What do if my dog is doing the wrong thing while I am trying to train her?
By adminThe dog I adopted is coming home tomorrow but she isn’t exactly obedience trained. She had a rough past so she is afraid of a lot of things and doesn’t feel very safe I think. So, I am going to work with her to try and change that.
I am going to try training her by letting her know that she can’t get what she wants whenever she wants. I want to establish myself as the leader so that she will listen to me. For example, I allow her on the bed but not until I ask her to get on.
My question is, what if she gets on the bed before I tell her to? I know I should get her off but how do I go about doing that? Should I just firmly say “off” or “down”? And then what if she still doesn’t listen? How do I get her down? I don’t want to physically try and remove her because like I said she is very scared so she might bite if I try to pick her up.
She is a 2 year old Dalmatian female.
I am not afraid of the dog, but she has been mistreated before. I don’t want her to think that when I try to lift her off the bed, that I’m trying to hurt her. So I want to avoid scaring her.
7 Comments
May 14th, 2011 at 1:42 am
If you’re starting off being afraid of this dog, then keep her off your bed totally. She’s also not going to know what “off” means until you teach her. If you’re afraid to teach her, don’t get her in the position.
You have to fit the level of correction to any dog you’re working with. That means understanding dog behaviour and how they learn. Don’t be so quick to try to establish yourself as the “alpha” – that’s the most misunderstood term in the dog world.
Relax and build a relationship with this dog and work on her manners just as with any other dog – calmly.
May 14th, 2011 at 2:38 am
when she messes up cross your arms. if you want to get her off, cross your arms and turn around DONT turn around untill she stops jumping and crying DONT. goood luck
May 14th, 2011 at 3:06 am
Positive training works 100 times better than any negative. Use praise.
Since she had a rough past, don’t use loud voices or constant ‘no’s’. NEVER hit her. These dogs have trust issues and you need to build the trust. Get a pet gate to block off sections of the house to keep her in one area.
Since she’s very scared, have a safe ‘hide’ place for her–a large kennel cage is good with the door off of it or tied open. Talk quietly to her. Don’t reach for her if she constantly ducks her head away. Call her to you, but be bent low to make yourself less intimidating. Sit on the floor for part of the day, to make yourself ‘safer’ in her eyes.
If she goes up on something, calmly go over and lift/ooze her down, praise her when she’s on the floor and leave it at that. If the bed is an issue, put a pet gate on your bedroom door so she can’t get in. The less negatives you use, the easier it is for the dog to trust that you’re not going to hit at her.
The dog is going to get on the furniture. Just accept that. She needs to feel safe in the home before you start making rules. Remember that she’s going into an alien environment, she’s got a lot to deal with those first few days. Have some blankets or a dog bed she can use, in a quiet area, and show it to her, she’ll pick it up quick. The standard training techniques are something you can’t use with an abused dog, you have to be patient. She’ll look to you as alpha on her own, don’t worry. You feed her the food, this alone will do it. Especially if she’s not free-fed, you need to call her when you put the bowl down.
May 14th, 2011 at 3:46 am
Watch the Dog Whisperer (Ceasar Milan) on the National Geographic channel. He’ll give you some ideas, he also has a book you might want to get.
May 14th, 2011 at 4:34 am
That last sentence threw me…….grin. Dals are not the easiest dog to work with.
The easiest way to get your dog to listen to you is to take some obedience classes. Even the ones at Petco and Petzmart are good enough to teach her that much. Join yahoogroups.com..it’s free, and join a dog training list. There are many good ones out there, but you don’t want the competition ones, just the pet training ones, so type in pet training in the search box.
As to the bed situation, just tell her “off” and give a little finger pointing to the floor when you say it.
I’m sure when you walk towards her, she’ll immediately jump off and when she does praise her a bunch and run into another room so she doesn’t have a chance to jump up again and make a doggie game of it. Hopefully you have a crate, if not get one for both your sakes……..smile. It’s a great place for her to sleep and a wonderful escape for a timeout for you.
May 14th, 2011 at 5:20 am
By setting rules and boundaries right away and calmly and firmly enforcing them, you ARE establishing yourself as the leader. If she gets up on the furniture, firmly tell her “off” (“down” means to lay down). If she doesn’t get off, take her by the collar and gently move her. If she tries to snap or bite when you reach for her collar, keep a short leash attached to her collar until she calms down. Once she realizes you touching her collar is not the first step to a beating, that behavior should stop. If you don’t already have one, buy her a crate to sleep in. Being den animals, a crate can give a frightened dog a place of safely and security they can call their own.
May 14th, 2011 at 5:53 am
You do have the right idea with regard to establishing yourself as the leader. I would start by almost ignoring her when you bring her home. Please gate off one area of your home first, don’t let her own your whole home…just remember, a little at a time. Rehoming means she will have some anxiety about this new place. That is why you should not give too much affection..though you will want to!! If she is timid or anxious and you give her love and tell her its OK..she will absolutely think that her anxiety is what is OK. Soft voice but be firm, very clear about what you want. Your body language will help tell her what she needs to know. Please provide a crate. Some people think it is cruel but it is actually a safe den for her. Also, you seem to already have some ideas about what you want to do..specifically on the bed. I would not allow that at first. Please teach her the off and keep her off couch and bed…any surface where she is at your level. After she has established her place in the pecking order at your home…you have plenty of time to teach her that she can come up on command. Letting her do it and teaching her off is confusing..much clearer to teach DO NOT COME UP HERE and then add except when I say. Do some basic training and start immediately with or without a class but if you don’t do class or are unable to start right away at least do your basic sit, down, stay and come. Also …and I usually do this first…leave it and off. Leave it is anything to do with mouth. Off is anything to do with feet. Just makes it easier for the dog to understand. Also, dals can be a handful, you might want to look into a private trainer…could be $$$$but worth it in the end. Good luck