# New adult weimaraner -- need some help



## thomas29id (Jul 2, 2007)

So, my girlfriends parents Relinquished their three year old weimaraner dog into my girlfriends (my) care about two days ago. He really is a great dog, fully housetrained, no aggression, an all around good dog. Although he has only been here two days he seems very, very comfortable here and is doing well. 

My problem is that the dog just won't listen. He is very smart and knows what you want him to do --- Sit, Stay, Lay down...come....

but, if he decides he doesn't feel like doing one of those commands he doesn't. 

He has a shock collar, which although I'm yet to shock him he does seem to respond better when the remote is in hand. And I've used the high pitch noise feature. 

I think his previous owners were really, really lax on him and allowed way to much until they got really upset and then they gave it to him. I've found if I really yell at him he will do about anything I want. If I really yell sit down and stay there....he will sit and stay why I walk around the house for ten minutes and will not move until I tell him....

but if you just say it nicely "Sit" or "stay" it means nothing....the biggest one I'm concerned about is "come".....

I'm thinking of starting over w/ all new commands. Any thoughts? 

By the way, I'm new to the board --- 25, Lynchburg Va --- Been breezing through some of the other posts and looks like a nice community! 

(tommy)


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## skelaki (Nov 9, 2006)

You can't assume he knows the commands especially in a new place and with new owners. Start short, 10 minute, training sessions at least once a day (more sessions is even better). Start at the beginning, learning phase with one command at a time. In the learning stage you do not correct the dog. Instead, if necessary, you help him to obey. Work him on leash and keep the leash attached to his collar at all times that you are able to supervise him. That way you have a way to get him when necessary. Remember two things. (1) don't give a command you can't enforce, and (2) dogs don't generalize well, so you have to teach each command from the beginning in several different places (i.e living room, kitchen, backyard, front yard, and park) before the dog will realize he must obey at all times.


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## Curbside Prophet (Apr 28, 2006)

Welcome to our forum Tommy. I agree with skelaki, you'll need to return training as his favorite pastime. Everything is new to him and so should your approach to his training. Get rid of the shock collar, especially if you are not trained on how to use it. Unless you're going to do field work, and he'll be *just* a companion dog, you can throw that e-collar away. I'm not a big fan of gizmos, nor do I recommend them for new dogs. 

That being said, it's up to you whether you want to start with new commands or not. That doesn't matter as much as actually spending time with him on the training. Therefore, put away his food bowl, and replace feeding time with training time. Everything that goes in his mouth should come from you and your gf. This is how you build a relationship with a dog where attention is only a one "come" away. 

You should also institute NILIF right away.


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## thomas29id (Jul 2, 2007)

thanks for your quick replies --- I read up on NILIF and will work on that...

I also agree that maybe I am giving him to much credit for knowing stuff --- But, He does very well following these commands when a strong, angry voice is used. He does exactly what I tell him! 

I'm not a big fan of the shock-collar, and think I mentioned that I've never even shocked him. Still, no question about it, when that remote is in my hand he does listen 10 times better. 

I do like the idea of everything going in his mouth coming from us --- I'll try and implement that one a little bit. 

more help/idea is always appreciated -- I think I will vary the commands and start from the beginning. I have a feeling that might help me not give him as much credit (if nothing else) 

(tommy)


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## Curbside Prophet (Apr 28, 2006)

thomas29id said:


> But, He does very well following these commands when a strong, angry voice is used. He does exactly what I tell him!


Being a quiet person, I would have a problem with this. He may have been taught that way, but if it's not your nature, starting over with your own style is no more a problem than him getting comfortable to his new environment. So, it's up to you whether you want to yell or hold a remote in your hand, but if this is annoying to you, like it would be me, start where you would like to finish. You don't need to confuse the dog, anymore than he already is, with mixed signals.

Good luck, and keep us posted.


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## thomas29id (Jul 2, 2007)

quick update -- 

I took the advice of only feeding him from our hands and it worked great. Really though, it just reinforced my idea that he knows what we want him to do. He could Sit, Lay, Stay, Shake, come and 50% roll over on command when that stomach was empty and I had a single piece of food in my hand.

I believe the breed is easily distracted (he is a vizsla/Weimaraner actually) and that is very, very evident. Took him to pet smart to get his nails clipped and acted like he had never heard the word sit. I understand dogs don't associate well, I'm still his new owner and there are a lot of other factors as to why he would be this way. 

I dont know what I'm asking here....

I guess I'm asking how I get these commands to be gospel to him w/ or w/out an empty stomach and a reward. I guess this is the essence of dog training. Everyone is just going to write back and tell me to stick w/ it right?

