When To Start Training Commands?

[Jessa]

My lovely Stu is lovely- but he knows nothing. 'Stupid Good' is indeed stupid!

 

When should I start actually training? I assume after he is settled in so we don't stress him out even more while he's adjusting.

We've been working on the cats and my fiance has tried to get him to sit with no luck. Stu just gets very confused and tries to jump at the treat in hand.

 

What would be a good command to begin with that is easy to learn so he gets the hang of being trained and the reward that awaits him? He doesn't seem to understand yet that when he does a good behavior there is a treat waiting for him. He wants to jump the gun and go straight for the treat, of course

[NeedlenoseJake]

I would wait a little bit and at first focus on what behaviors are good and bad before trying to teach commands or tricks. Most greyhounds find it unnatural to sit, but most of them can learn with time. It's not what I would start with though- even our trainer in obedience class couldn't get Jake to sit! Once he's more settled in, an easy thing to teach is to shake or touch. For shake, grab his paw and say shake, then treat. If you do this enough he will get it. For touch, just touch his nose with the hand not holding the treat, say touch, and treat. Again, he will pick it up.

[Jessa]

That's what I was thinking! We've mostly been focusing on teaching that the cats are not prey, same with my toddler. He actually finally laid down just a moment ago while the cat is in plain view on top of the cupboards, he's making amazing progress already for it only being day two.

 

Awesome ideas for commands! I know that sit usually is one of the first things people teach dogs, but figured I would ask since I've come across stories of how difficult it can be to teach a grey to sit since they don't seem to take that position naturally like other dogs.

 

Luckily Stu is extremely food motivated!

[krissy]

It depends on the dog, but if the dog is confident and eager then I see no reason to wait on training. Most of the foster dogs that come through my house have started learning how to lie down before they go to their new homes (which is anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, but rarely longer than 2 months... the ones that I've had for 2 months have their downs and have also started working on sit and stay). If they are very shy or timid, then we just work on building confidence and learning general house manners, and when they settle into their new adoptive home I recommend they start working on their obedience.

 

I start all dogs with hand touches and eye contact to get them playing and interested in the training game. Then I teach down. Then I start working on sit, stay, and come.

[Fruitycake]

'Touch' is a very easy one, and useful for getting a dog to move itself to your hand instead of you physically moving them (to turn them, get them to shift their body a few steps out of the way, etc.). Monty picked that one really quickly! Good treats in the hand and of course he wants to put his nose on your hand!

 

Instead of 'sit' I would try training 'down' (or 'lie'). They do that easier than a sit, and it can more easily be trained by either luring them down into position or rewarding them after they have adopted a lying position. There are some great videos on training a down/lie, using a treat under your hand and waiting them out, or by doing successive approximations and expecting them to work a bit more and get closer to what you want in the position before getting the treat.

 

Monty still doesn't sit for us, and I really don't expect him to need to do something that looks so uncomfortable for him. He does a great 'down' on command, and also has the best standing 'wait' of any dog I've personally worked with (even better than our non-grey when she is in the sit). I've worked on this since day one, so I really see no need for the sit. (Also, I have to admit that I don't want to have to push my dog to do things. He will freeze and tense up and learning doesn't happen for him if he is 'positioned' by pushing his butt or sweeping his back legs. And I'm too lazy to take him outside with treats to find a hill to back him up to to make the 'luring' into a sit easier because the ground is higher under his hindquarters and a squat more easily becomes a sit.)

[GeorgeofNE]

I personally think it's a waste of energy to teach tricks before a dog knows the basics. It's a complete myth that greyhounds can't/won't sit. They might not do it by choice, and they might not look great doing it, but they're DOGS and they can be taught to do it just like any other dog.

 

My preference is to work on leash manners first. Then sit. Then down. Then stay. And ALWAYS be working on "come" or recall.

[Guest xengab]

We started with "stop" and "come". Stop, was a good one as we can now get him to stop under most circumstances (8 months in), with NO leash or touch or treat involved. Very handy and easy to learn. Paired with "come" we've been able to handle most situations.

Sit took 6 months to 'get'. He sat naturally on his own when on a mat or bed so we knew he could do it and was ok, just knowing the word and the action was the challenge. (trained our new cat in one week to sit..LOL).

Stay, can be taught at this stage too. Great for door rushing and manners in the house.

 

Look is also a good command to learn.. or whatever you want to call it. have him face you, say the word, when he looks, give treat. Over time add distractions. Helps on walks!

 

Touch.. teaching him to touch his nose to your hand when on walks. Takes awhile and helps promote no pulling. Works better when everyone does it. (my hubby walks my grey in the afternoon and doesnt do it..)