Training Beyond the Basics

Thurston sits. And, he's cute. But I spend so much time with other dogs he picks up bad habits or just lack of training. He really doesn't do any "tricks" and he gets distracted easily when he sees other dogs. Since I will be working at a store soon (YAY) where he will be free to roam and meet other dogs, I want to start to actually train him. (Yeah, I know, it's a bit late.)

Any advice on where to start? Books to get?

I'm thinking the following things would be good:
Ignore
Come when called (instead of just looking at me like I'm nobody.)
Lay down or "in your bed"

And, I will need to teach him to stay inside the store and not go beyond the doors.

I don't care about roll over, dance, shake, etc. I just want him to obey be better and not be such a stubborn boy (HA).

He also gets so distracted by treats that he won't do much beyond sit to try and get the good treats out of me.

Mommy is a great dog walker and care taker, but not such a good trainer.

Clicker training is good, and I agree all the commands you are thinking about are likely to be necessary in a store environment.

I would personally use a "leave it" command rather than "ignore". Just that we as humans understand the concept of ignore but for a dog it is easier to "do" things rather than "not do" things, if you see what I mean. By all means use the word ignore if you like but I think you might find it harder to teach if you do, because "leave it" conjures up to us the notion of stopping what you are doing and looking at your owner for the next request. Or you could use the "watch me" command, which is good also.

I do worry about the success of teaching him not to go out of the store, though. Much safer would be some kind of restraint or confining him to a certain area. You can have the best trained dog in the world but things can spark them off and if he can get out of the store onto a road that would be a big worry.

As for training I really like Pat Millar, Jean Donaldson and Patricia McConnell. Kathy Sdao isn't bad either.

Clicker training is terrific--particularly given what you would like to do in the store. And I agree with Bella on the door thing. You can train a dog about doors, streets, etc, but all it takes is one event and you could be facing a tragedy. Why risk it? I'd figure out a way to make "safe space" for him so you don't have to fret about it.

I don't care what people say, you can never (in my opinion) train a dog to be 100% street smart/car smart.

I agree with Bella. Add "leave it" and "watch me."

I'm a huge fan of Tamar Geller's techniques. She trained our boys for a while and her techniques are very effective. She recently wrote a book called "The Loved Dog"

p.s. Just wanted to mention that teaching "lay down" is one of the harder tricks. You would think that it's a natural progression after "sit" and "stay" but Tamar explained to us that it's actually a pretty hard one for dogs to grasp.

You know as a former cat person myself and CP being our first dog, I tried and I read books, but I ended up hiring a trainer to get the concepts down, then we have to work on them all the time to drill them in her head! She still can not "stay" where I tell her for more than 30 seconds, she is a pug and wants to be with me!

I found a trainer that did Clicker training, it worked really well, I had her come 2 times at first for an hour each time, and then a couple months later she came a third time. In that CP learned sit and down (I had never taught her sit when she was in the ring she was not allowed t o sit!) she also learned "get in your bed" "stay" and "leave it" of course she is better at these things when we practice but not as good when there are distractions, I'd say it takes practice, practice, practice.

Yeah, it's the practice party that I currently have trouble with. But, that will change.

I am too paranoid of a Mom to let him off leash in the store all of the time. Several dogs do that in the Downtown LA store and it makes me nervous. I would LOVE it Thurston could do that but, in reality, it's not practical.

He's just a stubborn pug who has selective listening habits - what a surprise. I'll look into professional trainers and start some basic training myself.

http://videos.howstuffworks.com/animal- ... -video.htm

This is a great little site for training videos.

Most of the doggie stores that I visit have their companions behind the counter with them. Some have gates, some have 1/2 doors, etc. I have been to some stores who let their dog just run around. The few times that it happened, 1. it made me nervous every time the door opened. 2. I felt like I was watching the dog more than I was shopping. 3. I don't love yappy dogs so I just left the store.

I think that the store needs to come first. Although we all love pugs and every pug that we've ever met, no everyone will and it is better for Thurston to be in a safe area without distracting the customers.

Good luck in training too!!! I think that the more commands he knows the more comfortable you'll feel when he does visit with customers!!