siriusly confused

[y0rkieL0ver]

i think i have seriously confused Sirius. he has mastered the "sit" command to a TEE and i am soo proud of him. So today we tried to master "come" and its just not clicking. when i show him the treat and say "come" he sits! lol. im not sure what i should do to help him learn this, so i kinda gave up for tonight, but its imperative he learns this command because he is so stubborn sometimes when i need him to come to me. i didnt give him the treat when he sat and he was like "wtf mom. this is what i do and you give me that thing in ur hand to eat!" is he not associating the word "sit" with the action and just the treat? im kinda confused and apparently so is he. Is there a certain interval i should use between command training? he mastered sit on the 22nd and has been showing off for me whenever i ask him to sit, so i figured we could move on. any suggestions??

[MeganS]

Try using hand signals (sp) Whenever you tell him to sit hold your hand above his nose or whatever. When you tell him to come give him a motion for come. I find it helps a lot. Also when you first start doing come, put his leash on him. Everytime you say "come" give him a tiny tug on the leash. Be sure to give lots of praise when he comes to you! PS~ I had your pain for a while. Tucker learned sit perfectly and for the longest time he would do nothing else, he still does that once in a while but he seems to be able to understand now. So YES, there is hope!

[Jaspermom]

Also, put him on a leash. Have him sit, praise, walk away just a short distance, say COME, use the hand signal, and then pull him gently towards you on the leash. PRAISE AND TREAT!

After a few days, try it without the leash. If he knows you are going to reward him when he comes towards you, he will probably do so pretty soon!

Have fun!

[Jaspermom]

Originally Posted by MeganS

Try using hand signals (sp) Whenever you tell him to sit hold your hand above his nose or whatever. When you tell him to come give him a motion for come. I find it helps a lot. Also when you first start doing come, put his leash on him. Everytime you say "come" give him a tiny tug on the leash. Be sure to give lots of praise when he comes to you! PS~ I had your pain for a while. Tucker learned sit perfectly and for the longest time he would do nothing else, he still does that once in a while but he seems to be able to understand now. So YES, there is hope!

Great minds, girlfriend!

[y0rkieL0ver]

o ty for the leash idea- i would have never thought of that. and i use the over his nose signal for the sit command and i didnt even think to use one for come, that makes so much sense i need a dope slap.

another thing, everyone was makin fun of me at christmas because sirius doesnt go outside to potty and now i feel like im doing something wrong. he is like 98% trained on the pee pad, but hates being outside because it is soooo cold here right now and doesnt know to pee when i take him outside. he spends most of the time pawing at my legs to pick him up and he shakes because he is so cold even with his sweater on. am i doing him a disservice by not making him go to the bathroom outdoors?? my sisters chihuahua and lab came to visit for xmas and they are housebroken and only go outside so she was telling me im training him all wrong so now i feel stupid! i dunno. let me know.

[sabrinasmom]

Some people just don't like the idea of pee/poo in the house period. I don't know what it is. We all put up with babies and wet diapers and stuff we aren't used to...

I just don't care. I have friends that say the same thing to me, but I haven't ever had to drive around looking for my baby after she's run off, and I haven't ever had to wrap up and go outside and freeze or get wet or put her and me out in the hot sun. I just say, well, this is the way I have mine trained. Just go around the pee pads.... They don't help raise'em.... or train'em.... or love'em....

[MeganS]

Well as for the lab, they are bigger dogs, they CAN go out in the snow and REALLY enjoy it AND be able to stay out for a few minutes to do their buisness. (I'm sure you get the point by now ) I always get it from my aunt. Tucker is still not house broken at 8 months. My aunt had a dear old Black Lab, Kelly (Rest In Peace) and she is always saying how Kelly was housebroken in 3 days. blah blah blah, I then explain to her how Tucker is SMALL and can't hold it for as long as Kelly could, etc., You aren't doing anything wrong with wee wee pad training, a lot of people do it because of the cold winter. Good luck!