Sounds a lot like...


You mean from last night? Maybe some similarity though I was sure he wouldn't go far and definitely not into the street.

He always stays very close by and even while doing his mischief looks back every few moments to see what I think

So no, I had not idea he'd run off, i'd keep him leashed if I did.


But you really think it's all the pack leader stuff? I will start over and follow Ed's protocol if you think so

 Quote: Natalie Rynda

Sounds a lot like...


You mean from last night? Maybe some similarity though I was sure he wouldn't go far and definitely not into the street.

He always stays very close by and even while doing his mischief looks back every few moments to see what I think

So no, I had not idea he'd run off, i'd keep him leashed if I did.


But you really think it's all the pack leader stuff? I will start over and follow Ed's protocol if you think so

ETA yes, I totally agree about picking battles, this one is not important enough to deal with now, I have more pressing stuff.

Real ETA oops, pressed wrong button

yes it is all pack leader stuff .

please don't be offended but from what you have told us , you have been either unwilling or unable to demonstrate to the dog that you are the leader , and at the same time have not proved yourself to be attractive enough to him to be worth following .

you have been all over the map with respect to your approaches , which undermines one of the big principles in dog training : consistency .

you lack the experience or confidence to direct the training yourself .

please continue to participate here , ask questions , and work with your dog .

if i may , can i ask how you came to have this dog , and what plans you had / have for his future with you ? right now the relationship does not seem to be delivering at either end of the leash , and i gotta say honestly , if your future is based around 10pm - 1am in a city park , i'd be looking to expand that .

Yes, I am all over the map and that's why I'm worrying that I'm confusing him.

I will keep asking questions and I'm not offended. I've never had a dog let alone one that needs this much work and I'm learning on him and I'm sure that's confusing to him.

I bought him from an Amish puppy mill (I didn't know it was a puppy mill when I bought him). My daughter really wanted a dog and I gave in (as I usually do to her. All our animals are here because she wanted them, we have 2 cats and a turtle).

What ends up happening is that I become obsessed with the animals and take care of them. Same happened with the dog, I'm in love with him and wouldn't let her take care of him even if she asked.

I didn't realize training was this complicated, I did know GSDs (she wanted A dog and I picked the breed, my long time love breed) need lots of exercise and basic training and was ready to force her if she backed away.
But after a few weeks I realized that I enjoy being with him and he officially became my dog.

I didn't realize training is so complex and everything else that dogs need so I'm leaning as I go.

My goals are to have an obedient happy dog. 10pm-1am is not all I do, that's the longest outing daily. He gets short walks once or twice before that.

And on weekends it's also walks and park in the day time.


Is that not enough?

ETA I'm a night person, my day starts late and ends late so our schedule is shifted.
Keep that in mind when you consider the 10-1.

Also, I'm not the one to judge on our relationship but he likes being around me and it's noticed by everyone who knows us (though they're not dog trainers).
The obedience is definitely lacking but that's because I haven't taught him much. I also probably let him get away with too much. And that's why I'm asking all these questions.

I can't imagine that people with their first dog did that much better than I. I'm just putting everything out there and not trying to make things seem better than they are.

 Quote: Connie Sutherland

Then going crazy is being rewarded (even sometimes .... remember consistency?) and calm-quiet is not (at least not consistently).

Walk out for 5 seconds and walk back in, with the departure and the return both totally casual, no speaking, no attention, and ignore the dog completely on the return, not even approaching or looking at him.



PS

Same as everything else .... reward what you want.

I was rereading the thread and noticed this. How do I reward calm? When he's calm for an hour, at which point do I reward?
Usually every few mins I will give him a treat. Is that what you meant?

deleted

 Quote: Natalie Rynda

 Quote: Connie Sutherland

Then going crazy is being rewarded (even sometimes .... remember consistency?) and calm-quiet is not (at least not consistently).

Walk out for 5 seconds and walk back in, with the departure and the return both totally casual, no speaking, no attention, and ignore the dog completely on the return, not even approaching or looking at him.



PS

Same as everything else .... reward what you want.

I was rereading the thread and noticed this. How do I reward calm? When he's calm for an hour, at which point do I reward?
Usually every few mins I will give him a treat. Is that what you meant?

As I posted:

"If you were going to let him out of the crate, of course you would wait until he was calm and quiet (even if he did "calm-quiet" by mistake!) and then INSTANTLY react with some calm attention on a smiling face and opening the crate."

That is rewarding what you want.

thanks for your honesty natalie . . .

 Quote: ian bunbury

thanks for your honesty natalie . . .

Lol enjoy)))) I always try to tell the truth unless I really have to lie and then I'm extremely uncomfortable doing it.

 Quote: Connie Sutherland

 Quote: Natalie Rynda

 Quote: Connie Sutherland

Then going crazy is being rewarded (even sometimes .... remember consistency?) and calm-quiet is not (at least not consistently).

Walk out for 5 seconds and walk back in, with the departure and the return both totally casual, no speaking, no attention, and ignore the dog completely on the return, not even approaching or looking at him.



PS

Same as everything else .... reward what you want.

I was rereading the thread and noticed this. How do I reward calm? When he's calm for an hour, at which point do I reward?
Usually every few mins I will give him a treat. Is that what you meant?

As I posted:

"If you were going to let him out of the crate, of course you would wait until he was calm and quiet (even if he did "calm-quiet" by mistake!) and then INSTANTLY react with some calm attention on a smiling face and opening the crate."

That is rewarding what you want.

Oh but that's rewarding by letting him out. I thought I should also reward the many times he sits in the crate for hours and is quiet.

Got you))))