Our Dog Doesn't Obey Commands Outside.

[Frenchy]

Hi, we adopted a three-year-old male ex-racer around three months ago. He's settled in well, and we have started taking him to obedience classes.

 

He knows "lie down", and will obey it with very few problems, when we're inside. It's rarely instantaneous, but he clearly understands the command and is happy to follow it. However, getting him to do this whilst at the obedience classes, or when we're on a walk, is another matter. He just stares ahead, and isn't interested in any treats. He does obey "stay" and "let's go" whilst we're out walking. At the obedience classes, he is quite happy to obey other commands, so I'm wondering if he's just too used to lying down in a soft spot.

 

Any ideas on how to get him to listen to us outside of the house?

[krissy]

Dogs do not generalize. For a child, understanding the concept of sitting in a chair transfers reasonably well from the kitchen to the living room, to school, to a friend's house. But not for a dog. A dog literally needs to be taught each behaviour in a multitude of locations before he understands that "sit means sit, always means sit". This means that most dogs have a pretty solid grasp on a behaviour in the place where they train most (usually home) but not so much elsewhere. However you trained your dog to lie down, you now need to repeat that process in lots of different places until he realizes that "sit always means sit".

 

Secondly, dogs are like small children... they are easily distracted. The home environment is familiar, safe, and generally pretty quiet and boring - it us easy to pay attention when nothing else is going on. It's a lot more distracting when cars are going by, or there are other dogs/people nearby, or interesting smells. Patience and really high value rewards help to overcome distractions. This is not the time to reward with a cookie. This is when you pull out the hot dogs or steak bits.

 

With a greyhound you also have to think about comfort. There is snow on the ground where we live, and chances are slim I'm going to have my dogs happily put their bare chests on the ground right now despite their training. Hard surfaces, wet surfaces, dirty surfaces all might be a problem depending on the dog too.

[locket]

3 months is quite new, there might be too many distractions outside for him to respond.

Also mine will never ever ever ever lie on the floor, even if asked

Continue teaching him inside with yummy treats to reinforce the behaviour increasing a little bit at a time the level of distractions

[cleptogrey]

this is something to talk to your instructor about at class. the schools that i used made sure that there were distractions galore in training and our weekly homework was both in a quiet area as well as outside in a noisy environment. rome wasn't built in a day....always remember that. it takes many many months of training to really make a change, these are behaviors that you are modifying. remember the only thing your dog needed to do was run and kennel up and probably walk well on a lead, life is far more demanding now.

[NeylasMom]

Anorexia is usually a sign of fear. What kind of treats are you using in class and outside? If you're using kibble or any sort of dry or processed treat, you need to step up your game. Think people food - cooked chicken, hot dog slices, go to your local Whole Foods or other quality store and ask for them to cut off the end of the all natural turkey breast or roast beef, meatballs, cheese, etc. Whatever you use, cut into very small pieces and have a few options in case he gets bored of one, but don't mix them.

 

If he still won't eat or he does it very reluctantly then you're likely dealing with a bit of anxiety or fear and that needs to be your primary concern. Dogs can't learn when they're overwhelmed with fear - it's a physiologic response.

 

You should also make sure you're not feeding him within at least a few hours of training. But from what you've said so far, my guess is he's too stressed in those environments to respond/learn.

Edited February 25, 2016 by NeylasMom

[Guest k9soul]

I agree with NeylasMom. Lying down is a vulnerable position, and for a dog that has been so recently thrown into a new world of strange people, dogs, and new places, it may be something he just doesn't feel safe doing while out and about. I suspect the treats being offered just aren't enough to overcome his inhibition about making himself vulnerable in less "safe" surroundings. Krissy makes great points, too.

Edited February 25, 2016 by k9soul

[racindog]

Dogs do not generalize. For a child, understanding the concept of sitting in a chair transfers reasonably well from the kitchen to the living room, to school, to a friend's house. But not for a dog. A dog literally needs to be taught each behaviour in a multitude of locations before he understands that "sit means sit, always means sit". This means that most dogs have a pretty solid grasp on a behaviour in the place where they train most (usually home) but not so much elsewhere. However you trained your dog to lie down, you now need to repeat that process in lots of different places until he realizes that "sit always means sit".

