Rebuilding relationship with my dog.

[b_n_p03]

I got my boy when he was a puppy. He is my very first dog, so in looking for help, I turned to Ceasar Milan's show. And idiotically I decided to copy some of his methods, including putting him on his side when he misbehaved. I really thought he was legit, since I wasn't exposed to any type of positive training. I saw everyone yelling at their dogs and putting their dogs on their side so I thought it was right. (Excuses.) But I didn't feel comfortable with using aversive training so I started to do some research, and found out about Victoria and positive training. So I've tried to teach my dog (male, four years) using positive training. I tried positive training for about 3 years now, but I find positive training extremely difficult. So often times, when it was hard for me to control him I yelled and got frustrated. There were several times when out of frustration I hit him. (But in my feeble defense, the hitting didn't happen often.) It happened again today, when he got something from my roommate's room. This is my fault because I've been busy organizing things in the apartment since I just moved in, and it was one of those days when nothing really went right. Already in a bad mood, I chased him around to get the object back, idiotic I know, and at one point I accidentally hurt him. Then he bit me when I tried to get the object. It didn't break skin, but my hand (that's where he bit) is swollen a little bit. That's when I got even more angry that I hit him. I feel terrible. And now he doesn't even want to sleep near me. I know that I have nothing to say even if people say things for hitting my dog, but I do love him, and I don't want him to be scared of me. Are there any chances for rebuilding my relationship? Please help. For some reason, this method of training is so difficult.

[JudyN]

Dogs can be very forgiving. But they do build up strong associations of pain and fear, so the first thing to do is vow never to hit him or even shout at him again. And if you don't think that will be possible, you might want to consider investigating anger management courses/methods.

I do know how hard it can be - I have a temper myself and dogs can be incredibly frustrating, particularly if you feel you should be able to control them. You need to learn to walk away when you feel the frustration bubble up.

Most important is to work out why you're struggling with positive training. Could you please give us a full run-down of the following?:

- How old was the dog when you got him, and what breed/mix is he?
- What is his daily routine in terms of exercise, walks, training, play, feeding, and what do you feed him?
- How often is he left alone?
- What are the particular behaviours that you want to change?
- Can you give instances of the sort of training you are struggling with, and how have you been training these?
- As well as what you don't want him to do, what in particular do you want him to do?

Most of us here find positive training far easier and more rewarding than more traditional approach. When something goes wrong you don't blame it on the dog but think constructively: 'Why did that happen and how can I change it?' And once you accept fully that your dog isn't being 'bad', it's far easier to deal with the frustration.

[ladybug1802]

Maybe it would help you to think of your dog as a child? I mean it might not.....but myself I have immense amounts of patience with animals, but very little with people and kids! But some people find it helpful to think of dogs in the sense that they dont know what we want of them, or what we are trying to say to them so its our job to show them and form good associations for them.

If you get frustrated when training, stop the session. What is it that you find difficult about positive training? Its far easier for the dog to understand, builds a fab bond between dog and owner, and just takes consistency, and when you see the rewards, or see the dog look keen and alert when he sees you pick up the clicker to do some training, its amazing!

You can rebuild the relationship,, yes, but to do so you need first and foremost to control your frustration and anger. I take it this is the first time he has bitten you? Which shows that he is getting more and more stressed and anxious by your frustration, and it has now got to a level where he feels he has no choice but to try and takle action to get you away from him....and that needs to change, and its great that you realise what has happend...thats the first step!

[Sarah83]

If it makes you feel any better I too really, really struggled to change from traditional methods to positive methods. Changing the bad habits I'd learned and learning to look for the good things to reward instead of the bad things to punish was really difficult for me. I've been clicker training for around 10 years now and I still have momentary blips where I'll do something that's not very positive at all These days it tends to be along the lines of "oh for f*cks sake will you pack it in!" but in the early days it could quite often be a smack or a harsh jerk on the leash Learning to walk away before I reached that stage was important. As was learning to change my mindset and go from looking for the bad things to punish and focusing on teaching my dog what I didn't want from him to looking for the good things to reward and to teach my dog what I did want from him.

