Begining Basic Obedience Advice?

[Guest tinams8]

I know greyhounds are not labs, but Lucy is plenty smart and eager to please so I'm interested in teaching her at least one thing. I'm thinking down, because she never sits. She understands lots of words, leave it, off, do you want to go out, where's your toy, are you hungry, go for a walk, etc. But, she doesn't seem to grasp the concept that I want something from her. I thought she might pick it up from Sienna but I was wrong. She also doesn't ask me for anything yet, like to go out or eat dinner. She doesn't even beg for human food. Actually she does whine to wake me up in the morning, but it's more like a statement of loneliness than a request.

 

Any tips on how to get the idea across? I'd love to take her to obedience class, but I would prefer to train her myself with no distractions first and use the class more for exposure and socialization.

[Batmom]

The easiest way is to catch her in the act of doing it, give your "command" at that time, then "good girl!" and treat. Some dogs you can also lure into a down by lying down on the floor yourself with a treat. ..... Catching in the act works really well for "Come!" too. Dog happens to be walking toward you, "Come!", "good girl!" and treat.

[Guest cms121979]

I agree with Batmom. Catching a dog in the act, giving it a cue word, and treating and praising like crazy worked for my incredibly unmotivated man. He's picky when it comes to food, so when treating I have to use high value treats (chicken breast works GREAT!). Echo will bow, come, sit, down, stay, shake paw, and jump all on command. He also knows leave it since his nose seems to get him into just about everything! Good luck!

[Guest Jubilee251]

I used this method to teach Molly a down - her first command ever when she came home. It took her a while, but she got it in a couple of weeks. The trick was to use REALLY high-value treats - she wouldn't do much at first for just a regular ol' dog biscuit. It took smelly cheese, ham, hot dogs, etc. to make her work.

[Guest jaws4evr]

We taught ours to down. She's still fairly hit and miss (read: needs adequate motivation), but she's pretty good.

 

We got some good smelly treats, put it in our fist, we sit on the ground, and exageratedly put your fist onto the ground infront of dog, and say "down". Then stay still while dog tries to work out how to get stinky treat out of hand. If dog attempts to go down, either all the way or just a slight bow, use a mark word (Yes? Good? Clicker?) and immediately give treat and praise.

 

We worked this up to us standing and putting our fist on the ground, and then moving the fist gradually higher off the ground while giving the command. As she got better she had to work harder for it, ie lay down all the way or she gets nothing. We found it's also effective to wait her out a bit. Don't just give up if she doesn't go down within a few seconds.

 

We also challenge her for REALLY yummy things (ie chicken neck?) and ask her to "down" without any hand signal or postural change at all.

 

***

 

We taught stay a similar way, using a lot of body language. We worked on stay from the down a little bit. The key to "stay" is a release word... You can't tell a dog to stay without telling it when to stop staying, otherwise your stay has no meaning and will never build duration.

 

Stand facing the dog with strong but not angry posture, put your hand infront of her face and say a firm "stay.", as if you were holding up your hand motioning to a person to stop moving. When dog doesn't move, which it shouldnt' since you're body languaging directly at it, use your "release" and encourage dog to move out of stay, lots of praise. Work up gradually your duration, and start to lean/rock/step/walk backwards as dog gains skills in the stay. If the dog breaks, ever so gently correct, put dog back in original position, and try again at a reduced duration/distance.

 

Shake is a pretty easy word most dogs love to learn, I hate shake though... Giant claws smashing my forearm uninvited aren't fun for me.

[Sighthounds4me]

HAVE FUN! Expect bumps in the road...sighthounds can be "creative" about how they learn. They are not unintelligent, but have interesting ways to learn new things. So, approach with a sense of humor, stay positive, expect roadblocks, and HAVE FUN! The more relaxed and happy you are, the more relaxed and receptive Lucy will be!

 

I have made plenty of mistakes along the way, but I think the biggest ones are expecting too much too fast, then getting frustrated when I don't see results. Keep training sessions at home short (no more than 10 minutes), POSITIVE, and upbeat.

 

Along that line, I have taken a different approach to Henley's training. I look at it more as bonding/socializing/playtime. I want him to look forward to going to kennel club with me, rather than dread it as my others have. Because I was too business-like, and did not allow them to socialize as much as I should have, they dislike kennel club. So this time, I am taking Henley to the same class many times, without the goal of moving on at this time - there will be time for that later. Right now, I want him to play, have fun, and develop a trust and respect for me, so he WANTS to do well for me.

 

And, always end on a positive note. Have her do something she knows well, then praise, and end the session. If she is having an off-day, it's even more important to do this, so she will look forward to the next time, and not dread her training sessions with you.

[Guest tinams8]

I used this method to teach Molly a down - her first command ever when she came home. It took her a while, but she got it in a couple of weeks. The trick was to use REALLY high-value treats - she wouldn't do much at first for just a regular ol' dog biscuit. It took smelly cheese, ham, hot dogs, etc. to make her work.

 

Thank you for all the advice! I am more convinced now that she might get it eventually!

 

This website is very helpful... I definitely want to try this method.

[GeorgeofNE]

I have 16 different training books! Suggest you start with one--some of mine are pretty old and old school, so I won't make a specific recommendation. Just be consistent. Keep lessons short (no more than 15 minutes, twice a day). You need not work on just ONE thing. Many things are easiest to teach in combination (for example, I find heel and sit to be very compatible--teach the dog to sit when you stop walking).

 

I actually taught sit first. And no, George did not sit of his own accord. He does NOW, if he wants something REALLY badly! I call it his full-on cute mode. He's never going to win any prizes, but he has the basics; sit, down, heel. He has a mild grasp of stay (doesn't care for that one) and I would never, ever think he would come when I call him anywhere but in the condo. I trained him like I would any other dog--althought with him I did use treats. My last dog I used nothing but praise, but with him, that was enough. George isn't interested in praise or pleasing, but he'll do almost anything for food!

[Guest gecko_foot]

Be patient and have lots of fun. Tumnus always does better with short sessions (5-10 minutes). You have to love the sighthound ADD.

[Guest eaglflyt]

I love this blog! You can search the topics and find videos specific to greyhounds and how to do training for various behaviors. Enjoy!