Quote:
Originally Posted by yavenay  I should rephrase to describe stubborn to my Brandi. She had what I called selective learning.  The reason I know she was stubborn or just being willfull because when I would say a command she literally do it when she felt like it when there were no treats being offered. That's how I know that I am not a good trainer.
At some point I wouldn't use the treats and I would tell her to sit without the treats and depending on if she was in the mood she would sit. And then when she did sit, it was almost like "okay I'll do it but I really don't want too" and when she finally sat, it was only like for a few seconds. I would tell her to sit just so I could have a laugh. She was too funny. If I had treats, she would sit every single time.  If that ain't being stubborn I know what is.
But Dutch will sit every time with or without treats. |
Oh, that's not a stubborn dog, just an unmotivated one. I'll betcha she knows you aren't expecting her to do it every time! Each dog requires different motivations and triggers and you
might have the one dog that is different from all the others but, still, you have to make your dog love and want to do the commands because it's loads of fun and they want to get their rewards of treat, prize, their and your pride in their great accomplishment, whatever - ASAP. Make the training lots more fun, upbeat for her, the rewards ultra fast and she'll happily perform every trick every time - within reason, as long as she thinks you are in it with her and really, really want to see her do it. She needs to feel your excitement, sense of fun and determination to be sure she's fully motivated and that you two get through the trick successfully together - that's what makes a really good dog trainer.
You are a vital part of it. Amp yourself up and motivate her! No dog likes trick/command repeats unless they are made really worth it to him or her and sense we are with them 100% of the way! Kind of like the 100th sit-up, second set, is pretty dang hard to get to unless you are powerfully motivated and some people can't get there consistently without a professional trainer to motivate them.