[dontpugme]

I just want to say thank you for doing research and making an effort to change this relationship. My dog is 8 now, but for the first few years of his life, we used very punitive methods. I'm ashamed to say that as a 2nd and 3rd grader, I hit my dog and rubbed his face in accidents because that was what my dad told me to do. Since then and after the discovery of It's Me or the Dog, I have mostly converted my house to positive reinforcement, but I still sometimes get mad at something my dad is doing.

[rachel540]

When something goes wrong you don't blame it on the dog but think constructively: 'Why did that happen and how can I change it?' And once you accept fully that your dog isn't being 'bad', it's far easier to deal with the frustration.

It must be very hard for you to admit what you have done on a forum like this so well done for doing your research and for wanting to change.

I seem to have all the patience in the world (my only talent I'm afraid) but my OH doesn't and soon gets frustrated / angry and shouts at which I have to be the peacemaker and I promise you the best advice that anyone can give you is what Judy has said to you....

Stop and think. Take a step back (give yourself a time out) and ask why did it happen?

Your dog is trying to communicate with you the only ways it knows how. You have to learn to understand him as much as he has to learn to understand you, while communicating clearly and thinking about what your dog understands. For example shouting about something that happened hours ago doens't mean a damn thing to the dog and is more likely to stress him out.

Use the training and tricks to be of use to you. If he steals something don't turn it into a game of chase practise "swap" for something much more exciting, keep a stock of new toys to one side or extra tastey treats. There are lots of more positive ways of dealing with situations, the trick is to keep that level head so you are able to think of them

[jacksdad]

b_n_p03 if you really want to make the change here is what you need to do.

everything in your opening post. that is yesterday. It stays there. it's in the past. it's done. It never happens again.

Today starts your first day as a positive dog trainer, even if you are only training your own dog. There isn't any real value dwelling on the past.

One of the first things you do need to learn, and hopefully this will help you, is that dog training is a learned skill. NO ONE knows/does this out of some "natural" ability they were born with. Some people have natural traits that dovetail nicely for being a dog trainer and so developing the skills comes easier to them. But even they HAVE to learn and develop their skills.

While there are elements of positive based training that are in fact very simple and strait forward......on paper. Applying them in the real world is sometimes no so strait forward and easy. So, if you are struggling don't beat your self up.

humans struggle to raise our own young. our own species that develops and grows and learn to communicate in a common language etc, even our own can be quite the challenge. So, it's completely reasonable, particularly if this is your first puppy, to be struggling a bit. You are trying to raise a individual of an entirely different species that will NEVER EVER communicate in a common language with us. We over come this by using our more developed brains to figure out what dogs are doing, how they try and communicate and we make the adjustment because we can, they can't. Training is also a great means to bridge the "communication gap".

Your first lesson is, a dog will first and foremost will do what is natural and normal for a dog. Sitting on cue, not going to the bathroom in the house, returning to you on cue, jumping into the car, walking without pulling and on and on..basically just about anything we need our dogs to do isn't "natural" for dogs. they don't come knowing this. They have to learn these things. So when you are feeling frustrated with your dog not doing something or doing something you could have sworn it knew. Stop, ask your self. did I actually teach my dog what I thought I had taught it? And if you are sure your dog knows how to for example sit on cue because he does it so nicely in the living room, realize that sitting on cue in the living room isn't the same as sitting on cue in the park.

Which brings you to lesson two. the conflict and frustration with our dogs is often over estimating what we think we taught them or think they know verse what they may actually know or took from our training sessions with them.

I am going to recommend you buy two books. I really hope you do as I think they will greatly help you.

This book will explain all the basics in probably the clearest way I have seen yet how to train positively AND include a DVD that lets you see the lessons in action and the instructor actually interacting with a class and correcting mistakes and more. Jean is one of the top names and highly respected in the dog training community.
http://www.amazon.com/Train-Your-Dog-Li ... like+a+pro

The next book will help you better understand your dog and start you down the path of understanding the world from your dog's perspective, what it is really "saying" and such. Patricia is also a top name and highly respected in the dog training community.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Other-End-Lea ... +the+leash

Stick with us, we can help. feel free to ask any questions you may have. And remember. today is a new day, the past is just that past. each day, each interaction with your dog make the choice to not repeat the things you want to change about your self and your training. leave them in the past.

