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Old 05-15-2010, 07:32 AM   #1
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Default Sophie is refusing to be trained..

I am looking for suggestions on a good training book for Sophie.

My fiance and I are getting really frustrated with her and it is starting to frustrate her as well.

She is almost 11 months (where did my little puppy go...) and all she knows it how to "dance" - she stands on her hind legs and spins around. I think she knows how to sit, lay down and wait as well, but she is way too stubborn to do it.

I followed advice from online trainers to use treats and positive reinforcement, but now, Sophie will not for the life of her sit unless she sees something in my hand (she nudges my hand until she sees the treat) - and even then she takes multiple tries before she actually puts her bum on the ground.

We are just getting so frustrated because it isn't from lack of trying, we have worked on her almost every day since she was about 4 months old and she still won't do it.

The thing with her though, is that she isn't a crazy, hyper dog...she is well behaved (uses her pee pads, comes when called, can walk off a leash - we only do it when there is no one around though...so i don't think she can do it with distractions) and she doesn't bark when she is left alone.

This has all been brought on because when we brought home our kitten, she started getting really aggressive toward Libby with food and toys, and it was then my fiance and I realized something has to be done asap so we can keep both of them safe. Obviously, we would never get rid of Sophie, we are just looking for any advice on training her basic commands (she is just so stubborn, when she finally does sit and we tell her to wait and she actually listens - she starts doing her little frustrated bark and growl at us.

We want to take her to a training course, but we have looked into some and private lessons are beyond what we can afford right now and the class sessions are all in the evening and my fiance and I both start work at 4pm Mon-Fri (I get off at 9:30pm and he gets off at 12am), so that make evening classes impossible.

I work Saturday morning usually and he works Sundays occasionally, so even places like Petsmart don't have a time that would work for us (all their later in the day Saturdays are puppy classes and she would be in the beginner class).

So someone please help us! Little Sophie is so stubborn and we are looking for suggestions on a book to purchase to give us a little more insight on how to train her.

Last edited by danniko; 05-15-2010 at 07:33 AM.
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Old 05-15-2010, 08:22 AM   #2
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I took Jezebel to puppy classes a couple of months ago, and the trainer was outstanding, can't say enough good about her. The pups she brought in for demos that she was working with were amazing. She is a big believer in this training program:

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Old 05-15-2010, 08:31 AM   #3
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Training can be frustrating. The first thing to do is to figure out what motivates your dog. Is it food, a toy, petting? Food is most commonly used because it is assumed that is what gets the dog most excited, but this isn't the case for every dog. Some are motivated by play or simply praise. If your dog is food motivated select a special extra tasty food like warm hot dog or chicken that he/she only gets while training; some dog treats are not as tasty or exciting as you may think and if it is something the dog gets often it may not respond as well. Make sure you cut whatever food you choose into extra small pieces. You want something he can eat quickly and in small breeds, like the Yorkie, they fill up fast so you want to make sure they stay hungry enough to complete a training session.

It is also recommended that you train with no distractions. Train in an area of the house the dog is comfortable in, remove the cat from the room, and turn off the tv. It is important to keep the sessions short so that you keep the dog's attention. Start out with a 5 minute max. session and work your way up to 15. Work on one command at a time. Every time your dog does something correctly give tons of praise. Let him know how proud you are of him in addition to the food or toy reward. Most importantly, try not to get frustrated. I know it's easier said than done, but you want to keep the sessions fun and becoming frustrated can turn the dog off to the idea of training and even stress him out. Since your dog is 11 months old it may take him a little longer to pick things up, but he’s still young and while he might not be the knowledge sponge he was a few months ago, he will always want to please you.

As far as recommending a book for you, there are tons, but you don’t need to get an expensive one. Any will probably do the trick. I like the breed specific ones like the “Kennel Club Books: Breeders’ Best: Yorkshire Terrier” or “Animal Planet: Pet Care Library: Yorkshire Terrier”. With these books you get the training information as well as helpful information about your breed of dog. One book I always have at hand is “The Little Dog Activity Book” by Deborah Wood. The book has a section for basic commands, but also has a variety of fun games designed to stimulate your small dog both physically and mentally in a breed-appropriate fashion. The activities are a blast for both you and your dog!

