# Responding to Commands



## Sassy's Mom (Feb 4, 2015)

How long before the puppies finally get it? Sassy seems to have selective hearing, one time she'll respond immediately to the commands I give her. The next time it's as if she's becomes deaf, doesn't hear a word I say. Recall is the command we work on a lot. I'm also trying to teach her to fetch again she'll bring the "toy" back a couple of times then she'll run off or she'll just lay down where the toy lands. Even with her high value treats (which is cheese) she'll still only respond a couple of times.

I really want her to learn the recall without a treat for all the obvious reasons. BTW she's almost 11 months old.

Nadine


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

you might think she's being stubborn ehhh? It has been said by many people that dogs can be "stubborn." Many ethologists believe that this is an inaccurate description. When people are experiencing problem behaviors with their dogs , they quite often are not communicating with their dog in a way they clearly understand. Consequently, people think they just have a stupid, "stubborn", or reactive dog.
When a dog does not come when called , they are not being "stubborn", they simply are being opportunistic ,ie finding something more appealing than what we're asking of them. It's a case of what is more reinforcing for them. Dogs are not capable of being stubborn as that would mean they are capable of developing a reasoned argument not to do something. I like this analysis from L.C. Kelley from Psychology Today ..."That's one example of the wrong kind of anthropomorphism. Another is that far too many people abandon their dogs because they're perceived as "stubborn," "willful," or "disobedient," all anthropomorphisms. The truth is, dogs can't be obedient or disobedient because even though it's something they're exceptionally good at, dogs themselves don't know what the concept of obedience means. They only know that when their emotions are aligned with their owners' desires they "feel" like doing what their owners want them to. That's all".

Here is a great article https://apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/myths/


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## Sassy's Mom (Feb 4, 2015)

Very interesting article, I guess I'll keep working. I'll try to make a few changes to see if that helps.


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## Wags Mom (Dec 15, 2013)

I remember Wags going through a period about that same age. He no longer responded immediately if there was something more interesting. He also decided it was fun to run down the hall to a room he knew was off limits. Although in both instances, he would return to me when I called for him, he knew nothing bad would happen if he didn't return immediately . I think it is a phase some dogs go through. During this period, I just kept trying new things to make training fun and discovered one command that always worked-- Let's Go! Whenever I want Wags to follow me, I say Let's Go. I use it when I am going into the room where we play fetch, when we are going outside, when it is time to go back inside etc. Basically any time I want him to come with me. I give the command and immediately turn away from him and start walking. I consider it my best recall command when there are distractions, as he always responds. I do try to make it fun and sometimes travel to the treat jar, but I don't have to carry treats with me. 

Hang in there! Your dog is still a puppy and will learn a lot over the next year .


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## Hsusa (Dec 21, 2014)

I think this is a tough question. Of course, it depends on the dog, and also on you. If you are working on training all the time, I think it would probably go much faster. In general, though, I always found that it took a couple of years until my dogs were mature enough to respond reliably each time. They get better as they get older.
As far as recall, I use a recall command that seems to work better than anything else I've ever tried. I learned it from someone on the Facebook Havanese Forum when Sheba was younger. That person said the instructor in Puppy kindergarten suggested it. I call out, "Sheba, where are you, dude?" I don't know if it's the fact that it's a question... or if she likes being called dude, but it really brings her running!


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## Sassy's Mom (Feb 4, 2015)

We work at least 15 minutes a day on different commands. Sit, stay, bring it (fetch), drop and of course come. I'm hoping to add more commands with time. So I guess I need to be patient, she's a teen lol.
Nadine


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## civano (Sep 29, 2014)

Javi is only 6 1/2 months old and we've been working on different commands too. With minimal distractions he does pretty well. The moment a person comes into our perimeter, it can be a total different story. On Friday, we went to a new training class and I was so proud of him because he actually paid attention more than he ever has to me with new dogs and people around. Usually, he is all about the people and thinks he needs to see every single one of them and forget about me. LOL.


