I am having a lot of problems with Zuki... If I tell her to sit she will lay down, if told to down she will sit.... So on. She knows these words so am I the problem? Should I be correcting her tons for disobeying, if so than what correction?

I have to repeat the word 2 or 3 times before she will do it. Another thing: if she has the e-collar on she will comply 95 percent of the time. She is very smart to the collar which makes it almost useless. She has decided that she hates the people we are parked next to right now and barks continually even if I am right next to her. It is annoying are friends and my parents.

Locking her up in a crate is not an option. She can't live in a cage all the time. I can't leave the collar on all the time... Just looking for options...
I am also worried that she is going to pass this annoying habit onto Keiko.

Good question. I would like to hear some expert advice on that too. I discovered that if I put my hands behind my back and did not move when I gave the command to sit, down or stand my little genius would look at me like I was speaking a foreign language. She has been following my body language and not my words. I'm trying to correct it, but it is frustrating. She goes down immediately, but sit and stand she is still relying on my hands to guide her. Any advice?

Sit and down have a body cue but I don't use it much anymore, I'v been trying to get her to do it without them (however she was just as bad at complying with them)

At what point do they stop relying on the cue? Or better, when should I?

 Quote: Dayna Haines

Good question. I would like to hear some expert advice on that too. I discovered that if I put my hands behind my back and did not move when I gave the command to sit, down or stand my little genius would look at me like I was speaking a foreign language. She has been following my body language and not my words. I'm trying to correct it, but it is frustrating. She goes down immediately, but sit and stand she is still relying on my hands to guide her. Any advice?

 Quote: Dayna Haines

At what point do they stop relying on the cue? Or better, when should I?

This would be better in a new thread of your/its own.

Here you go .... http://leerburg.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=341369&page=0#Post341369

 Quote: elizabeth anderson

I am having a lot of problems with Zuki... If I tell her to sit she will lay down, if told to down she will sit.... So on. She knows these words so am I the problem? Should I be correcting her tons for disobeying, if so than what correction?

I have to repeat the word 2 or 3 times before she will do it. Another thing: if she has the e-collar on she will comply 95 percent of the time. She is very smart to the collar which makes it almost useless. She has decided that she hates the people we are parked next to right now and barks continually even if I am right next to her. It is annoying are friends and my parents.

Locking her up in a crate is not an option. She can't live in a cage all the time. I can't leave the collar on all the time... Just looking for options...
I am also worried that she is going to pass this annoying habit onto Keiko.

I think it's very possible that there is confusion in the dog's mind, and "she knows the words" really means she knows some pattern from you that you sometimes do one way, a way she "gets," and sometimes another way, that confuses her.

Can you supply us with a link to a short training video clip? Did you marker train the dog?



"Hates the people we are parked next to" might be "bored and filled with frustrated energy" if you are certain no one you are parked next to is teasing her (or ever did). Do you know of any incidents with them?

Does she get lots of structured exercise and training sessions? Can you give us a typical day's schedule?

Also, tell us, what do you do (exactly) when she does this barking?

Crated or being in view of the people she's reacting to are the only options? What is the setup? Is she tied out in view of the people she is reacting to?


PS

"She is very smart to the collar which makes it almost useless." Do you have Ed's e-collar video?

I do not reward for behaviors I know my dogs know but try and slide in their own ideas of what they do. maybe go back to the basics and begin training her from the beginning. Maybe you have moved to quickly, I do that sometimes. Also, sometimes dogs just like to challenge us. I would not punish her because you do not know what is going on in her mind. It never hurts to go back to basics and start all over again. Don't feel bad about your training, you are learning right along with her. Have fun and let her see your joy and it will be contagious to her as well.
My dog terra likes to adapt what I tell her to her own ideas sometimes. I just shake my head no and wait. She goes through all her behaviors and when she does what I have asked I reward her and we celebrate. Sharon Oh, I would not repeat the word either. They can think that is how the trick is performed, you repeat and then after the third time, they do the behavior, we reward them and they think we are rewarding them for a slow performance and we keep reinforcing it. Say it once when you know they know the que. But in case she doesn't teach her from the beginning without a cue first until she performs it well, then add the word. Sharon

I'm not an expert, but I would rephrase the title of your post - "What do I need to learn to help my dog?" Regardless of whether your dog it willful (independent?) or not, she is the dog you have, so it is not something you are going to correct out of her.

What you can do is learn from the signals she is giving you, and use them to your advantage. She is a puppy, growing into an adolescent. Are your expectations too high? Especially when it comes to training cues, body language and verbal commands. I still feed Jethro like a Vegas slot machine when we are in a highly challenging situation. Other times, when I think I can get away with it, I leave the treats and verbal cues out and he responds strictly to body language (hand signals). Other times, I leave out everything but the verbal cue. If he doesn't respond, I know that I have exceeded his capacity to engage with me at that moment in the way I want him to. I take a step back, I up the probability for success, and continue from there.

I used to interpret Jethro's reactivity, barking, lack of recall, etc. as 'disrespect' of my leadership, and as 'dominance' on his part. I can tell you these interpretations led me to frustration, harsh corrections, and an upset dog. Now I appreciate Jethro's independence (he looooves being left alone on the porch or in the yard to survey the neighbourhood), and I realize he goes over threshold very easily. So, a year + after adopting him (he is now approximately 18 months old) I still walk with a bait bag, I use the clicker to reinforce wanted behaviour, and I will lure with treats when nothing else will work, before applying force with the leash.

I wonder if I am supposed to be doing something else, but then, it seems to be working, so I will just continue and see where we go next.

Elizabeth, it sounds like Zuki is still a little confused about the commands. Blowing you off? Probably not - sitting is not any more self-rewarding than downing (compare to chasing a squirrel - Come - dog does not come).

Make sure the dog is engaged with you before asking for any behaviors.

Practice positions not only in front of you but in other orientations as well. Add distance and elevation when ready.

If you are using e-collar make sure Zuki doesn't get an opportunity to fail and not get corrected for the same behaviors you are using e-collar for. She'll figure out she can get away with it when the collar is off. Once you start any corrections you have to be very consistent.

I don't have much time to be on here so I will try to fill in on all questions as much as possible.

She is engaged when she does the wrong thing. Her whole attention is on me but she guesses what I want goes from there. I have walked with her on the road lose and when a car is coming I have told her down and she will or heal if she was walking in the road.

I will try to get a video soon. She is also 2-3 yrs old. I know something I am doing is not right just not sure what. Yes I do have the e collar DVD. I should watch it again however. Before I found leerburg I used a walmart e collar on her and didn't know about conditioning so I don't think there is much I can do about that now.
Well my laptop battery is almost gone so this is all I can say for now. I will try to post again in the next few days.
Thanks again everyone