[emmabeth]

Welcome to the forums - its brave of you to post all that and well done for doing it - the first step is acknowledging the issue (ie you don't like what you do, you want to do it differently)..

I don't want to bombard you with information, it can get overwhelming and feel like you will NEVER get there, but you really can.

Instead along with the good advice the others have given you, I'll give you a couple of insights that REALLY helped me figure things out when I changed from punishment based training to positive training...

Dogs do not understand the concept of 'bad' nor do they ever need to learn that they are or have been, 'bad'

Sounds crazy right? IF your dog doesn't know what he did was bad then how do you stop him doing it again?

Dogs are a creature of habit, as well as an animal who like us, learns very quickly to repeat behaviours that ARE rewarding and to cease behaviours that are NOT rewarding.

Dogs however do not grasp the human concepts of good/bad/nice/naughty etc - in fact, our own human rules on this change from country to country, from culture to culture. Here in the UK, you can't get married even with parental consent under the age of 16, yet in Mississippi you'd need to be over 21 and in Tanzania, girls of UNDER 12 can be married...

In some cultures, belching after a meal is considered a sign that you enjoyed your food, in others you'd be thought a mannerless pig, in some places finishing everything on your plate is considered good manners yet in some cultures it is considered rude, a suggestion that your host has not given you enough which is a slight against them!

So the point is, we HUMANS cannot actually decide categorically what is 'good' and what is 'bad' for ourselves, and even where we broadly agree on these things, that doesn't mean we all stick to them and never push the boundaries or get away with stuff!

If we can't do that, if it isn''t clear cut for us, and we can discuss and debate, we understand the concept of empathy, we possess the ability to BE empathetic, how on earth can a dog, who has no understanding of such complex social structure, who does not possess the ability to be empathetic, learn 'good' and 'bad'.

The answer is, they can't - and to cut a long story short, you cannot teach your dog that a thing or an act is inherently a 'bad' thing.

Sure, you can teach him that if he does it near you, he will be punished, or prevented, or it just plain won't work - but if its rewarding for him to do, and he has the opportunity to do it when you are not there or you have no means of stopping him, he WILL do it.. because he is a dog.

So when you grasp that your dog is NEVER going to be capable of understanding that its 'wrong' to defecate on the rug, or that its 'disgusting' t o raid the trash can or its 'bad' to drink out of the toilet bowl... life actually becomes a WHOLE lot easier!

So then what do I do?? What DO I teach him?

Its going to sound ridiculously simple - it took me a long time to figure it out though.

You teach him what you DO want from him - you may need to break a complex behaviour down into lots of tiny little parts and then build it back up again, but for every 'wrong/bad/disgusting/awful' thing a dog CAN do, you can think of several alternatives that you WOULD like or simple ways to prevent it ever being a problem.

Dog raids the trash - put the trash somewhere he cannot get to it.
Dog jumps up at the worksurfaces and steals food - don't leave food up there when you are out of the room, teach the dog to stay on his bed or in another room whilst you are cooking/eating.
Dog jumps up at guests when they come in through the door - teach the dog to sit or he does not get to greet guests.
Dog barks at noises the neighbours make at night - teach the dog that these noises mean rewards from you, dog will shut up quickly as his focus turns to you each time he hears a noise.

All to often, particularly with punishment based training, we wait for the mistake and we punish it - but just imagine you started a new job, in a new country where you didn't speak the language. YOu walk into the office and no one explains a thing to you, so you sit down... and someone leaps up and yells in your face. You get up and walk around, someone yells at you, you sit down somewhere else and its all quiet.. ooooookay... you touch something on the desk and someone yells at you...

Its going to take a REALLY long time for you to learn that your job is data entry, if the only way you are taught is by punishment when you get a thing wrong! The chances are you will be confused, scared, and really reluctant to try ANYTHING before long, and will you want to go back there the next day? Heck no!

When you teach by positive reward, it isn't just about rewarding, its about breaking things down and teaching whatyou DO want - and the more you do it, the less the things you don't want will happen.

[b_n_p03]

Hello. Thank you all for your replies.

