training Reluctant to train or doesn’t understand?

[CourtneyT]

Hi Everyone! 
 

I adopted a retired racing greyhound just over a year ago. She settled well with little needing done when it comes to toilet training. I have tried training to sit or lie down but she just kind of stares through me when I give any kind of command almost as if she doesn’t understand English. She’s very timid and loves nothing more than to be petted and cuddled but sometimes even saying her name it’s like she doesn’t understand us. Has anyone else experienced this? If so how did you overcome it I’ve tried all I can think of with no improvement. 
 

thanks in advance! 
 

Courtney

[MerseyGrey]

I think that greyhounds find it difficult to sit because of their huge bottoms so most people skip that command. Don’t be fooled into thinking that your dog doesn’t understand what you want her to do; it is probably more that she doesn’t understand why you want her to do it, or why the hell she should listen to you anyway if it doesn’t involve her being fed!

To be fair, that could just be my greyhound. The only command he knows is ‘stay’. Saying ‘stay’ means that something interesting is going to happen and he wants to be a part of it and there is no way on earth that he is not going to follow. He will lie down after a few minutes’ coaxing if I sit by his bed with a toothbrush. That took a few weeks for him to understand what I wanted him to do but now I only have to ask him a dozen times or so, and wait for him to circle me several times before he does as he is asked. Good luck!

[BatterseaBrindl]

I agree that many Greyhounds do find sitting a bit difficult. That said...I have taught all of mine to sit, but none of them like it nor do it reliably without treats involved. 

'Down' however, is easily taught!  

Obviously your dog lays down on her own, so every time she goes to lay down, say the word 'down' just as she hits the floor/bed and then praise her like crazy when she is down. However, getting a reliable  confirmed 'on-command down' using this method is hit and miss.

Alternatively take her to her bed, have a super delicious treat in your hand and lure her down with it.... Treat under her nose... saying the word 'down' and give her the treat as soon as she is down.  Some dogs will catch on to this game quickly, others will take hundreds of practice sessions to get it.  

Once she reliably can be lured down with a treat...could take a day..could take a week...then 'luring' with no treat should get her down and then treat her. 

Once this is firmly established then the next step is just pointing to the floor and saying 'down' ...give the occasional treat... And soon she'll be laying down with just the word

 

 

 

[Bogangles]

My first dog was a scent hound and a complete handful with a will of iron. He was very food oriented and would do all kinds of tricks.

Then I adopted my first greyhound who was completely different and she was so sweet and all I had to do was "show" her. I felt that she had already given enough to humanity and did not demand anything from her. I just showed her the way and she taught ME a lot and brought peace into my life. If I did train her it was only things that would keep her safe. And that went for my boy when he came and the girl I have now. I had and have wonderful relationships with them all. They are gentle peaceful beings

[greysmom]

With any dog, finding the motivation for each individual is the key to successful training.  For some that will be regular treats or training treats; for some you'll need to start with something considerably higher value (roasted chicken, beef jerky, cooked livier, braunsweiger or liverwurst, cheese - whatever that particular dog find to be the most yummy thing ever). 

Keep in mind that greyhounds have been bred for centuries to be independent thinkers - the original hunting dogs were sent mostly individually to down small game animals, and as coursing hounds they have to learn to make individual racing choices constantly.  They simply don't have that component of wanting to work cooperatively or alongside people (or other dogs) in their genetic make up like herding breeds or "gun" dogs.  So it's up to the human to make training fun and interesting, and give them a reason why they need to do it.

You can also use toys or anything else the dog finds of high value, as they do with training police dogs.  Not as convenient to carry around as a pocketfull of treats however.  Some dogs (not usually greyhounds though!   ) will work for pets and attention.

Once you find that motivator it's best to keep training sessions very short to begin with - just a couple minutes - but space them out throughout the day.  If you can use behavior shaping, like batterseabrindl outlined above, it's pretty simple.  Just keep some treats on you and give the command whenever you see your dog about to do the command naturally.  If you're familiar with clicker training that also works well - they love the "loading" phase where you get them accustomed to responding to the sound!  Once they "get" the command, have them sucessfully repeat the behavior three times, ending with a correct behavior, and then stop.  Wait an hour or two and repeat the session.

You will see various reasons and explanations about why greyhounds can't sit.  Mostly they aren't true.  It's not a natural behavior they need, particularly for retired racers, but they can and do sit just fine.  I've taught all three of my puppies to sit with little to no effort.  The adults?  Notsomuch.     In some cases it's easier to teach/shape "down" first and then lure them up to "sit," but most greyhounds I have had will just stand up.

It's important to remember to use positive-reinforcement training methods only.  For all their stubborness, greyhounds have moderately "soft" personalitites and they do not deal well with harsher training methods.  Keep this in the front of your mind if you choose to try a class or at-home trainer.  Someone unused to greyhounds could do irrepareable harm in a very short time.  Boot camp or Whisperer type trainers really don't work for them.  Gentle, consistent, praise-centric training will get you much farther even if it takes longer.

[cleptogrey]

i initially thought that my first GH was brain damaged- seriously. no response out of her what so ever. well, she woke up to basic clicker training and proved to be a clever gal. it was as if someone turned on the light switch. 

remember gh like all sight hounds do get bored very easily- but it's that initial kick start and then short short training sessions. clicker is easier to get with a professional teaching you- it's difficult to follow online. but due to the crazy world around us- do look on youtube for something that makes sense to you.