There are as many different ways to train a dog as there are dog owners and dog breeds. Any suggestions on success in failures you have had in getting your dog to be obedient?
You need my youngest daughter, she taught our Field Spaniel to do some amazing things....like hold a peppermint between his front teeth until she said OK. He loved peppermints and you could see his tongue moving around licking it on the inside of his mouth. But he would not start eating it until she said OK. She also put treats on his nose, told him to Wait and he would wait until she said OK, then flip the treat up and catch it in his mouth. Repetition and rewards are what she and my husband used to train him. Husband also used hand signs for sit, stay, down, roll over, play dead, High 5, etc. I would suggest that you use only one word per act that you want him/her to learn. Too many times I hear people talking to a dog in complete sentences, they don't understand all of that, get very confused and can't learn what it is you want them to do.
Wow! Your daughter must have a way with dogs! You are right when you said,"I hear people talking to a dog in complete sentences, they don't understand all of that, get very confused and can't learn what it is you want them to do". Dogs work best on simple syllable words and with one per command.
The most important thing in training dogs (or horses, or cats, or husbands) is to make the learning pleasant. Brief lessons, lasting only about 10 minutes, with plenty of praise and a gentle "no" if the behaviour is wrong, will make the critter want to please you. Our golden retriever (a wonderful breed, but not candidates for Mensa) would learn almost anything for praise. Our collie/St. Bernard mix had the collie stubborness (I'm smarter than you--can YOU herd sheep?) was harder to teach, but once he got the hang of being fawned over when he sat, stayed, fetched, heeled, etc. he was eager to learn. Teaching a dog should be fun and enjoyable for everyone involved, especially the learner!
i would be happy to just get our Great Pyrr to come back to us when called. We received the dog as a rescue when already a young adult (between 1 and 2) and he'd never been around people that much, so totally ignores the return command. Plus, Pyrrs are notorious for minding in the first place. Thank goodness our yard is fenced in, but he still digs underneath if left alone too long. He is getting better with age, but it is still a persistent problem. Beautiful dog, but either he is dumb as all get-outs, or we are, lol. BTW, he's now what I guess to be 7 or 8.
