Okay, I have a few questions about heelwork and stays.
Ozzy will do heelwork, but occasionally he will forage ahead or lag behind, and he only makes eye contact when I'm looking down at him. His off leash work is slightly better in that he doesn't forage or lag, but he doesn't make as much eye contact and instead holds his head where it should be and looks off to the right.
I can't seem to walk and use the clicker at the same time, either, so I just say "Good boy!" and treat him for eye contact. However much I've done this, his eye contact is still sporadic at best. And I don't just reward eye contact during heeling, but all the time. Still, we have trouble with this.
His sit at heel is good, but not the best. He will sit everytime we stop, but normally he swings his butt out, and ends up parallel with me. I move forward a step or two until he's sitting correctly and then I treat him. Doesn't seem to help.
I know ways to correct this, but it is all old fashioned crank and yank, and I'm not doing that.
Okay, now for the staying problems we are having.
I can walk off up to nine hundred feet now (I do most of my heel and stay work on a football field) and he will stay there. However, if I'm closer and trying for a longer duration stay, he gets antsy and will flip back and forth on his sides and sometimes will rise halfway up out of a down. If he's in a sit, he will lay down.
If I walk back towards him to correct his position, he will get up and come to me instead of remaining in the stay. Dunno how to fix that without yelling at him. And I don't know how to keep him from flopping like a fish.
Occasionally he will break a stay and come to me. I usually down him before he gets to me, because he will take a mid-recall down, and then call him to me again and praise him. Especially if I'm doing a long recall. Other times I will walk him back to where we started, remind him that he is not to get up, and try again.
Thoughts? Suggestions? Questions?
Also, now his barking at other dogs has changed from ferocious barking to alarm barking. Not sure why? I've been stuffing his face whenever we see other dogs, keeping him in a sit and his focus on me as best I can. If I have a tug toy, I will stuff his mouth with that and play tug until he forgets about the other dog, should I stop doing this?
Ozzy will do heelwork, but occasionally he will forage ahead or lag behind, and he only makes eye contact when I'm looking down at him. His off leash work is slightly better in that he doesn't forage or lag, but he doesn't make as much eye contact and instead holds his head where it should be and looks off to the right.
I can't seem to walk and use the clicker at the same time, either, so I just say "Good boy!" and treat him for eye contact. However much I've done this, his eye contact is still sporadic at best. And I don't just reward eye contact during heeling, but all the time. Still, we have trouble with this.
His sit at heel is good, but not the best. He will sit everytime we stop, but normally he swings his butt out, and ends up parallel with me. I move forward a step or two until he's sitting correctly and then I treat him. Doesn't seem to help.
I know ways to correct this, but it is all old fashioned crank and yank, and I'm not doing that.
Okay, now for the staying problems we are having.
I can walk off up to nine hundred feet now (I do most of my heel and stay work on a football field) and he will stay there. However, if I'm closer and trying for a longer duration stay, he gets antsy and will flip back and forth on his sides and sometimes will rise halfway up out of a down. If he's in a sit, he will lay down.
If I walk back towards him to correct his position, he will get up and come to me instead of remaining in the stay. Dunno how to fix that without yelling at him. And I don't know how to keep him from flopping like a fish.
Occasionally he will break a stay and come to me. I usually down him before he gets to me, because he will take a mid-recall down, and then call him to me again and praise him. Especially if I'm doing a long recall. Other times I will walk him back to where we started, remind him that he is not to get up, and try again.
Thoughts? Suggestions? Questions?
Also, now his barking at other dogs has changed from ferocious barking to alarm barking. Not sure why? I've been stuffing his face whenever we see other dogs, keeping him in a sit and his focus on me as best I can. If I have a tug toy, I will stuff his mouth with that and play tug until he forgets about the other dog, should I stop doing this?