I've had my male GSD since he was 7 weeks old, he is now 22 weeks. Up until now I have been using food to train the sit/stay and come commands,which he amazed me on how quickly and easily he picked it up. Now after not training for about a month (boneheaded on my part) I've restarted from the begining with the sit/stay with corrections and not food because without a doubt he knows these commands. Still, for the most part he does pretty well, but every now and then he breaks the command and I will correct him. Now here's the concern, after the correction he will it seems just freeze and look at me as if I'm killing him. I constantly praise, pet and act silly when he obeys the command and immediatly after correction. Also, about the correction level, finding the "ouch" point I have used a harder correction for pulling while on a walk than in training and in both cases he never cries out and I'm afraid to find out what it is becaus of the reaction I see now. Thanks for your help this is a great site.

Dwight

He's still a puppy. No corrections.

Pat is right I teach obedience NO corrections at this age. You mentioned about the puppy pulling during a walk The method I NOW teach is that when a dog or puppy pulls on the leash you simply stop walking, when he gives slack you walk again, he soon learns that when he leaves slack in the leash he gets what he wants which is to walk this is far better and easier to train then the original method I was trained and used, FORCE the dog to obey and walk when I say so. The problem with that is if you get a strong willed dog it becomes a battle of brawn and thee handler usually loses out or you get a broken spirited dog dont get me wrong this is not always the case but the bottom line here is you want a dog to walk proper with you and nottt get embarrased in the training process as I did once. I had a Rottie that was an excellent dog and a very fast learner. I tried to teach him controlled alk the forceful way long story short after a few corrections of me jerking on his leash a spinning him around he decided it was my turn to be spun I went to correct him he put a lot of slack in the leash I pulled as hard as I could because by now I was totally frustrated and I literally fell square on my a++ two weeks later I tried the new method it became a pleasure to walk him and the only thing was sore were my legs because we would walk for miles. good luck if you have any questions feel free to email me at whitewolf3365@yahoo.com

In your post you said that you haven't trained in a month and you started with corrections because "he knows the commands". If you started with positive reinforcement and he was catching on really well and after a month off now he's not performing well it's less than likely he "knows the commands". A dog in a non distractive environment during a training session won't *usually* blow you off. Starting with corrections is not a good idea. Keep going with the food and toys as a reward until he exhibits the behavior 100% (or as close to 100% as possible). Then you can slowly add in distractions. You want the behavior as close to 100% as possible. When the time is right to add in corrections (appropriate age and he actually knows the behavior) you should be careful when you praise the dog. If you correct the dog and immediately follow it with praise this builds confusion in the dogs mind. Think of it this way......say you start to bite your nails (unwanted behavior) someone (your Mom) comes up and slaps your hand and then immediately says good boy. Would you be confused first the slap and then the good boy. Good boy for what....? It's the same as a dog, you say "stay", dog doesn't you correct the dog then say good dog. He's a good dog because he got a correction? I guess my long winded point is be careful when you use praise. You want to of course praise the dog but not immediately following a correction.
Wendi

The stay should not be taught until pup is at least six months old. They just don't have the attention span yet and you are setting them up for failure. I agree, no corrections on puppy's.

Dwight I would have to guess that your dog does not know these commands. It takes about 6 months for most things to go into a dogs long term memory. He probably understands that sometimes if he tries something he is good and then sometimes he is bad.

The dog is not made of sugar. He is probably having his your killing me reaction now because he is confused. This adds stress to the dog. Sometimes a dog will vocalize with a lesser correction in a different situation. Just because its adding more stress. Also remember on a walk there are more distractions so you may very well see that you will have to add a more powerful correction.

After a certain period of time when a behavior is not rewarded it will become extinct. This could have partially happened in your pup.

What kind of collar are you using? I see nothing wrong with using a flat or martingale collar to help guide the dog into position for now. I agree with the others in staying away from corrections this young. Most importantly keep treating the dog. Really go back to sqaure one. My dog is 2 yrs old and I still treat intermitently. I also use an e collar however.

Remember also Dwight that you have about 1.5 seconds to correct your dog. So if you feel you must do it. Do it lightly and quickly. Be fair with the dog. Mostly I would just guide him back into position. Also take baby steps in training. Dont expect your dog to do 1 min sit stays on tuesday because he did 5 non corrected sits on monday.

Hope I helped. Good luck.

Originally posted by Kim Camacho:
The stay should not be taught until pup is at least six months old. They just don't have the attention span yet and you are setting them up for failure. This is a blanket generalization. I don't agree with this statement.

It took me a while to find this again, saw it months ago and it made sense. I found it on Ed's Q & A. Looks like I misquoted, but idea is the same.
QUESTION:

What is the best way to teach a puppy the "stay" command?

ANSWER:

Wait until it's 6 months old to train it like an adult. To do it to early it can screw up your dog. There is no reason to do it on a puppy. It requires too much force and this kills the temperament of a puppy.

Corrections for pulling or ignoring you when walking should be accompanied by a change of direction.If oyu are useing corrections on a pup this age you should understand what you are doing and the first thing is they should be very well timed. A dog has 1.3 seconds between cause and affect so your praise or correction has to come within this time frame.All things should be a clear black and white pitcure to your dog about what exactly it is that you want. You are probably doing sit stays and going to far a way from the pup to be able to correct it in the 1.3 seconds. So try doing stays no further away than the end of a 6 ft. leash.No need to be in a hurry. Also dont forget to create a release command so you can have a valve to release the stress that you may build up in the dog. I also disagree with Wendi about the praise. The dog gets praise for being in the correct position even if I had to put it there.Command,correction,and praise, these 3 elements gotta be present when you use compulsion.

and reward... I know you just forgot to add it in that post big guy. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />