Puppy Clicker Training: Sit, down, and stand

[Skyraiker5]

We just go a 7 week old border collie and are having trouble getting her to play and show some energy. She acts shy and timid do you have any tips to help us build a bond and help her play. We feel we have to do that first before we start her clicker training

[pamelamarxsen]

@Skyraiker5 7 weeks is really young. I am sure she is just getting to know her surroundings, her new family, etc... I would reinforce her for all good behaviors and you do not have to use a clicker for this. Just give her a yummy piece of chicken or something of the sort. Just get to know her by hand feeding her, giving high value treats for good things, and encourage playing with toys, but do not worry if she is not playing. I bet she will as soon as she is more comfortable with you. :)

[Mechelfanaat]

Erg leuk en leerzaam !

[pamelamarxsen]

@Mechelfanaat Thank you!

[XDanimalover101]

what kind of treat were you giving him?

[pamelamarxsen]

@XDanimalover101 Good question. I am not sure. I usually put about 4 or 5 different treats in a ziplock bag. I use these treats kibble (regular dog food), cheese, chicken, roast, hot dogs, or natural balance roll dog food. Hope that helps!

[Traceofmars]

I've got a 11 week old Malamute pup and I was surprised myself that he has already learnt sit, down (lie down), paw ( gives paw) and walk (semi walk/stand). Got a clicker and he learned and play dead. These things are awesome!

[pamelamarxsen]

@Traceofmars Woo Hoo, GOOD FOR YOU! I am so proud of you for using clicker training! It really is a lot of fun to train using the clicker and watching the dogs learn to think and problem solve. I wish you the very best with your new puppy and your best friend for life! Enjoy him! life is short and a dogs life is shorter! Enjoy every moment with hom!

[RKSETV]

COOLLLL!!! I have a 1 and a half month old border collie and all she ALREADY KNOWS FETCH!!! bordercollies are so smart

[pamelamarxsen]

@RKSETV Thanks! Yes they are very smart & sooooo much fun to work with! :)

[nataliawasilewska97]

aawhhh, how many weeks was he when you got him ?

[pamelamarxsen]

@nataliawasilewska97 He was 11 weeks.

[CastuloJavier]

I just can't lure my Chihuahua to sit, everytime I try it he backs away from me (like a meter) and starts barking at me, looks like he doesn't know what to do so he gets frustrated. I have tried many times, with different treats and it is always the same result. He just doesn't get it. How can I fix this without having to push his butt to sit? Please Help!

[pamelamarxsen]

@CastuloJavier You could just wait until he finally sits on his own and capture the sit. So, he sits on his own: click & toss a treat (not too far) to get him back up and wait for him to do it again.

[CastuloJavier]

@pamelamarxsen I have also tried that, just to wait till he sits by his own, but he just doesn´t sit. He starts barking at me, he can stay like that like for a minute, then some times he runs away. I'll try waiting until he sits today again. So what I should do is, 1) ask him to sit verbally, 2) make the hand gesture to sit, and 3) just wait until he sits no matter if that takes maybe more than a couple of minutes?

[Amarianee]

@CastuloJavier It sounds like you need to train his social skills, too. The problem with chihuahuas, is that people have a tendency to inadvertently teach them bad habits by positively reinforcing negative behavior. I would work on the attitude first before the "sit" command, or you'll be trying forever. When we got my Shepherd/Pit mix from the pound she constantly barked and couldn't sit still. We had to get her hyperactivity in check before she started paying attention to other commands.

[CastuloJavier]

@Amarianee That is a good suggestion. But how can I work in his hyperactivity first? How do I reinforce him to calm down? Can you suggest a few exercises please? Thanks for your reply =)

[pamelamarxsen]

@CastuloJavier I would work on teaching him to "Settle" I have a video on "Settle on a mat" and Kikopup has a video on "Settle" as well. Hope that helps.

Good luck! Pam

[Amarianee]

@CastuloJavier I def. recommend the "settle" video, but also work on how you interact with him. That's how I trained my dog. Granted, it probably took a lot longer than Pam's method (prob. much better) I simply reinforced the commands. If she started barking and refused to stop, she had to come inside. When she behaved, we'd give her a reward. If she didn't bark or try to run too much - listened to commands - while on a walk, she'd get a treat.

[Amarianee]

Dogs respond to what /we/ teach them, even if it's not on purpose. They pick up on habits and reactions fairly quickly. If you laugh and encourage them when they bark or nip, it reinforces that behaviour and they think it's okay. Breaking a bad habit is a LOT harder than teaching them a good one from the beginning. People that own small dogs forget at times that, just because they're small, does not mean they should get away with bad behaviour, "because it's /soo/ cute."

[newbear95]

Twix is so smart!

[Mik3ysauce]

sweet video...thanks for the nice techniques...nice details also in the clip

[kikopup]

Lovely pam! note to self... dont teach my puppies to crawl backwards before teaching the down... (it was hard to keep tug still!!!)

-m

[chihuahuabulldog]

Another great video! Thank you.

[haylz27]

I'm loving all of these videos of Twix!

[MultiAnimalcrackers]

Great Job. Twix is so keen to work...i love clicker training puppies they are such awesome sponges :))