Training a stubborn dog when walking off leash? (how much, retrievers, spaniel)
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I need tips for training a stubborn dog. I have a 4 year old Pomeranian mix. She is a sweet dog but when we are outside and she gets a whiff of something interesting, she heads toward it, and it takes several "Annie here" before she will acknowledge my presence. I have used treats in the past - they work sometimes, but not all the time.
She is great on a leash, but when I let her off leash to get exercise in the field, she often ignores me until my voice gets very low and she knows she is in trouble. She is very good with other things though such as give paw, sit, lay down, leave it, wait, etc... so she knows what she should do, just chooses not to listen when she is in the field. I have tried putting her on the leash when she misbehaves and making her sit next to me, but she waits me out until I let her off leash again. Any other techniques I should try?
Blow a little whistle and give her a bit of cheese so she associates the whistle with the cheese. We did this with our cocker spaniel and it worked wonders.
One tip re: the treats that I was taught when working on recall with our boy is that to work on recall, you have to have the tastiest treats that she will not be able to resist. Cheese is a great suggestion by the previous poster, the other thing I used to use is chopped up bits of sausage, that works a treat for my boy . Use these treats ONLY for when you are training as these are special treats and you want your girl to really appreciate that.
Another trick you could try which I have seen work really well with a stubborn adolescent Newfie, is to hide from your dog when she wanders off. This can work exceptionally well, however, it does depend how clingy she is to you. This Newfie that I observed was a real mummy's boy but tended to develop selective hearing as soon as he was off the leash.
As he would wander off, more than she would like him to, she would hide behind a tree and then call him. It taught him to 'check in with her' regularly when he was off the leash by giving her eye contact and looking back to check where she was and that she hadn't disappeared. When he did this, she would give him lots of praise for checking in with her.
We tried this with our boy, who is also very stubborn off leash, it worked really well with him too.
Another trick that works really well with our boy, is to run in the opposite direction calling them, almost making it a bit of a game, again, this technique is dependent on your dog's character, our boy can't resist running back when we do this
just bear in mind, if she has found something very interesting, you are trying to compete with that!
Make sure you give lots of praise when she does respond when called.
Hope the suggestions help and keep us posted with your progress
Frankly, it would be better to just keep her on leash - a longer training leash that allows you to reel her in along with the praise and treats. It is just insurance until she gets a bit better. This lead should only be used when you are in an off-leash area and not for regular walks. She will get better but some dogs just need that in-between first. Good Luck!
I have used the word 'doyouwannatreat' with treats (bologna usually) which normally works except for the times she has 'selective hearing' like the other poster said. I will try the whistle idea and the longer lead, that should break her fixation on whatever she is trailing and get her to look at me. I have also started to call her back with lots of praise when she comes back, and then we set out again so she does not always associate me calling her back as the end of her play time. Thanks!
Frankly, it would be better to just keep her on leash - a longer training leash that allows you to reel her in along with the praise and treats. It is just insurance until she gets a bit better. This lead should only be used when you are in an off-leash area and not for regular walks. She will get better but some dogs just need that in-between first. Good Luck!
Agree with a combination of this method, with say a 25-30 ft. lead and the very tasty treat method when calling her back. It sounds as though the way the OP has been handling it that the Pom. is learning just how much she can get away with and that by allowing it she is actually being trained to get away with not responding to the "come" command.
I wouldn't say that the dog is stubborn as much as she is smart. The OP is being played, as many of us are, by our smart little (manipulative) fur babies.
The OP is being played, as many of us are, by our smart little (manipulative) fur babies.
From some one with large smart dogs...its not only the little ones that look for the holes in training to sneak through. My hound's selective hearing is legendary. Its constant training with her. Just when I think she has finally got it.......ears get turned off again and we start again from the beginning. Sigh....retrievers were never this stubborn
Oh and...agree....long leads, treats and praise are definatley the best training tool for teaching recall.
I wouldn't say that the dog is stubborn as much as she is smart. The OP is being played, as many of us are, by our smart little (manipulative) fur babies. [/quote]
I giggled when I read this - yes, I admit she has manipulated me more than any other dog I have had. She is soooo cute and it is hard not to laugh sometimes when she is pushing my buttons. I stand my ground, but she is a charmer!
I tried one of those head/snout collars to keep them in line when walking. My dog is so bad to walk with so now I refuse to walk him- my husband does it now! LOL
I went walking with Chase (doggy) one time and he crossed in between my legs trying to run after a squirrel, and I fell into a huge "FOR SALE" sign in someone's lawn. Since we got the head collar, he's so much better for a walk. He still thinks he can cross in between my legs, so I let my husband walk him while I tag behind.
When at a dog park, I'll bring a box or bag of treats and shake them when he won't listen to us. It usually works, but if he's really involved in some doggy activity, I whistle really loudly. Errr...then again, 4 other dogs come barging at me too when I whistle like that.
Good luck with your Pom mix!
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. Use these treats ONLY for when you are training as these are special treats and you want your girl to really appreciate that.