There are zillions of training tips I’m sure everyone can give you, but you need to find what works best for you and your dog. If you try the advice and the books and still have problems you will need to find a trainer. I understand how a private trainer can be too expensive, but if it is causing so big of a problem you are going to have to try to fit it in somewhere. Have you talked to the trainer at Petsmart? Even though your dog is out of the “puppy” class age, he is still a small breed dog and some trainers might allow you into the puppy class assuming he is not too big physically. I would caution against some of those big box stores though. We did the class at Petco and it was a complete waste of money. Everything Lola knows, we taught her at home.

I wish you luck with your training and hope it works out for you! It may take some time, but eventually you’ll find the right rhythm for you and your dog.
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Old 05-15-2010, 01:54 PM   #4
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I just wanted to expand on Lolasmom's advice with a few tips to fine tune your basic training.

1. Train Sophia after a walk to drain excess energy.

2. Make sure you have Sophia's attention (she should be looking at you) when you give her a command.

3. Use hand signals and higher pitch voice because;

a) in the beginning, youngers dogs are more visual. b) you have a better chance getting a terrier's attention when you sound like prey (mice-eep! eep!) and it makes you more exciting and fun. Ever wonder why yorkies love squeaky toys?

Please take a look at the thread Training in progress in the training section. Capt-noone/Uni and Britster/Jaskson videos are a good example of making it fun and keeping their dogs focus.

4. Almost all the training books says the #1 mistake we make is to repeat our commands. I'll use 'sit' for example. When you say ....sit...sit...sit!... your teaching a dog that they do not have to obey the command the first time you give it. Say it once then give them a moment to figure it out. If they don't get it, say the command a second time then gently put them in the sit position.

In my experience in training class, when someone gets fustrated and starts repeating commands, it can sometimes overwhelm a dog, especially a shy and timid one, and they will shut down. So please everyone, don't let it get to this point. Keep it fun for the both of you and end training on a good note.

There is this saying... the bigger the challenge, the sweeter the Q.

I would suggest going online to a yorkie or cat rescue site for some advice because they usually have a section on how to introduce your new pet to your exsisting one.

Best of luck!
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Old 05-15-2010, 02:33 PM   #5
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try to take off days set on one (or two depending on how many u get) make it a fixed day like sat or some other day n enroll her in a class. i think this would be best.
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Old 05-15-2010, 05:26 PM   #6
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Old 05-16-2010, 08:02 AM   #7
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If you go to YouTube and google Yorkie training they have short videos to show you how the trainers train for certain tricks and it's free. Sometimes watching a trainer's body language can be helpful. I guess we were fortunate. When we needed some training help I found a woman who trains service dogs who had a 6 week class for $45.00. Our Sophie is doing great so far. We just needed more structured training. Good Luck
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Old 05-16-2010, 03:03 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by YorkieTherapy View Post
I just wanted to expand on Lolasmom's advice with a few tips to fine tune your basic training.

1. Train Sophia after a walk to drain excess energy.

2. Make sure you have Sophia's attention (she should be looking at you) when you give her a command.

3. Use hand signals and higher pitch voice because;

a) in the beginning, youngers dogs are more visual. b) you have a better chance getting a terrier's attention when you sound like prey (mice-eep! eep!) and it makes you more exciting and fun. Ever wonder why yorkies love squeaky toys?

Please take a look at the thread Training in progress in the training section. Capt-noone/Uni and Britster/Jaskson videos are a good example of making it fun and keeping their dogs focus.

4. Almost all the training books says the #1 mistake we make is to repeat our commands. I'll use 'sit' for example. When you say ....sit...sit...sit!... your teaching a dog that they do not have to obey the command the first time you give it. Say it once then give them a moment to figure it out. If they don't get it, say the command a second time then gently put them in the sit position.

In my experience in training class, when someone gets fustrated and starts repeating commands, it can sometimes overwhelm a dog, especially a shy and timid one, and they will shut down. So please everyone, don't let it get to this point. Keep it fun for the both of you and end training on a good note.

There is this saying... the bigger the challenge, the sweeter the Q.

I would suggest going online to a yorkie or cat rescue site for some advice because they usually have a section on how to introduce your new pet to your exsisting one.

Best of luck!
Excellent advice.
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