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## FancyNancy (Oct 7, 2009)

My trainer works on the theory of the three "D"s - distraction, distance, duration. Can your dog be reliable in responding to SIT COME AND STAY when there is a distraction in front of him/her (a treat , another dog to play with, etc.)? Will your dog be responsive to SIT SAY AND COME from a very long distance (like across a football field sized distance)? And will your dog STAY for at least 8 minutes on your command? If not, he would say your dog is still "unreliable". 

Funny enough, Henry does all of this totally reliably for the trainer but not always for me. That's because I AM DOING SOMETHING WRONG in my communication. Our training sessions are for me - teaching me to do all the things - in exactly the same way - as the trainer, who is successful in getting Henry to be 100% reliable.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

FancyNancy said:


> My trainer works on the theory of the three "D"s - distraction, distance, duration. Can your dog be reliable in responding to SIT COME AND STAY when there is a distraction in front of him/her (a treat , another dog to play with, etc.)? Will your dog be responsive to SIT SAY AND COME from a very long distance (like across a football field sized distance)? And will your dog STAY for at least 8 minutes on your command? If not, he would say your dog is still "unreliable".
> 
> Funny enough, Henry does all of this totally reliably for the trainer but not always for me. That's because I AM DOING SOMETHING WRONG in my communication. Our training sessions are for me - teaching me to do all the things - in exactly the same way - as the trainer, who is successful in getting Henry to be 100% reliable.


It sounds like you work with a good trainer! Another important point about the "three D's" is that you only want to increase one variable at a time. For instance, if your dog will sit right at your feet in a quiet room, your three options in terms of increasing reliability would be:

1. Ask him to sit at your feet with a distractor near by
2. Ask him to sit further away from you.
3. Ask him to stay sitting for longer.

You would only do ONE of these things per training session, though you could vary between them over a number of training sessions. Only when he could reliably handle a sit at distance OR a sit with distraction would you try for a sit at distance WITH distraction.

THEN&#8230; for a TRULY reliable dog, you need to "take the show on the road". Dogs are VERY poor at generalizing learned behaviors. So just because your dog can sit, come or stay in your house doesn't mean he can do any of these things in the supermarket parking lot. And it's not JUST the "distraction" factor&#8230; until he has done these things many times, in many locations, he truly doesn't understand that sit ALWAYS means sit.

People fall into that same trap with potty training. "He is totally reliable at home, but then we went to Granda's house and he peed in a corner!!!" Until he has had experience with LOTS of different buildings, all her really knows is that he shouldn't eliminate inside YOUR house. He hasn't yet learned that you don't eliminate inside ANY building.


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## FancyNancy (Oct 7, 2009)

Thank you Karen for that very good advise. I can totally see how the one variable at a time approach would be most sensible. I'm not sure I ever told you this personally, but I very much appreciate all your contributions to this forum. There are certain people I look to here for the best advise and you are one of them. I know that you do the reading and the research and also have the experience to give knowledgeable advise about our dogs. I've learned so much from you and several others and it's made me better equipped to handle the issues that come up with Henry in the most responsible fashion. Again, thank you so much.


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## prettysmartchic (Jul 21, 2012)

Hsusa said:


> I think this is a tough question. Of course, it depends on the dog, and also on you. If you are working on training all the time, I think it would probably go much faster. In general, though, I always found that it took a couple of years until my dogs were mature enough to respond reliably each time. They get better as they get older.
> As far as recall, I use a recall command that seems to work better than anything else I've ever tried. I learned it from someone on the Facebook Havanese Forum when Sheba was younger. That person said the instructor in Puppy kindergarten suggested it. I call out, "Sheba, where are you, dude?" I don't know if it's the fact that it's a question... or if she likes being called dude, but it really brings her running!


This is absolutely adorable and I must try it.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Awww, shucks… :redface: Thanks!


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## Sassy's Mom (Feb 4, 2015)

I'll keep trying. Maybe I'll try another class, it wouldn't hurt her to be around other dogs a little more. She does seem to be skittish around bigger dogs.

Thanks
Nadine


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