I love training my dogs, obviously, and I never see it as being over or easy, except perhaps for Zinnia, who sits and lies down before I get the chance to ask her.
Fate is erratic and excitable, it always takes some work to get her to pay attention, but once she does, she is responsive and happy to oblige.
Bud is another story.
Three years into our training, he is finally getting sit and stay (see below), but he is still a little fearful of being punished or struck in the sit and lie down position.
We never know what happened to these dogs, but somebody managed to scare the hell out of Bud.
We are doing well with sit and stay; “lie down” is next. This goes against his instincts and anxiety. This may take another year or two, but we will get there. Every time he sits when asked, our bond of trust gets stronger.
It’s a nice mix for someone who loves to train dogs and sees it as a never-ending thing. My three-run the gamut.
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Hi Jon. Can I please ask how you gave him a treat if he wouldn’t sit? I understand his fear but you must have still been able to motivate him to try and to trust you that he wouldn’t be deprived if he couldn’t sit. Many Thanks Kate (Buckinghamshire, UK)
Kate, it was simple. I held a treat up over his head and waited for him to sit, after I asked him to sit. Once or twice I gently pushed his butt down to the ground. He absolutely would be deprived if he didn’t sit, but not if he did It took him a few years to trust me enough to know he would get the treat, as I wrote.
Cool to see!