BIG Mistake!

[Toffee's Mom]

Something else to consider....don't get me wrong, Shelties are smart, so this may not work and I've never had a girl dog.

Have you thought about giving the command a different name? I ruined Koji on a couple of commands, "come" being one of them, so I had to retrain with a different word and style of how I say it.

Like I said, just a thought. Sometimes a new word helps. Or not. LOL Good luck!

Oh good idea, if the word has a negative connotation to it (poisoned cue) that is correct, often retraining it with a different name changes things.

 

[Justicemom]

I've been working off and on with Ida all day. At first she just wanted to run away, then after a while every time I said "Sit!" she would look at me with these big sad eyes that sad, 'Do I have too?'. I stayed as happy and exited as I passably could, I couldn't MAKE myself feed mad even if I wanted to! Now I can look at her and tell her to sit in a very normal unexcited voice and she'll do it almost immediately! With her big, no longer sad eyes, saying 'Where's my treat?!'. I got her a new treat today that's beef and cheese flavored and she LOVES them!
All I needed was a little pep-talk and y'alldefiantly gave me that! I'm hopping she will love training as much as she did as a young pup and has learned more tricks by the end of the month (meaning May considering this is the last day of April). But at the rate she's going, she may finish ahead! Wish me luck!

Congrats sound like you are on the right track. Good luck and have fun.

 

[celloyogi]

Something else to consider....don't get me wrong, Shelties are smart, so this may not work and I've never had a girl dog.

Have you thought about giving the command a different name? I ruined Koji on a couple of commands, "come" being one of them, so I had to retrain with a different word and style of how I say it.

Like I said, just a thought. Sometimes a new word helps. Or not. LOL Good luck!

Yes, definitely try giving the command a different name! The word "heel" was ruined for my Olive when she was in a horrible obedience class - they told us to yell commands, leash pulls/jerks for everything, etc. I didn't participate in the yelling/leash yanking, but Olive picked up on everyone else yelling "heel" and it got to the point where if I used the word with her she basically shut down. Among other changes, I now use the words "with me" instead of "heel". I've only ever used "with me" in a positive way so she's done well with it.

If you do change words, make sure the new command words are used only in a positive way. No matter what training you use, even if you choose to use training collars, it is still so important to keep training sessions upbeat and positive. Dogs pick up on negativity and stress so easily and they will begin to associate training with bad things. Cut training sessions short, or don't have them at all, anytime you feel stressed or frustrated. And throw cookie/praise parties frequently to keep sessions happy. You'd be surprised how that positivity can wear off on you, too! Spending time with your pup should be fun for everybody.

 

[Tabitha]

Last night Ida fell asleep right on my wind pipe! She was squishing my throat and breathing wasn't easy but I didn't want to move her, it was just so sweet! We are continuing the training today and she's doing wonderful! I don't think I'll have any trouble with 'sit' and she can do 'stay' beautifully now, but I'm not to sure about 'down'. I've only asked her to one time, she started getting nervous again so I told her she was a good girl and that it was ok then went back to the 'sit stay' command. But I'm am having trouble motivating her. She likes her new treats but isn't as exited about them as she was yesterday. I can't believe shes bored of them already! Does anyone know of any treats that I can mix with these and will really get her taste buds wanting some more? And an alternative to 'down', just encase I can't convenes her its a good thing. I hope I can, I don't want to use two different commands for one thing, and it would be a pain to teach the old man a new word for the same trick.
Tabs

 

[corbinam]

Last night Ida fell asleep right on my wind pipe! She was squishing my throat and breathing wasn't easy but I didn't want to move her, it was just so sweet! We are continuing the training today and she's doing wonderful! I don't think I'll have any trouble with 'sit' and she can do 'stay' beautifully now, but I'm not to sure about 'down'. I've only asked her to one time, she started getting nervous again so I told her she was a good girl and that it was ok then went back to the 'sit stay' command. But I'm am having trouble motivating her. She likes her new treats but isn't as exited about them as she was yesterday. I can't believe shes bored of them already! Does anyone know of any treats that I can mix with these and will really get her taste buds wanting some more? And an alternative to 'down', just encase I can't convenes her its a good thing. I hope I can, I don't want to use two different commands for one thing, and it would be a pain to teach the old man a new word for the same trick.
Tabs

You should check out the recipes area of the forum. I don't think there is any treat that my dogs like more than the ones I've made at home (liver, fishy fudge to name a few).