Sigh first competitive obedience training

[gemy]

Originally Posted by Maximo

Sounds like Razzle thought it was a play date and not an obedience evaluation. I know you and Ilona have worked with him from the beginning on various things including agility and dock diving, but do you think it is more difficult to train an adult Yorkie vs a puppy?

I am very sorry to hear Magic is still struggling with his injury. I can imagine how difficult it is for you to have to hold him back from what he loves to do.

I think perhaps overall yes on the adult versus puppy, in particular if you factor in, that puppy might have gotten minimal training over his formative years. Razzle got other types of training, so I am hopefull with more outside work = more distractions, that he will start to come along.

[Maximo]

Originally Posted by gemy

I think perhaps overall yes on the adult versus puppy, in particular if you factor in, that puppy might have gotten minimal training over his formative years. Razzle got other types of training, so I am hopefull with more outside work = more distractions, that he will start to come along.

I have no doubt that he will come along in your capable hands and with his aptitude for training having competed in other areas.

Indoors vs outdoors was my next question. Was this evaluation done outdoors and is competition always outdoors? My boys are fine indoors with a bunch of dogs, but outdoors they listen only to what they have to. They aren't treat or toy driven outdoors like Razzle and Magic. I could dangle an entire chicken in front of them and they wouldn't care. The boys do just enough to prevent their walks/outings from ending early. They also respond to fear in my voice in emergency situations, but not toys or treats.

[gemy]

Originally Posted by Maximo

I have no doubt that he will come along in your capable hands and with his aptitude for training having competed in other areas.

Indoors vs outdoors was my next question. Was this evaluation done outdoors and is competition always outdoors? My boys are fine indoors with a bunch of dogs, but outdoors they listen only to what they have to. They aren't treat or toy driven outdoors like Razzle and Magic. I could dangle an entire chicken in front of them and they wouldn't care. The boys do just enough to prevent their walks/outings from ending early. They also respond to fear in my voice in emergency situations, but not toys or treats.

This evaluation was done outdoors. and here in the summer the obedience and other performance sports are done outdoors, from November on to about April they are indoors.

And as you have noted, different dogs can be more focussed in different environments. The diehard real serious competitors will sometimes only compete indoors or outdoors depending on how well their dog does in the in or the out environment. Each environment carries sometimes equally distracting sights and sounds and smells. Indoors can concentrate the noise and the smells. Outdoors not as much, but then you have the loverly grass and trees and birds, and all sorts of lovely stuff.

If your boys re-act and respond to treats/praise/or toys indoors, it might take a bit more effort now, to get them to respond outdoors to those same rewards; but it is do-able.
With multi dog households you need to start with one on one training. That is just you and one of your dogs. And this maybe counter to your beliefs, but all of my dogs (except Zoey), thought I was the best person to play with. They vied for my attention, and would much rather play/work for me then with their brother or sister. Zoey I received at about 8 mths old, and from what I could tell had been raised to play mostly with her packmates. She was great one on one with me, but really got distracted out with the pack.

Now some tricks of the trade so to speak. One is if you want your dog to respond to treats outside when you walk, walk them before you feed them so that they start out hungry That helps! Take a high value and much loved treat with you. Liver/chicken what-ever your dog loves to eat that they don't get regularly. You can make this miniscule, like a pea sized treat.

For toys. I never leave toys around for them to play with. If I want them to have some chew time in house on their chew toys, I bring them out, and they must do a "trick" for them. When enough time has passed and before they lose interest I pick up the toy - or usually have them give it to me and put the toy away. You could do this outside too- so they associate the outside with a great "chew".

A great game to build toy drive, is the absolutely crazy one, of find your TOY. The boys have to sit stay, and then you hide the toys, and say FIND IT!. But even before you do this, you create a suspenseful fun environment. You maybe it is in your kitchen, keep two squeakees in drawers or on the windowsill. you talk to yourself in an excited high pitched voice, and say something like Oh My Oh My WHAT do I have here! Oh I must Find this TOY Hopefully this attracts your boys attention, and when they come into investigate - you and you alone play with this toy! You don't let them have it at all for at least three days. I know it may sound embarrassing to do, but just act like a kid with a much loved toy.
Then the big day will come, when you let each boy have one of your well loved toys! They will go crazy over it! After all you are the source of all good things in their life! And YOU finally let them Play with a TOY of YOURS!

A new BRT owner wanted to know what I meant by toy drive, I was trying to explain it, and I could see her eyes kind of glaze over. So I said nevermind, let me show you; we were at my home. I did the Find TOY exercise. She said Oh My, I see now.

And don't despair at all. Trust me that playing and doing the above at least five minutes a day, with each dog, will make an incredible difference.

[Maximo]

Thank you Gail for all of the good advice. I definitely have been slacking on working with my boys individually. Trying to work on 2 together when they are excited to be outside is hopeless.

[caper4u]

Hello
Bob hear i'm not sure if i have the right page for my problem. I'm new to this I have a 7 monyh old yorkie (Sadie ) . I beleive I've created a big problem Sadie and I are never apart . I take he every where I go I'm not finding this a problem.She never leave me and always at my feet when I do leave her and get back she is wild barking jumping all over me .Should i buy another ? HELP

[impish]

Gemy, sorry it didn't go as well as you hoped but I just wanted you to know that watching your video above and then some of the dock jumping, I became very inspired and enrolled Pluto in his first series of classes last week.

May good things come to you and your pups on the training front. Thanks for the inspiration.