As for the full rundown that JudyN was asking:
I got my dog when he was about 8 weeks old from a breeder. But I don't think he was a legit one, since he never gave us the pedigree that he promised. Seems to me that he had something to hide. My dog is a Beagle, and though the breeder was a little shady, he was quite healthy and curious when we got him. He adjusted fantastically. No whining in the middle of the night, no rejecting food. He just slept through every night and ate everything that we gave him. When he was play biting, I took that as "biting" so that's when I started with the Cesar Milan thing. There is such stigma around biting, that no one ever really mentioned that play biting is ok to a degree. Most of the sources that I came in contact with back then sort of banned biting completely, even as a puppy, that it should be nipped in the bud. And he was a crazy fella when he was a puppy. Running around and peeing everywhere, grabbing my stuff and running away with them. So naturally I seeked help, and the solution that I got was to spray him with water when he misbehaved (this coming from a trainer). I do fear that I've ruined him.

His routine changed quite a bit recently. I've just moved into a much hotter area so now I walk him more in the morning than in the evening. Before it used to be opposite. So now I walk him an hour and a half in the morning, maybe around 6:30AM. When we come back at around 8 I let him rest for a while, play a game for maybe ten mintues, then I give him his breakfast. And from 10 to around 3 or 4 ish he is left alone. Then at 3 (or 4) I walk him for thirty minutes, come back, and let him rest. An hour or two later I walk him again for another thirty minutes and after we come back I attempt to do some clicker training. I say "attempt" because sometimes he is utterly not interested. Clicker training goes on for ten minutes and he gets his dinner at around 8pm. Then I try to play ten minutes of game and later on do another ten minutes of clicker training.

He is left alone around 5 or 6 hours a day. I go to class (I'm still in school---college) at around 11 and come back by around 3 or 4. He is walked right after though. But there are also times when I am physically with him but I'm not doing anything like playing games because I have things to work on for school.

As for behaviors that I want to change. I have several...Firstly I want to stop him from stealing things from my or my roommate's desk and running away with it. I can't exactly ignore him when he has my roommate's stuff, and sometimes even when I have treats with me he doesn't care. He just runs away with it. I have been coaxing him to give it up with treats. If that doesn't work, it all depends on luck since sometimes he fumbles and drops whatever that he was running away with. I did teach him drop it, but we're not there yet because he only drops his toys when we're playing tug games. It's not quite there yet where it's strong enough to use in "real life situations". I know there is a way of arranging things so that he can't get things, but our room is quite small so there is very little that can be done.

I also would love it if he walks nicely, and if he focuses on me more. He is sometimes ok with walking loosely on the leash, but when he smells something he likes everything flies out the window. It is nearly impossible to get his attention when he is in his "gotta catch the squirrel" mode. And when I change directions and walk the opposite direction from where he wants to go, he stands still and refuses to budge. In that case I just stand and turn my back on him and face the direction that I want to go. I wait until he caves and walk in my direction, and if he does I give him praise and sometimes treats. Not having his attention during exercises is difficult too. Most of the times he gets too excited over scents that he could care less where I am. So it's often him running around like crazy (on leash. I never allow him off leash) and me following him around. I would very much like to play games or run around, but with him focused only on the ground that's very difficult. It is also difficult when we are just walking too. To get more attention from him, I recently started clicking whenever he walks close to me, since he still has a problem of walking too fast when he gets excited.

If you get frustrated when training, stop the session. What is it that you find difficult about positive training? Its far easier for the dog to understand, builds a fab bond between dog and owner, and just takes consistency, and when you see the rewards, or see the dog look keen and alert when he sees you pick up the clicker to do some training, its amazing!

You can rebuild the relationship,, yes, but to do so you need first and foremost to control your frustration and anger. I take it this is the first time he has bitten you? Which shows that he is getting more and more stressed and anxious by your frustration, and it has now got to a level where he feels he has no choice but to try and takle action to get you away from him....and that needs to change, and its great that you realise what has happend...thats the first step!

One of the things that I find difficult about positive training is not correcting a negative behavior. How do I ignore a behavior that is affecting me and other people, and even himself negatively?? And it does discourage me when I see him totally not interested in clicker training. It makes me think that I'm doing everything totally wrong.