 

Secondly, dogs are like small children... they are easily distracted. The home environment is familiar, safe, and generally pretty quiet and boring - it us easy to pay attention when nothing else is going on. It's a lot more distracting when cars are going by, or there are other dogs/people nearby, or interesting smells. Patience and really high value rewards help to overcome distractions. This is not the time to reward with a cookie. This is when you pull out the hot dogs or steak bits.

 

With a greyhound you also have to think about comfort. There is snow on the ground where we live, and chances are slim I'm going to have my dogs happily put their bare chests on the ground right now despite their training. Hard surfaces, wet surfaces, dirty surfaces all might be a problem depending on the dog too.

This!

[NeedlenoseJake]

 

Also mine will never ever ever ever lie on the floor, even if asked

 

 

This. He's a princess.

[GeorgeofNE]

I can't help laughing.

 

Kudos to you for working on training!

 

My first greyhound was just impossible. I did teach him to sit and lay down, but he did it when he felt like it. If he felt like it. And he made it quite clear he was doing it only because HE wanted to!

 

My current greyhound is a little bit better, but....not much!

[Guest Scouts_mom]

To add to what George of NE said, remember he is a sighthound--not a herder or retriever. For hundreds of years herding and retrieving dogs were bred to respond to commands. They are great at learning obedience commands. Sighthounds, on the other hand, were bred to chase things. If they waited to follow their person's commands, they would lose their prey. The result is that, while greyhounds can learn obedience commands, it is generally a slow process. It sounds to me that you and your hound are doing great!

[Frenchy]

Thanks all, you've largely confirmed my suspicions. It was just slightly frustrating because he'd been fine the first couple of weeks. We'll keep working on it. I tried him in the garden earlier, which went fairly well

[cleptogrey]

A couple of little things that helped,I learned by trial and error :

Always train on an empty stomach (that goes for practice as well)

Don't exercise before training sessions

Bring a rubber backed bath mat to class and for practice downs. We call it the magic carpet and the owner of the school gladly ran around and gave them to the gh in class,IGs included.

 

And remember not all dogs like training,go with the flow!

[Guest KayGreat]

Our guy feels the same way about down and sit - he's happy to comply indoors on a carpet but won't consider it outdoors. We solved the problem like cleptogrey did, with a mat. He even passed the Canine Good Citizen test!

[Frenchy]

A couple of little things that helped,I learned by trial and error :

Always train on an empty stomach (that goes for practice as well)

Don't exercise before training sessions

Bring a rubber backed bath mat to class and for practice downs. We call it the magic carpet and the owner of the school gladly ran around and gave them to the gh in class,IGs included.

 

And remember not all dogs like training,go with the flow!

Our classes are at a riding school - so we're on a sand surface and I'm not sure a mat is a great idea. Will certainly bear it in mind.

[TXRedbo]

When we say "sit" to our hound, he automatically runs to his bed and sits. Or the nearest rug.

[KickReturn]

Forgive me if I repeat any of the above but I don't have time to read all the responses today.

 

Be thrilled with what you have achieved with "stay" and "lets go". Excellent work in a short time. Working on recall would be nice also.

 

Now why on earth anyone would ask a Greyhound to lie down anywhere accept on a bed I do not understand. What can a Greyhound do laying down that it cannot do standing up and vice versa is beyond me. You want your Grey to lie down when you are out? Just lie down yourself and when his legs get tired from standing or he gets bored he will lie down beside you. Works every time and without even asking!

 

As I start our walks, I watch trainers in the parking lot of a recreation are I frequent with my Grey, helping owners with their seemingly well behaved dogs. Instructing the owner to walk in tiny circles, change direction back and forth, suddenly ask for a sit, repeat. We hit the trails and hike for an hour. When I return to my vehicle there they are, still doing the same thing but now with dogs that are bored, frustrated, and not properly exercised.

 

In my opinion asking (or forcing) a dog to do something just because you can is a mistake in some cases. Particularly when in comes to Greyhounds I think a better approach is to train for only what you will absolutely need from the dog and then aside from occasional practice, ask for the behaviour only when it really matters. Copious rewards should follow. Greys are smart, they won't forget, and most want to comply. Some Greys are just too darn dignified to be doing "tricks" for their "masters". You have a retired professional athlete in your house, not a puppy. Treat accordingly.

