Quote: bob scott

How much fun do you have with this dog? Moreover, how much fun does this dog have with you?

"totally shuts down and just lays there and stares at me".

I'm not a big believer in a dog being stubborn / flipping me the bird / totally ignoring me and all the other reasons people give for dogs shutting down like this.
Somewhere along the line you've created a lot of conflict and confusion with this dog.

Bob's here and still alive! Calooh, calay!

While I do believe that some dogs can be what we call "stubborn," I think in general if a dog is actually "shutting down," then we have probably done something, most likely inadvertently, to cause or at least contribute to this behavior.

What I'm doing with my little terrier, who's going through the same stage of development, is using short game sessions and some free shaping sessions (again short ones). She still has to perform the exercises, just in a more relaxed atmosphere than formal training sessions.

Is there any chance the dog is bored? Too much 'drilling' to perfect those commands, etc? I have seen horses become so completely bored with drills that they just quit.
I am assuming (I do hate that word) that dogs are capable of that as well.
Just a dumb thought.
Best wishes to you!

I suggest you take part in our little grassroots contest.

Your dog will thank you.

Thanks everyone for all the great suggestions. I've been thinking about this really hard for the past few days, and have come to a few conclusions...

We did way too many sequences of commands in a row. Example, sit to down to stand to sit...etc... because I wanted him to know how to go from one command to the next. He started to anticipate me saying another command right away, and when I didn't, if I didn't say "good" right away he would assume he was doing the wrong thing, thus trying a different position. I think that maybe he is thinking "Well I thought that sit meant this, but now I don't know anymore..."

And so now we're re-working on doing commands on their own. I'm just getting him to do each one very briefly and then marking. I'm going to do this for a week or so until he starts to get more confident again.

This was definitely a fault on my behalf, not his!

But I have decided that I'm going to start crating him when we aren't working (like we used to do), just in case he is testing me to some degree. I think that he might be, slightly.

It is really hot right now too, in Texas, and his lack of drive is most likely a result of the heat. I've been waiting until around 8PM to bring him outside, and it is still about 80 degress out.

He and I have a GREAT play relationship! We tug, fetch, bike, and play frisbee as rewards, and we also swim in the pond nearby. I don't think he is bored with training because we play and train simultaneously.

Sounds to me like you have it nailed Karissa. That relationship piece that you describe will give you an awfully good foundation to get through this. I suspect we'll see a post from you in the near future "wow - I have the GREATEST dog!!"

On top of some good advice here you also have to remember this is still a 12 month old dog. Many are still pups at that age.

Elaine, convince that little terror that it's having fun and watch the compliance go up.
Terriers were the dogs that taught me that!
To much pressure and you either crush the little bassids or they try and eat you for lunch.

I sympathize with the heat, Karissa. I live in TX also. My highest drive dog and I tried to do a little work yesterday morning when I got off work. Poor kid, after romping through the back yard then hooking up to play recall games, I thought he was going to try to drown himself in the water bucket.
Had to hose him off and let him back in his crate in the AC.
I am getting sick of showering two and three times a day. lol

Can't wait for Oct, everyone's happier in Oct. That's when we start new things since it's finally cool enough to play/train.

Best wishes!

 Quote: Bob Scott

On top of some good advice here you also have to remember this is still a 12 month old dog. Many are still pups at that age.

Elaine, convince that little terror that it's having fun and watch the compliance go up.
Terriers were the dogs that taught me that!
To much pressure and you either crush the little bassids or they try and eat you for lunch.

Thanks, Bob. You are right on with that one! I pretty much train her using games and free shaping. I rarely use any actual formal training with Gracie. And on the occasions I do, they are very short, generally not more than 5 minutes and we have at least one break for a game of tug or something.

I've always enjoyed that terrier attitude but Gracie, who is a Toy Fox Terrier, is the first one I've actually owned. She is a real little terror who has already caught herself one bird and stole another from the cat who caught it. Now her ambition is to catch a larger bird such as a pigeon or even a crow. LOL

I've been keeping to the schedule and it seems to be working pretty well, but I have another question...

Do you think he is still too young to completely remove food rewards? He is VERY high drive when food is present, semi-high drive for a tug or just for praise, but sometimes when I don't have food, he does the commands very slowly and won't maintain eye contact.... I didn't want to keep him on food rewards too long, but does it sounds like I am expecting too much, too soon?

He can have a very high drive for the tug, but it's usual only after we've already done some training with food first. If I just use the tug straight from th beginning, he seems a little unfocused once he gets two or three good bites at it.