I will definitely try the books that Jacksdad recommended. It might take some time though, since being a student, I am on a tight tight tight budget and I also have limited access to bookstores (especially nowadays when paper books are kind of disappearing. So sad.). I will go and see if there are copies in the public library.

So then what do I do?? What DO I teach him?

Its going to sound ridiculously simple - it took me a long time to figure it out though.

You teach him what you DO want from him - you may need to break a complex behaviour down into lots of tiny little parts and then build it back up again, but for every 'wrong/bad/disgusting/awful' thing a dog CAN do, you can think of several alternatives that you WOULD like or simple ways to prevent it ever being a problem.

Yes. That is one of the hardest thing about postive training. It's always easier to focus on the negative instead of the positive. I think the idea of "the bad needs to be corrected" is so engraved in me that my focus almost immediately shifts to the bad behaviors.

So sorry, this post is massive. But one more question. I've read time and time again that clicker training builds a dog's confidence. In what ways do clicker training build up confidence??

[ladybug1802]

OK so ccouple of questions! What kind of 'negative behaviours' are you struggling not to correct? Thew thing is, to dogs, they are not 'negative' behaviours....they are just being a dog. If we want to change behaviours, we need to give the dog another, alternative behaviour to do instead. So with play biting....reditrect to a suitable toy and ignore the actual biting so as not to reinforce it.

And it is very unusual for a dog to not be interested in clicker trainig. Forgive me for asking, but how do you use the clicker? What is your understanding of how it should be used? I have found that some people use the clicker to try and get the dogs attention, whereas it should be used as a marker, to tell the dog that when he hears the clicker, whatever he has done at that particular point is good, and he will get a reward. It makes it a lot easier for the dog to learn and udnerstand what we want, and its brilliant for building a bond between dog and owner. You say "to get his attention" you have started clicking when he is near you? Now....the theory of that is great....but do you follow the click with a treat? And does he actually know what the clicker means? To start off you need to really just sit with him and click the clicker, then treat, click, treat etc...so he understands that the click follows with a treat - always.

Clicker training builds up confidence because it makes it a lot easier for the dog to learn and there are no 'wrong answers'. The dog starts to get keen to do what he can to hear the click and earn a reward. To start this off you could play the box game - put a box or a tub in the centre of the room, and click for any small interaction with the box. So click for the dog looking at the box, and then toss or give a treat, click for the dog moving towards the box, reward, and then click for absolutely any movement/interaction/touching of the box, and you will find the dog then learns that loads of things he does gets him a reward so it builds his confidence to try new things. When I pick up the clicker now, my dog gets so excited!

To me, it sounds like he spends a lot of time alone, with no stimulation, and I do believe that a lot of the reason for him stealing things and running round is because he has found that is a good way to get your attention. 10am until 3 or 4 is a very long time for him to be left alone, and then if you come home and understanbable have to do school work, he is left alone again, and is probably desperate for some attention and interaction. Sadly dogs can learn that by taking things of yours, he gets you to chase him and pay him som,e attention, so the behaviour gets reinforced and he does it again. Cant really blame him bless him!"

[Sarah83]

My dog is a terrible thief and the only way to stop him stealing things in the early days was to make sure there was nothing lying around that we were bothered about. The problem is that it's attention seeking behaviour and by chasing him to get the item you're giving him the attention he wants. Unfortunately Spencer steals even when he's had plenty of exercise and interaction, it's like he just can't help himself. In fact immediately after a walk or training session I can guarantee he'll go looking for something to steal. Ignoring the behaviour has been key in cutting down on how often it happens which is why management and keeping things out of his way has been so important.

It sounds like he's getting plenty of physical exercise but as Ladybug says it doesn't seem he's getting that much mental stimulation. Do you leave him anything to do while he's alone? What sort of games do you play with him?

What do you mean by he's not interested in clicker training? What does he do? There are a few reasons a dog may not take to it, not being hungry, not understanding what the click actually means, the click not being followed by a reward. And some dogs just don't see the point as I'm sure Emmabeth will agree My previous dog wasn't interested in food, I used handfuls of his daily ration of kibble as rewards (one or two pieces per click would be fine but Rupe needed insane amounts of food). He grew to love clicker training but for him it was never really about the food. My current dog is food mad and took to clicker training immediately once we established that click meant a treat was coming.

