Dog Training Help!!!?
September 27, 2009 by admin
Filed under Care & Training Q&As
I own a papillon. he is a silly dog with lots of energy. When i got him the breeder told me he was 18 months. But the vet thinks he is between 3 and 5 years. I love him and am not giving him up.
So either way Boomer didnt know anything when we got him. Talk about teaching an old dogs new tricks…….
So the problem now is that he only eats about less than a cup of food a day. Needless to say he gets full from his treats fast, then wont continue. Is there any treat i can give him??? Any ideas???
On top of this Boomer has an attention span of about 30 seconds. He gets bored and cares more about the little spec on the carpet than anything I have to say.
He is very particular about what he will eat. He was kept in a kennel and is aginst the unfamilar. He wont even eat raw hides I buy from the store for him.
Please help.
Related Papillon Training & Care posts:
dog trainer 30 plus years -
First off when I say this it does not mean anything with a harsh note to it. I had a dog exactly like what yours sounds like and she was the apple of my eye and lived to a spry old age. She gave me more love and affection than anyone could ever deserve. So in saying that…
your dog may have been interbred. What that means is sometimes they are born what I like to call a little special. It may take them longer to catch on to things such as commands as well as change. Change can be in food, in a sleeping area, treats, car rides – even changing the type of car can throw them off. Some what like a child with autism. It does not mean anything bad…just the time line for learning will need to be stretched out a little longer than what another dog might take. When giving him toys or treats start with things that are small…such as those for puppies. I am guessing that he is not at a healthy weight so I doubt that the added calories will hurt him at all. When giving food sit down by him…sometimes even when pretending to eat it yourself then offering it to them will sometimes be accepted. Do not use any loud commands out of frustration…the louder you get the more confused they become. I even sometimes use a whisper and go the opposite way when I get frustrated…it’s a different level of voice but it is still soothing and takes their attention. Forget the treats for now until he eats more of his own food and gets at a substantial weight. You can even just give them a piece of their own food for a treat if they don’t see you take it from their bowl – so just put some in a zip-lock bag shake it and say “treat time” after any given command such as sit or stay are given. Don’t expect too much too soon, and do not get discouraged. They do learn and retain…just in a different time and way. As far as attention span – each day bring out 2 different toys than the day before. You can give him one in the morning and one in the afternoon..it helps prolong the attention span.
I wish you a long and wonderful life with your new dog. Don’t believe the old saying…because I have a lot of old dogs 7 on up, who have learned to potty outside, sit, stay, lay down, & come. They are people pleasers…they want your love and acceptance and no matter how old they are if you are a good leader (patient, consistent, loving) they will do whatever it takes to please you. No matter how long it takes…even those who are interbred “try” very hard and eventually succeed with their progress. You seem to be a very smart as well as patient person. Saying “silly dog with lots of energy” shows me you are not exasperated…but you are able to keep a sense of humor and love deeply.
The posts above mine are all good advice. However I will mention one thing I see missing. Some dogs do not respond to treat training. I have seen this mostly in small dogs. As mentioned before you might find that a ball or toy works better, With some dogs a very happy “good boy” works better than anything. And the first command is the hardest. The dog needs to first learn that you are teaching it something. It gets easier as the dog learns to learn. Keep it short and fun. Never…I mean never train if you are frustrated.
Try cooked chicken, and only give him the treat when he does what you want correctly, also have him to the trick a few times without treat, just give him vocal reward. and work one trick at a time so get him to sit and get that perfected before even thinking about another trick, dogs do want to learn and you can teach them tricks at any age, its just a matter of commitment and time and love never get angry at him either, if your getting frustrated leave it and come back later
Well, my suggestion would be to make his treats about 1/4 of the size of a pea. REAL small. That way you can give him a lot more treats, but it won’t fill him up as much.
Sometimes a dog will look away from the trainer and stare at a spec, drink water, scratch an itch, look away, etc, because he’s nervous. If he’s 18months to 3 years old even, and he hadn’t learned anything, he may be nervous with whatever method you’re using. Considering what else you’re mentioning, I would expect that he’s nervous from the undivided attention. Work on teaching him little things and then ending on a good note, and then as time goes on increasing his training times. For now, just work on teaching him to pay attention to you.
A good way to do this is to use a treat or a toy to get him to look at you, then use a clicker (if you’re using clicker training) or else tell him “good” and give him a treat other than the one you were showing him (something different, like if you were showing cheese, use a little bit of hotdog for the treat). The reason is you want him to listen to you whenever you ask him to, not just when you have a treat in your hand. If he learns that he will never get the treat he sees you holding, then it will be better for him.
So, onto treats. Besides making them VERY small, I like sandwich meats, cooked chicken, cooked carrots, popcorn, cooked sausage, cooked hamburger, the most. I don’t love cheeses as much because they can make the dog’s tummy upset, if I do cheese then I try to stick with mozerella or string-cheese. And hotdogs are alright but very overdone. And I HATE store-bought treats because of their ingredients (some have animal digest, a nice way of saying the intestines full of whatever they were full of, manure or whatever.) Keep the treats really small, and you can use just about everything.
Sounds like you really like this dog! Anyways, I usually get dogs more interested in treats by not feeding the dog for a day. A hungry dog is an attentive dog. Experiment with different treats as well, and make sure the treat size is no bigger than your pink nail. Some tasty treats are steak/chicken pieces, liver treats, and hot dog pieces !
If the dog still not interested in treats, find something that interests the dog. If the dog likes walks, take the dog for a walk for a reward. If the dog likes toys, play with the dog instead of giving treats.
Keep training sessions short and sweet. 15 seconds top, but repitition is key! Do three or four short training sessions spread through out the day. Gradually increase the time of each session!
Somethings you can do to bond more strongly with your dog is groom and walk the dog daily. Keep him on a leash tethered to you as well, this will show the dog who is the pack leader in a gentle way. Clicker training can be a fun activity that can strengthen your guy’s bond! Good luck! Just remember to have fun and dont get frustrated.