other herding breeds. She's a pup and when she gets older you will wonder HOW she was ever so darned energetic and stubborn.

I thought Bailey would wear me out when he was that age. He's nearly 2 now and calm and laid back, yeah, he still barks but that's him, I'll take that any day over how he was as a 3 and 4 month old. He used to bark at me demanding play, when he did this he didn't get his way and was ignored if he barked at me like that. When he wasn't paying attention and wasn't expecting it I initated play. I also dictated what toys he played with, the little that he actually played with them, they were MY toys or chews or blankie or food.

And yes you are correct about Ele not being a toy lover. I have never had a Collie that was, ever a great lover of toys. They just don't care for toys much, but they love to play with other dogs and people. There is nothing wrong with Ele, believe me she's a fairly typical 4 month Collie. If she is food motivated you have a great plus on your side, use it.

 

[ToscasMom]

Try running away, she is a herder.

ROFL! Ain't it da troot!

What Love That said is right on. For Tosca, NILIF is the ultimate answer. I can get her to do anything I want now that she's a NILIF dog. She knows that not doing what I say means NO treat and NO praise. If she's in stubborn mode, also known as Collie Mode, I just fold my arms and turn my back on her. She hates it. She hates being alienated and she hates when I Off her. It was hard for me at first, because she's so darned cute, but now it's second nature. This dog is Collie Smart and establishing leadership is really important. Do a surf on NILIF and give it a shot. Be CONSISTENT. Collies get really flustered if you aren't consistent.

Tosca, however, DOES love her toys. Especially her ducks, which she often serenades me with at 3 AM

 

[ToscasMom]

sometimes I leave the leash on and just let her run

Please be careful with this. When Tosca was very young she ran with her leash on and it snagged on the bottom of a door and yanked her neck. I can still hear her cry from it.

Edit: I just read that you are doing NILIF. Are you doing nilif or are you doing NILIF? Step it up. Be consistent. Don't let up on NILIF until those moments when YOU want to.

 

[juliefurry]

Please be careful with this. When Tosca was very young she ran with her leash on and it snagged on the bottom of a door and yanked her neck. I can still hear her cry from it.

Edit: I just read that you are doing NILIF. Are you doing nilif or are you doing NILIF? Step it up. Be consistent. Don't let up on NILIF until those moments when YOU want to.

Yeah yesterday we had a little scare with her and the slip leash we use. She got the collar part stuck on the handle for my computer chair and couldn't get loose so she just kept twisting herself until she was choking. I had to cut the collar part off of her because I couldn't get her untwisted.

I think I'm gonna get a little more active with NILIF. I think I do it sometimes but not others with her so I really do have to step it up.

Although on a positive note she was listening to me last night and this morning and came every time I called her. She sat immediately for her breakfast and waited until the bowl was on the floor until she got up to eat.

 

[Saje]

Julie, she's young and hyper. Burn off as much energy as you can (maybe get a chuckit?) and then with the pup on leash and in a room with no (or few) distractions work on her. I really think she'd respond to clicker training. Have you ever gotten a book on them? It's really helpful and is the only thing that helped me breakthrough with my hyper Nanook.