[jilldiane]

Hi b_n_p03

I am not a trainer so no actual advice, but just reading through your last post I just wonder if you are getting frustrated with your Beagle because you see him as stubborn? Sorry I can`t do quotes but you mention turning your back and waiting for him to cave in and come your way.

Beagles are scent hounds he is doing exactley what he has been bred to do sniff things out, he isn`t ignoring you to annoy yo uor beeing stubborn, he is totally obeying his instincts to follow a scent. I have hounds (sight not scent) when they are `switched on` I am of no interest to them, they are in the zone well and truely and I don`t exsit.

Its easy to get frustrated when they are ignoring you I know!! but if you see his behaviour from his point of view, more its in his genes than he is just being annoying then you might find you relax and the whole battle to train becomes, well less of a battle more of a way to channel and work with his natural instincts

[emmabeth]

Thankyou for the further information, that helps.

Stealing and running off with stuff for attention

First of all tidy up stuff as much as is possible - use the plastic crates with lids that are for stashing stuff under the bed (Really Useful Boxes and similar), put stuff in drawers and on shelves, only leave out on a desk what you will not miss if its taken.

Now the next thing is - give your dog a TON of stuff to do - if you don't already have them, go and buy at LEAST four different food dispensing toys, collect up some smallish card boxes (without staples in them) and some newspaper. Get some cheese spread, (the stinkier the better so if you can get ham or prawn flavour, do that!), get some liver treats or make some (blend liver with some egg, some flour, a bit of garlic, dry it out in a low oven until it holds its shape), get some hot dog sausages and slice them really thinly and freeze so you can take out a portion of sliced bits to use each time.

Feed him his meals from the toys - instantly you make food that takes 30 seconds to eat, take up to half an hour if you get good at stuffing Kongs and food dispensers!
Give him destruction boxes to do whilst you are gone - fill up a cardboard box with some twists of newspaper that have treats hidden in side, close the box up and let him wreck it to get at the goodies!

Exercise - he is a Beagle - this means he is ALWAYS going to need to know whats 'in it for me?' when it comes to training and complying with you - he is not ever going to be a dog who hangs off your everyword and says 'Oh Adorable Master, tell me what to do next, I cannot think for myself, I must await your instruction...'

Heck no - hes got a nose, he knows how to use it, hes off, sniffing the sniffs, finding the hidden stuff, racing about - if you don't tell him what to do quick and make sure he knows for CERTAIN that its worth it, he will do his own thing - there are Border Collies to do the job you want, he will have no part of that because he is a BEAGLE.

So your job now is to make him THINK that all the BEST things in the world (as determined by the Gospel of Beagle!) come from, are enabled by YOU.

The difficulty with your dog is, its not so easy to make out that you are in control of all the best things he likes - so you need to think outside the box!

So, a walk is a nice thing - a run is also a nice thing, but your dog LIVES for scent. So teach him to track on cue - even though he can track without being told, if you teach him the difference between 'walking on a loose leash' and 'sniff something out for me' YOU will then have control over both those things, so you can then choose and he will LIKE that - you can then engineer things so that being told to sniff is a REWARD for walking nicely like you asked!

Ill go into more depth about how to ACTUALLY teach these things in another post, but the point is, you make all the time he is with you VERY rewarding by being the person w ho enables all the best stuff, and when you are gone, or you are busy you fill his free time with stuff he can do on his own that is not annoying or dangerous.

Now - IF he then gets up at someones desk and steals a notebook - ignore him. Yep really - because actually if you chase him, hes likely to chew it, or to snap at you or to drop it in a puddle. If you ignore him and then, you get up and you go do something ELSE that he REALLY wants to be a part of (for example, you pick up his leash and put your walking shoes on), hes going to forget his stolen item, and come running after you.
If you do this, you must NOT lie to your dog - so if you went to make a snack knowing the noise of the fridge has him coming running, then make that snack and give him a little bit. If you picked up the leash adn put your shoes on, TAKE him outside for five minutes sniff time. If you lie to your dog, he will learn that you lie and he will not believe you for very long.