 

I acknowledge my approach is a bit radical and not for everyone, and I certainly don't mean to diminish in any way what works for others.

[Fruitycake]

Even if a greyhound does know a command, it won't like having to perform arbitrarily and repeatedly. That is more of a sporting group characteristic. If you ask your average hound to sit, walk three steps, sit again, walk, and sit again, most will roll their eyes and believe that you are an idiot that can't make up your mind and tune right out. Even with really good treats, repetition is *boring* and if there is anything else more interesting (the dog half a block away, a blowing leaf, a crack in the sidewalk...) they are mentally gone.

[robinw]

He may just be too nervous and excited outside to both so commands and take treats. Like KickReturn, I only teach the stuff that really matters' like stay and drop it. Obedience school has always been a wash because they seem to get bored midway through the class.

Edited February 26, 2016 by robinw

[Batmom]

As robinw says, nervous and excited outside and at class. Time and patience will help. Tune in to his mood as best you can and try not to ask for things you won't get -- if he's still sniffing the air and alert to everything else, it isn't the time for obedience practice. Even at class, ask for the things you're pretty sure you'll get and leave the rest for another time. When I take a new dog to class, the teacher quickly gets used to me saying, "We're going to sit instead of lie down" etc. Let the dog learn the environment and get bored with it, so that you and your hot dogs become more interesting than anything else :) .

 

For one of mine, it was a couple of months before he was willing to sit at class. He turned out to be pretty good at classic obedience and had a lot of fun with it.

 

We usually start outside practice with "come" from 18" away , when the dog is already headed towards us (at the end of a leash if no fenced area). When that starts to seem interesting to the dog -- more interesting than squirrels, leaves blowing in the wind, the dog barking 3 houses down -- then we might follow with another "come" and a "sit" or something else that's easy. We usually start outdoor obedience sessions on leash, even if there's a fence -- it signals to the dog that something different is happening than just moseying around.

[Guest xengab]

I asked about this with my boy when he was just a month with us... I got told to wait on the formal training. Glad I did. We've had him not for hrmm 7 months (july 2015) and it took him 6 months to learn sit. One night his eyes just went wide and he wagged his tail and sat. LOL Now he sits all the time inside when we have treats or toys he wants. He will only lie down on his crate mat when asked to sit.

On walks, we can sometimes get him to sit (on grass). other times its just tooooooo much to smell/look at.

We are starting him in classes this saturday, and the teacher knows greyhounds. We view it as a way for US to learn the tools needed to keep him learning.

 

I felt like such a failure after a month of him not sitting, silly grey. But they are just so different then other dogs. We got a new cat two weeks ago, he sits when asked after a week of training..LOL

[Neal]

Hi,

First i hope it really goes well in all the years ahead with your wonderful greyhound.

It is early days and already so many changes for this ex racer.

With their thin skin, lack of cushioning and long limbs lying down is not usually a greyhounds first preference just anywhere.

Certainly mine will settle nearly anywhere now , lie down once a suitable surface i.e. something soft is provided.

When visiting friends or asking him to settle outside especially, i certainly provide something comfortable and they are generally happy anywhere they can lie down and stretch out.

In my humble opinion especially with ex racers we can never be sure just what injuries may exist under their skin and this is something non grey owners also don't have to consider but may be a consideration in difficulties with certain movements.

Dearly hope you both enjoy getting to know each other and have many many happy times ahead.

Greyhounds are so very special in very unique ways.

[Neighsayer]

I've only had my crazy two year old for six weeks, so I have t been working on commands. She is a friendly and confidant dog who may make a good therapy dog when she chills out a bit. My original hound, Mickey, was a great therapy dog. He won best in class in his basic obedience class. The instructor has been in business for years. He had never awarded best to a greyhound, and before the class started, he would have bet a lot of money that he never would! Mickey was a natural! Loved to learn in any environment. Not all dogs are like that. Give your kid more time. It may or may not happen the way you want.