ladybird

My spoo puppy (6 months) gives up really easily when I try to teach him a new trick. It took me AGES to teach him 'down' because this is what he does... I put the treat in front of his nose - he licks at it, if I move it a little forward (or any direction) he will move his head to follow it, but if it goes out of easy reach (like if he has to move his feet/body) he just loses interest. So when I was teaching him 'down' I would put it to his nose then lower it to the floor. He would just bend his head right down so I moved it a little further out from him but instead of moving his feet to go down he would just sit there looking at it and then lose interest. It's like he's not even trying, like he's too lazy to move to get the treat! I ended up pushing him down at the same time as luring and he eventually understood that he needed to move himself to get the treat. I use dehydrated liver treats which he loves... but apparently luring doesn't work on him. How else am I supposed to teach him tricks and positions without the treat lure? Any advice?

mom24doggies

Have you tried different treats? Maybe your boy just doesn't feel that dried liver is good enough to do tricks for. Try cheese, or some boiled chicken/beef, or tiny bits of hotdog. Most dogs will do flips for those. Good luck!!

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"Love is the emotion that a woman feels always for a poodle dog and sometimes for a man." ~George Jean Nathan

fjm

Did you originally teach him something that required him to stay in one place? Could be he is confused!

If one metod doesn't work, you may need to think of others - perhaps luring him to crawl under your raised leg, or a low table. Or change the treats, mom24 suggests. Or reward him with a game of tug instead of food. Don't even think "stubborn" - either he doesn't understand, or you've not yet found a way of motivating him! I always found Down was very difficult to teach on hard, chilly surfaces, especially for puppies with their bare pink tummies - trying again on a carpet or rug made all the difference for us. Along with changing the cue to Flat - Down already meant don't jump up/four paws on the ground, and they got very confused!

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To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden,
where doing nothing was not boring- it was peace.

~ Milan Kundera

liljaker

How about upping the value factor of the treat? Might work.

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ladybird

Another thing he does is this: he WILL start doing the trick correctly (I use a clicker), then after several repetitions he'll stop doing it again as if he doesn't know what to do. I mean, he does try at first but it's like he gets bored very quickly or something. Maybe I'm not using the right treats? I shall try something else and see if that works

p.s. fjm no its not because I taught him anything that would conflict (I taught 'down' very early before he knew much commands at all)

stealthq

Yep, my puppy does this too and I can about guarantee that my pup, at least, DOES get bored. I've had him start yawning in class and mentally checking out when they ask for "puppy pushups" for the nth time. It helps if I break things up by asking him for tricks in a different order, teaching him something new, or by having a quick play-break.

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Nicole

Indiana

One of my dogs just loves, loves, loves to fetch so her high-value treat is a squeaky kong ball. She'd rather have that tossed in the air to catch and squeak than treats any day. Does Nimbus likes toys a lot (hopefully?)

JE-UK

He isn't stubborn. You just haven't given him either a) a good enough reason to try to figure out what you want, or b) he doesn't understand what you want. You could be varying your body language or asking for the down in a context he doesn't understand.

I'd try better treats and more work on your own signals. If you search Kikopup on Youtube, you will find a ton of short, useful, training videos on teaching various tricks and behaviours (and her dogs are amazing). She primarily uses luring and clickers, so it sounds like she is in your space.

In training my poodle, I find he has very little tolerance for repetition or drilling. In his view, he's done is right three times, what the heck do I want now? Then he starts to vary things, usually in ways I hadn't anticipated . I mix training up a lot, combine cues in different ways, go from training things that require him to move on to training things that require him to be in one place, etc. Poodle brains are lightning fast.

For specifically teaching down, I put a treat in a closed hand, then move the hand under the chin of the STANDING dog, into his chest and down. They usually fold down (which is the down you want for obedience).

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"Yes is so much important than No." Dominique Barbier

JE-UK

My dog's most-loved training treats are: liver cake, hot dogs or sausages, boiled chicken, left-over bits of roast, chicken skin (I fry it crisp for him and it is doggie crack), cheese, leftover crispy duck (when we eat Chinese), etc.

Think smelly and greasy and your dog will love you .

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"Yes is so much important than No." Dominique Barbier

ladybird

Indiana - Yes he does, especially if it's a brand new toy. He will do anything to get hold of it haha! I shall try that next time and see what happens

JE-UK - I think it's because he gets bored after he does it right a few times, like the previous poster mentioned and yourself where your poodle varies things after a few repetitions (he does this too). I will try mixing it up a bit from now on and taking play breaks as suggested. (he knows down already, it was another trick I was trying to teach him but the way he behaves is the same as when I was trying to teach him down or any other trick for that matter!)

also, I do already look at videos when I'm searching for something new to teach him so I know where to start. They are helpful indeed!

Bottom line I think is that poodles get bored of repetition very quickly!!