There's a book called Merle's Door you guys might find interesting. Merle was a lab/hound mix who was not trained but very free thinking. I think the author is Ted Karasote. Its not a training book or course but about this dogs life.

I guess my frustration is I know he's smart...REALLY smart. I've watched him untie knots, he's solved every puzzle toy I've thrown at him, I'd seen him get things he really wants off of shelves in a variety of creative ways (when he thinks I'm not watching...and have suddenly been struck deaf)....but then he looks at me like I have nine heads when I say "food" which I have said before EVERY SINGLE TIME he's getting food.....

Yes, it sounds like he has some trauma conditioned around learning commands. Perhaps tone of voice, painful corrections for getting it wrong... who knows. These sensitive, handsome, intelligent types...

I remember being told there would be a honeymoon period, while my dogs adjusted to their new surroundings, and then their real selves would emerge and we would have new relationships to forge. It was right around that time that Jethro nailed his first puppy on the soccer field and we realized we had an extra-ordinary pup to learn to handle.

My dogs will all ignore me if I say "dinner" even though I say "here's your dinner" each and every time I feed them. But if I say "who's a starving dog?" they go ape crap and race to their crates. Why do they do that? I think it's because I say it in a really high and excited voice.

I am just getting started with the Motivation DVD, but Michael talks about using your voice to increase your dog's motivation. He also uses sounds to motivate dogs - like we do when "clucking" to a horse- only he makes like a "Pshhhhh" sound. Hard to explain, but if you've seen any video of him working a pup, you know what I am talking about.

I had not noticed it until I started watching this DVD, but when I am training the dogs, I ALWAYS use a high pitched and excited voice before delivering a reward. They know that voice tone means that something good is going to happen so they pay attention to what is going on around them when I use it. I think Toni was the first one to figure out the "who's a starving dog?" thing and the others cued off of her behavior (I've done a ton more training with Toni than I have the other dogs).

I even used Toni when training Tyra to do her agility contacts. Each time Toni interacted with the target object, she got a treat. Tyra's interest was piqued and she wanted to get those treats too- so she started to interact with the object as well. She started with a sniff, moved on to pushing it with her nose, then placing a foot on it... This was all in one training session, where it would have taken me a solid month to get her to do that without using Toni.

There are a million ways to approach any given training issue- the trick is finding what works for your dog. I really think he needs time, though... Patience and Consistency are the dog trainer's best tools.

Oh, I wanted to add one other thing- my Mals can read me like a book. If I am in a negative mood- whether I am sick or ticked off about something- they won't work at 100%. Just a couple weeks ago I had Toni at Flyball practice and she wouldn't do a dang thing. I had tendonitis in my shoulder and it hurt when I played tug... I also held my right side more rigid. She could tell that I wasn't tugging right, and I wasn't enjoying the game, so she stopped. I don't know if this has anything to do with Gambit's issues or not, but just wanted to mention it so that you are more aware of how you are presenting to the dog when training. The herding breeds are bred to read body language, and Mals are EXCEPTIONALLY good at it.

Gambit learned all his commands with markers. He should be able to learn a new word. Other wise he wouldn't know UP or Down. I started UP for heeling on his large metal bowl with food and lots of if in my pockets. Once he learned UP I Moved him to a park wall 3 feet high with a 2 foot step up. Redid the marker training and he got it.

Maybe for food you could stand in front of him, put food in your hand wait for him to physically touch your hand then say food and open your hand? He totally will understand but it takes lots of marker training. Just think of when you first start markers with a dog. You start with YES.


Commands he knew when he left me were:

YES,No,Up,Down,Foose,Platz,Sitz,Outside,Kennel,Park(pee/poo),Place,OK as free command,

He was trained to do the turn out and heel thats why he wants to jump into heel. UP was used for this and the bowl. He will spin on a bowl for you .

Nick, training instructions from you probably don't belong here on the board at this time.

You did a great thing by giving up Gambit. Otherwise, there's been no indication, ever, including that suggestion, that you should be giving training tips yet, and I'm not alone in thinking this.

I'm sorry if this hurts your feelings. It shouldn't. You should know by now that you need to do a lot more listening and less talking.

If you do that, then you will be in a position one of these days to help others.

 Quote: Kelly

... if I say "who's a starving dog?" they go ape crap and race to their crates. Why do they do that? I think it's because I say it in a really high and excited voice. ... I am just getting started with the Motivation DVD, but Michael talks about using your voice to increase your dog's motivation. He also uses sounds to motivate dogs - like we do when "clucking" to a horse- only he makes like a "Pshhhhh" sound. Hard to explain, but if you've seen any video of him working a pup, you know what I am talking about. .... I had not noticed it until I started watching this DVD, but when I am training the dogs, I ALWAYS use a high pitched and excited voice before delivering a reward. They know that voice tone means that something good is going to happen so they pay attention to what is going on around them when I use it. I think Toni was the first one to figure out the "who's a starving dog?" thing and the others cued off of her behavior (I've done a ton more training with Toni than I have the other dogs).

Patience and Consistency are the dog trainer's best tools.

Some really profound points, IMO. Isn't that motivation DVD amazing?

And consistency .... we all "know" it, and we all talk about it, but I know that I, for one, have been guilty of gray areas, and also of "just this once" gestures that do not do the dog's understanding any favors at all.

Consistency. This should probably be embedded into my top New Year's Resolution!

I will have to think of a way to phrase that in less grandiose and more daily down-to-earth terms. Maybe "being tired or overwhelmed never means that something 'gives' in my training. If I have to do a power-walk and skip all training, that's better than sloppy or inconsistent training."

I don't know yet; gotta put some thought into that ..... I sure like your post, though!

How about, "If you don't have the time to do it right the first time, when will you find time to do it again"? ....or something like that.

 Quote: Nick Logan

Maybe for food you could stand in front of him, put food in your hand wait for him to physically touch your hand then say food and open your hand?

Sorry, Nick, but Connie's right. You need to pay more attention before you start handing out advice. The above suggestion will make the dog think that his touching the hand is the command FOOD. It will NOT make him connect the dots and think the "treat" in her hand means food.

Dogs tend to think in terms of ACTION. Like, "what was I doing when the good thing happend? And how can I make it happen again?" (Umm, the foundation of Marker Training....) Attaching meaning to static objects is a difficult concept for some dogs to grasp. For some, it only comes with maturity and experience.

 Quote: Debbie Martin

How about, "If you don't have the time to do it right the first time, when will you find time to do it again"? ....or something like that.

Also "if I don't find time to do it right EVERY time, where will I find the time to fix what I screwed up in a tired moment."