Don't know what to do...

[GizmosMommy]

My Gizzie is almost a yr old. He's been to puppy training school but he's still not getting it. He knows his name but that's about it. He doesn't sit when I tell him, he doesn't come, nothing. I train with him to learn the basic commands but all he does it automatically sit because I have treats in my hand. Please help with any advice. Thanks...

[bchgirl]

Treats are the key. Every time he respond to a command give him a treat. To teach mine come....I repeated EVERY time I called them and gave them a treat. Both of mine will respond on command now...without a treat reward, but I'm certain they think...ok, I did it, where's my treat? LOL.

[Yorkiekids]

I believe treats, praise and a lot of patience do it. Do you have him in a quiet place when you're trying to train him? He might be distracted by something.

[Amanda7]

Some dogs take longer than others, but I agree that treats and praise are the key. And consistency. Practicing the same command over and over will eventually sink in. Good luck.

[GizmosMommy]

Yes, I do train in a quiet area and I do give him treats. But....he knows when I have the treats in my hand so without me giving him the command "sit", he does it automatically. But it's ONLY when I have treats in my hand.

[kalina82]

have you tried clicker training?

[yogisdad]

I am a firm beleiver that many people waste money on pro trainers to train their dogs. It may take much longer to train him because he is used to having someone else as his alpha male.

Patience, treats, and be firm. If you want him to lay, put some pressure on his shoulders, give treat say good boy repeat. If you want him to come, attach a 10 foot string to his collar and say come, pull lightly, come, pull lightly, treat and praise repeat.

Those are the basics, anything more than that and you may be over working your pup. 30 minutes of concentrated training a day is about all you want to expose your yorkie too before they get frustrated and stressed. After all that comes the best time of the day...play time!

Cheerios and a firm but possitive approach do wonders.

[GizmosMommy]

But that's my problem. As soon as we get back inside after he goes potty, he automatically goes to the cabinet with the treats. Because he expects them, I use that time to train him. But the problem is, he KNOWS that I have the treats in my hand already so before I can get the "sit" command out, he does it without me telling him BUT...when I walk around the house and get him to stand long enough for me to say "sit", he'll stand there and just look at me. I'll say sit and he just stares at me. So because he doesn't respond, I'll move again, but when I move he'll automatically sit down again without me saying it. What do I do?

[GizmosMommy]

Originally Posted by kalina82

have you tried clicker training?

Yes but it's not working...

[kalina82]

Originally Posted by GizmosMommy

But that's my problem. As soon as we get back inside after he goes potty, he automatically goes to the cabinet with the treats. Because he expects them, I use that time to train him. But the problem is, he KNOWS that I have the treats in my hand already so before I can get the "sit" command out, he does it without me telling him BUT...when I walk around the house and get him to stand long enough for me to say "sit", he'll stand there and just look at me. I'll say sit and he just stares at me. So because he doesn't respond, I'll move again, but when I move he'll automatically sit down again without me saying it. What do I do?

i had morgan do this for a while. it took me a week to train her out of it. she would automatically lay down when she thought i was going to ask her to do something. I was trying to retrain her to sit and did not want her laying down. So when she'd lay down before i said anything i'd say 'nope' and turn around or walk away. if she still stayed in that position i would call her over to me to get her up and then say 'sit'. if she laid down again i'd say 'nope' then walk away. call her, i'd say sit, she'd lay down, i say 'nope' and walk away. i knew she knew the sit command but she thought lay down was easier. if she laid down too many times in a row, i'd say 'game over', put the treats away and stop the game for a half hour. then i'd start it up again later, same way. eventually she did sit and i treated her and said good girl. the every time time i asked her to sit, she laid down ..... patients is a virtue, and i do not have them so this was a pain in the butt. lol

[GizmosMommy]

Since I'm teaching him the sit command and he automatically does it, won't that confuse him? Or will that teach him the command?

[kalina82]

Originally Posted by GizmosMommy

Since I'm teaching him the sit command and he automatically does it, won't that confuse him? Or will that teach him the command?

he may know how to sit but he doesn't know to do it on command. he's just sitting down because he learned that butt on floor equals treat. what he didn't add in is that he's suppose to do it when you ask him.

[GizmosMommy]

So should I say "nope" and walk away until he gets it? lol

[kalina82]

Originally Posted by GizmosMommy

So should I say "nope" and walk away until he gets it? lol

what i would try is putting treats in your pocket. if he sees you do this and knows you have treats he's automatically gonna sit right? so ignore him for a while until he forgets you have the treats. then when he's just standing around or playing, go up to him and tell him to sit. when he does give him a treat from your pocket. the key is to get him to do it when he isn't expecting you to give him a treat. so all day long when you see him being calm and standing, tell him to sit. if he does it after you tell him, then he gets a treat. if he does it without you telling him, he gets ignored.

i read a good article about this. i must go find it.

[GizmosMommy]

Originally Posted by kalina82

what i would try is putting treats in your pocket. if he sees you do this and knows you have treats he's automatically gonna sit right? so ignore him for a while until he forgets you have the treats. then when he's just standing around or playing, go up to him and tell him to sit. when he does give him a treat from your pocket. the key is to get him to do it when he isn't expecting you to give him a treat. so all day long when you see him being calm and standing, tell him to sit. if he does it after you tell him, then he gets a treat. if he does it without you telling him, he gets ignored.

i read a good article about this. i must go find it.

i will most definitely try this. thanks a lot!