Teaching Commands
 

I just got a 16 month old yorkie. She is very shy and submissive so I thought teaching her some commands and tricks would help with her confidence and maybe bring her out of her shell. My problem is that, when I try to work with her on sitting she just hunkers down. What should I do?

I work with a clicker and food treats and go slow.
I also work on a protocal called the protocal for relaxation by Dr Karen overall.
It for relaxing but it also builds confidnece as well and it slow and simple and not threatening.... I not saying you are but shy dogs like things easy.

JL

What a wonderful idea, I think you are absolutely correct in this, knowing how to do things builds confidence in people and dogs. I do training with Joey every day. We use the breakfast meal all for training, and half of his dinner meal. He's hungry at these times so he's eager to perform. Not all the meal is rigorous training, some of it is just fetch, but he enjoys this and is rewarded when he brings the toy back to me. When teaching a new trick, it's really important to learn the proper way to teach it, the dog will pick up your hand signals way faster than she'll pick up your words, so being consistent with your hand signals is very important. Make the time playful and stress free. I use the word "UH UH" instead of "no" when teaching a trick, uh uh has no negative connotation with it, it simply means that behavior won't be rewarded. "Yes" is the word I use at the exact second the target behavior is performed, and the "yes" is always followed by a reward. I found it too hard to use the clicker, and click at the exact second, so the word "yes" became the "click". Teaching one or two new tricks a week, with the rest of the time practicing old tricks is usually not too stressful. Most experts say to limit training to 5 or 10 minutes, and do it several times a day, for best results. We first used special treats, but Joey gained too much weight, so that's why I just use his regular food for training. This website has step by step examples on how to teach specific tricks. Dog Tricks! Shake, Crawl, Beg, Kiss, Roll Over, Bow, and more!

you can also look into puppy socials or doggie playdates. having your dog meet other dogs can also help build her confidence. you need to make sure it's safe for her though. yorkies are small, so you need to make sure the dogs that she meets are friendly. larger dogs that are too wild when they play can easily injure a yorkie. so you need to keep a very close eye on your dog.

also, need to make sure that your dog have soft mouth (does not bite too hard) and if other dogs are biting your dog too hard, you need to get involved and stop them. they will always bite each other, that's how dogs play. but if the dog doesn't want to play anymore, she won't go back to that dog after you separate them.

good luck!

that's really nice you can use her meals as training treats. milu will not accept kibbles for training treats. she is picky with her treats...do you know anyway to fix this?

After our trick training class, Joey became very picky on which treats he would use, I had to keep getting new treats, with higher and higher fat content. I was feeding him his regular meals, and when you train 5-10 minutes a day, that's a lot of extra treats. In a word, he wasn't that hungry, and he gained a pound in those 2 months, vet put him on a diet, and his meals are much smaller now, so he's hungry. If you're not hungry, it takes something like a desert to tempt you to eat, but when you are hungry, oatmeal tastes good. Remember, when first training a new trick, a treat must be given each time the dog performs, after the dog really understands the trick rewards can be given less often, for example every second or third time, but when first learning it's imperative to reward each time. That why I suggest that meals be used. Some people use cheerios, and they aren't too high in fat, and are mostly air, so they won't completely ruin the appetite for healthier food, but if your doing lots of training even these will interfere with a healthy diet.

thank you for the suggestions. i am not sure if i can make her hungry enough to accept kibbles as treats just yet because milu is a very picky eater and she eats very little. at this point she is not 'fat' enough for me to feel confident about trying to have her go hungry enough to accept kibbles as training treats. i think i will try your suggestions when she is older, and hopefully she will also be a less picky eater when she is older. (she is 8 months old right now)

as for cheerios, is that a good treat for them? because it's sugary and i worry it will give her cavities.

As far as treats go, it's not that bad, I don't use the honey nut ones, which have more added sugar. Cavities aren't generally a problem with dogs, it's tartar and gingivitis that's the problem, and they lose teeth because of gum disease. I do think sugar is bad for other reasons. Like I said before Joey was extremely picky, and just cutting his food back a little helped with this.

i c, thank you! :thumbup: