Dog Acting Crazy When I Try And Train Him?
Filed under Care & Training Q&As
When I first started training my little Papillon, he was really good. It only took an hour and a half and he learned to shake paw, to lay down and to come here. I started out by giving him a small treat when he did what I asked, and then eventually stopped giving him treats and he still did what I asked. I worked with him for a couple months and now he’s got those commands perfect.
I recently started trying to teach him to sit. The first time I asked him to sit, he did it, but he got really upset. He started shaking like crazy and he ran away from me and hid behind the toilet. After I got him out from behind the toilet, he wouldn’t come near me for the rest of the night. I ask him to sit like once a day, I thought maybe once he got used to the word, and used to doing it then he would stop being afraid, but he hasn’t. He knows how to sit, but I have to ask him to sit 50 million times before he will do it because he is so upset and trying to get away from me. He won’t even take a treat after he sits, and he doesn’t care how much I praise him after he sits. After he runs away, I tell him to come here and he does, and then I ask him to sit until he does. He acts like I’m hurting him by trying to get him to sit. After he finally sits, I tell him to lay down or shake a paw, but by that point he’s so upset and wants nothing to do with me. And btw, I’ve never hurt him. He’s never been hurt by me. I’ve had him for like 7 months and he’s definitely used to me. He’s like my baby and always wants to be around me, so it confuses me that it scares him so much that he’d want to run away from me. And it’s not just me, he will run away from my fiance if he asks him to sit and he runs to me.
I got him from a shelter and he was a puppy mill dog. Could something have happened to him at the puppy mill that would make him afraid to sit?? Any ideas why his behavior has suddenly changed?
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It seems that sitting causes your dog some pain. Have you had him to the vet to have his knees checked? I would do that because he seems happy to please you with all commands other than sit. It seems it’s not a behavioural issue but a physical one.
BTW I agree with you about the ‘I don’t know’ replies. What a waste of space and not very smart.
Thats very strange that he’s afraid of sitting. It is possible that something happened at the puppy mill. He might just have a problem with sitting, i doubt its your fault. Try not training him for a day then the next take it very slow.
i really don’t know what’s wrong with him
Perhaps try using a different cue that sounds nothing like the word “sit” and see if that makes any difference. It can be any cue you choose, from “butt on the floor!” to “pickle.”
When you practice it, don’t do it randomly during the day, try practicing this command when he’s sort of already in “command” mode. For instance, when he’s automatically responding to other commands like down and shake paw, toss it in the middle of the session. He might be less likely to react if he’s already in the right mindset to obey.
What someone else mentioned, rewarding him when he sits on his own, is called shaping a behavior. You can shape any behavior, from putting a basketball through a hoop to behaving in a relaxed manner. It’s a method often used in clicker training. A clicker is a little device that makes a distinctive clicking sound when you depress the metal tongue, and it’s used to mark an exact behavior. For example, the second his bottom touches the floor, you’d click to mark the sitting behavior. If you’re going to try that, you might want to try using the clicker, too. You can get one at most pet stores.http://www.clickertraining.com/whatishttp://www.clickertraining.com/node/1135
If you change the command word, this won’t really matter, but try not to repeat the cue a bunch of times. It just makes it completely ineffective because if the dog doesn’t listen the first time, he doesn’t have to listen the 32nd time, either. Try to only say it once, firmly, at a time you’re pretty sure you can get the dog to listen. That’s another part of shaping a behavior; first you get the behavior of sitting, and once you reliably have that, *then* you can put a name to it once you know he’ll actually do it.
I guess you can be glad that he does run to you for protection when your fiance gives the command, at least, instead of hiding somewhere else again.
This won’t necessarily change anything, but you might want to experiment with new treats, too. If you try different things, you might find something that he really can’t resist. Some common suggestions include chicken, cheese and hot dog.
Working a trainer privately is a good idea. Obviously, if he’s so very traumatized, you can’t just plunk him down in a setting full of dogs. A qualified, patient trainer may help you conquer his phobia.
Good luck!
EDIT: Also, if you had a physical cue that went along with the verbal “sit,” change that, too. It might have been a small cue you just give naturally, like putting your hand palm-down.
It could be that someone had tried training him when he was at the puppy mill, and he didn’t pick it up quick enough for the monster that was running the mill so he was harshly punished. I’ve heard of this happening before. All I can say is maybe try another command, he may associate the word ‘sit’ with negativity. One of my rescue dogs was terribly smart, but was abused as a puppy, so the words ‘down’ and ‘come’ for some reason scared the hell out of him. We used ‘lay’ instead of down, and ‘here’ instead of come. For sit, you could use ‘down’ or ‘seat.’ A friend of mine taught her dog to sit in a chair, and the command is ‘chair’ and she’ll run and jump on the nearest furniture, so even though you may not want her to sit on a chair, that kinda has an association with sitting, ya know?
Also, change the intonation of your voice so there are no traces of harshness whatsoever.
Another thing it could very well be is that it hurts him when he sits. He may have a hip problem or something. He’s very young but it’s possible. Have a vet check him out to rule out health issues.
Good luck!
Unfortunately rescued dogs do come with ‘baggage’. I’d say something has happened to this lad in his past. Could be you need to rule out something physical with him however. His hips may hurt – does he sit when you haven’t asked him to? It could also be something in the way you are trying to make him sit that either hurts, or reminds him of something that happened in his past.
My sister’s rescue is terrified of going into a car – she’s better once in, but if you go near a car (to put her in) with her, she freaks. This isn’t down to anything my sister has done with her – she was like it from day one. And it’s proving almost impossible to ‘cure’.
At the end of the day, this little lad doesn’t really need to have to sit on command, does he? Perhaps this is something you will just have to let go.
I’d say that he associates the command to sit with something bad. Maybe, before you got him, he was told to sit and then kicked or otherwise abused. He’s definitely sounds afraid of it. It’s really sad what has happened to some dogs you get from the shelter and can take a lot of work to reassure your dog and show him that there is nothing to fear from you.
Don’t push too hard on the sit command. Maybe you could try just waiting for your dog to sit on its on accord, then say sit and give a treat and pats straight away. If you do this for a while your dog will learn that the word and his action are associated but you didn’t force the issue. As your dog gets more confident with the word you can start using it as a command, still with the instant reward. If your dog runs off scared don’t follow it – you are reinforcing negative behaviour. Your dog will come out of hiding eventually (it will want o eat at some time). By making a fuss everytime it gets scared and runs away it is learning that you will give extra attention.
Just take thing s slowly, don’t force the issue and your dog will get used to the command and learn that you will not hurt it.
Good luck…
I would visit a vet, Then after that I would join classes this may encourage him, and also you would have the aid of a professional trainer that would have more clue as to what is happening.
When in doubt get the advice of a professional.
Things will work out everything takes time :0)
keep your head up the fact that you have come on here for advice shows your really care about your fur baby.
yeah the poor little guy…. it sounds like they used to beat him when he wouldn’t do as they say at the puppymill. Or Sit might be another word in another language that the puppymillers spoke, which meant something awful. Stop asking him to sit. Just let it go. Not every dog has to sit or do tricks.