I'll try and post a pic or two soon....he is a great, great looking dog. 

(tommy)


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## redox (May 21, 2007)

thomas29id said:


> quick update --
> I believe the breed is easily distracted (he is a vizsla/Weimaraner actually) and that is very, very evident.
> (tommy)


Ha, that's the perfect storm of doggy ADD right there  . I'd love to see pictures. I have a vizsla puppy and we're still working on obeying during distractions. It's slow going. 

Rusty sit! Err...um... run around and pounce at me. Yeah! good dog!


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## BoxMeIn21 (Apr 10, 2007)

thomas29id said:


> I guess I'm asking how I get these commands to be gospel to him w/ or w/out an empty stomach and a reward.


Repetition and Consistency will be key. Dogs are opportunists, they will repeat what works for them, that is why food is such a strong reinforcer. Ever heard the term - "Eager to please"? That's BS - it should be more like, "Eager to do what it takes to get that food outta your hand and into my mouth" So don't ditch the food just yet.


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## littleliz (Jul 3, 2007)

hello all -- I'm "the girlfriend" 

the advice you all gave was wonderful! but... how come my lovely dog, Red, just will not listen when he does not want to? I took him out for a walk and he wasn't too distracted, we were just walking, but he just REFUSED to sit down! we were in the middle of the street and it was a simple command "hey, sit!"... just for practice (because advice was to teach him in different places)... and he flat out ignored me. I repeated myself over and over, made him look me in the eye, pushed his toosh to the ground and finally when he rested there, I praised him. But it was so hard to praise him after he ignored me for so long! Not to mention he got right back up and when I asked him to sit, again, he ignored me. It was the same process over and over about 3-4 times before I finally just took him inside.

He really just will not listen unless there is something in it for him. He will sit before going outside, because he recognizes he won't get out the door without first sitting and waiting.

We'll keep at it and keep praising him... but it surely is hard not to smack his bottom when he is ignoring us.... ah! so frustrating!

Just wanted to say "hi" and say "thank you" for all of the feedback!

-- liz


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## sydney-the-cattle-dog (Jan 31, 2007)

littleliz said:


> hello all -- I'm "the girlfriend"
> 
> the advice you all gave was wonderful! but... how come my lovely dog, Red, just will not listen when he does not want to? I took him out for a walk and he wasn't too distracted, we were just walking, but he just REFUSED to sit down! we were in the middle of the street and it was a simple command "hey, sit!"... just for practice (because advice was to teach him in different places)... and he flat out ignored me. I repeated myself over and over, made him look me in the eye, pushed his toosh to the ground and finally when he rested there, I praised him. But it was so hard to praise him after he ignored me for so long! Not to mention he got right back up and when I asked him to sit, again, he ignored me. It was the same process over and over about 3-4 times before I finally just took him inside.


The advice is valid but remember that it was to _*teach*_ in different places. So you have to forget that he knows sit in the house and assume he doesn't know it outside. Lure him into a sit and reward just as if he was learning for the first time. The reward doesn't need to be food it can be continuation of the walk. He is going to learn to sit on a walk when you ask because that is how he gets to continue on the walk which is what he really wants.




littleliz said:


> He really just will not listen unless there is something in it for him. He will sit before going outside, because he recognizes he won't get out the door without first sitting and waiting.
> 
> We'll keep at it and keep praising him... but it surely is hard not to smack his bottom when he is ignoring us.... ah! so frustrating!
> 
> ...


Bingo! Dogs are in it for the reward. Sitting at the door is rewarded with going outside. 

I do understand how frustrating this is. Just hang in there and remember that, despite popular notion that dogs want nothing more than to please us, what they really want to know is what's in it for them.


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## briteday (Feb 10, 2007)

My advice is to find a good dog obedience class through a park district or local dog club. They usually have 6-8 week sessions at reasonable prices. Not only will you and the dog re-learn commands but the group situation provides the distraction factor.


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## skelaki (Nov 9, 2006)

I can understand the frustration. Dogs can certainly teach us patience. One of my rough collies was really easy to train except when it came to the down. He never actually did the long down (he'd pop up like a jack-in-the-box) until his first obedience trial.

There are steps to training. The first step is the learning phase. This is when you teach the dog a command. As soon as the dog is obeying the command roughly 80-90% of the time you progress to the proofing stage. This is when corrections (voice and/or leash corrections) comes in. As far as when you get to this stage depends on the dog as well as on you, how much time you spend on training, and your skill level.


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