You should find that the combination of there not being much to steal, there being LOADS of other stuff to do AND there being no reaction if he DOES steal, soon puts a stop to him stealing things for attention.

[b_n_p03]

And it is very unusual for a dog to not be interested in clicker trainig. Forgive me for asking, but how do you use the clicker? What is your understanding of how it should be used? I have found that some people use the clicker to try and get the dogs attention, whereas it should be used as a marker, to tell the dog that when he hears the clicker, whatever he has done at that particular point is good, and he will get a reward. It makes it a lot easier for the dog to learn and udnerstand what we want, and its brilliant for building a bond between dog and owner. You say "to get his attention" you have started clicking when he is near you? Now....the theory of that is great....but do you follow the click with a treat? And does he actually know what the clicker means? To start off you need to really just sit with him and click the clicker, then treat, click, treat etc...so he understands that the click follows with a treat - always.

Actually I have never used a clicker just to get his attention. I always made sure that a click was followed by treat, though there were times when he didn't take the treat that I offered. I was using his kibble, and he just walked away from it. Now I use tasy things like chicken and cheese. Maybe I'm not making it interesting enough for him? There are times when I make sure that he sees me pick up the clicker but he just stayed lying down. He wasn't sick, but I think maybe he was too tired?

It sounds like he's getting plenty of physical exercise but as Ladybug says it doesn't seem he's getting that much mental stimulation. Do you leave him anything to do while he's alone? What sort of games do you play with him?

I have to admit, I have been lazy about giving him something to do while I am out. I used to be very diligent about giving him a stuffed Kong or a bone but after awhile, I stopped after learning that he just sleeps while I am out. But it's when I come back, that is the problem since he wakes up when I'm home. I play "Find the biscuit" where I hide treats around the house and make him find it, and I also play tug of war, which he likes. I have also bought one of those scents in a bottle that you can apply to a cloth. But it's almost gone now and I haven't gotten a new one yet. It's been a while since we played it though....

Exercise - he is a Beagle - this means he is ALWAYS going to need to know whats 'in it for me?' when it comes to training and complying with you - he is not ever going to be a dog who hangs off your everyword and says 'Oh Adorable Master, tell me what to do next, I cannot think for myself, I must await your instruction...'

Heck no - hes got a nose, he knows how to use it, hes off, sniffing the sniffs, finding the hidden stuff, racing about - if you don't tell him what to do quick and make sure he knows for CERTAIN that its worth it, he will do his own thing - there are Border Collies to do the job you want, he will have no part of that because he is a BEAGLE.

So your job now is to make him THINK that all the BEST things in the world (as determined by the Gospel of Beagle!) come from, are enabled by YOU.

The difficulty with your dog is, its not so easy to make out that you are in control of all the best things he likes - so you need to think outside the box!

So, a walk is a nice thing - a run is also a nice thing, but your dog LIVES for scent. So teach him to track on cue - even though he can track without being told, if you teach him the difference between 'walking on a loose leash' and 'sniff something out for me' YOU will then have control over both those things, so you can then choose and he will LIKE that - you can then engineer things so that being told to sniff is a REWARD for walking nicely like you asked!

Ill go into more depth about how to ACTUALLY teach these things in another post, but the point is, you make all the time he is with you VERY rewarding by being the person w ho enables all the best stuff, and when you are gone, or you are busy you fill his free time with stuff he can do on his own that is not annoying or dangerous.

The things that he LOVES more than anything in the world are food, food, food, scent, scent, and scent. It's easy to make out that I am in control of the food, but scent, that's really difficult...

And I did miss the obvious--that he will act differently than some dogs. It would be awesome to know how to teach those things. Please teach me your ways! As for teaching him how to track. I've played "Find the Pheasant" with him before with a pheasant scented liquid applied to cloth. At first I kept it in plain sight so that it would be easy, but as I hid it in a more cryptic place, I don't think he fully grasped what he was suppsed to find. So before I make him sniff out the cloth, should I let him sniff the bottle of the scent liquid?

[ClareMarsh]

There's some nose games in this blog that are explained nicely http://www.somethingwagging.com/k9-nose ... roduction/