Penny and the Stop command

[Marianne]

Penny came to us by way of a woman who had five other Shelties and needed to find Penny a new home as she couldn't give Penny the attention she so deserved. At over four years old, I figured it wasn't going to be easy as Penny wasn't socialized to other people other than her past female owner. Penny is extremely shy (likes woman more than men) and didn't make a sound for about a month once she came to live with us and our older Sheltie Scout and our cat Gilligan. It took many weeks before she'd go near my husband. I thought maybe she was deaf or just a non-barker. After she became adjusted to us, she found her voice. Boy did she find her voice She has lots of little quirks like barking wildly when we leave the house or return, she has taken to body slamming the front door (she weighs 19 pounds) when we leave but not all the time as she's selective, she will sit in the chair by the window looking out and waiting until our return. She walks to the mailbox with me and bark like a crazy woman when I open it (go figure) and does the same when I move the garbage cans to the road. I am sure it is all a Sheltie game. She isn't one to play or fetch things but what she wants is for you to chase her! She will twirl and leap, bark and run off and come back happy as can be and continue to twirl. I can handle all the crazy stuff but what I am having a problem with is the STOP command. When she is off leash, she normally sticks by but sometimes something will spook her and she gets this look in her eyes and I know what's coming. She will take off running towards home because the first thing I taught her was to go to the front door, her safe spot. We live in a rural area with sand streets and not many cars but I want her to STOP when I say STOP off leash. If she is on leash and I say "wait" she will turn around and head for me and sit at my feet. She does the same thing if I say "stop" (coming back to me) but once that leash if off she's free and may head for home no matter what I say. If I say WAIT or STOP and she is only a few feet from me (off leash) she will return to me, but if she gets further away she may decide to head home. She doesn't do it all the time but often enough that I can't trust her. I know she hears me but has one mind set. "Hey mom, I'm going home!" I haven't figured out what I am doing wrong or if anything. Penny has come a long way in the nine months she's been with us. We still have an issue with coming to me (again off leash) as I have to slap my thigh and call to her and maybe she will come or maybe not. Again I feel it's a game for her. I would love for her to STOP on command off leash. Penny personality is somewhat anxious and nervous at times. I suppose it may never come to pass that she will ever STOP on command (therefore I will keep her leashed when necessary) but I am going to keep on trying. I know that look, so on with the leash! Maybe someday she will surprise me. If anyone has a suggestion out there, I'm listening!

 

[graydawntreader]

Rewards that the dog deems worthy to obey help a lot

Try practicing it in a fenced area and richly reward her when she obeys. Most dogs like treat as rewards, but not all dogs. (My dogs do.) Other rewards could be petting, walks, playtime, anything she REALLY loves. Some dogs don't like to be petted while being trained.
Make it fun and rewarding for her is the key.
Until she gets to where you can really trust her offleash, don't go offleash in an unfenced area.
My Shepherd, Cookie, is reliable offleash as long as she is still in the neighborhood, but Treader...once the leash is off, *zoom*, he's already gone.
Good luck.
P.S. You may also want to consider a clicker.
Some info on clickers that I posted in another thread:
http://www.sheltieforums.com/showthread.php?p=1740&highlight=training#post1740

 

[Chris]

I only use the "official" command of "Come" when I can control the girls if they don't obey. Otherwise, I use "casual" phrases like "Over here," "This way," or "C'mon." But I agree: Come and Stop/Wait are tough. I make a sound, sort of like "eh!" in a very sharp tone -- everybody know that when they hear that, don't mess with Mom: she means business!

 

[OntarioSheltie]

For me, treats are the best way to make Sadie come to me. Every once in a while I still bring treats to the park and give them to her when she comes so that she remembers why its fun to come to me

If treats don't work, you can try a toy. Something that she really likes but that she doesn't get all the time. That way its a really good, special reward for coming to you.

Teaching your dog a tug game may be a great way to not only teach her to come all of the time but could also strengthen your bond with her.

Get her a tug toy like a dog rope or braided fleece and encourage her to tug on it (pretty much all dogs love to tug so it shouldn't take you too long to teach her its a fun thing). Once you have her interested in tugging you can teach her rules to the tugging game, like take it and leave it. Like a game of Red Light Green Light, you say 'Take It!' to initiate the game, and 'Leave It!' to stop the game. Give her lots of praise when she does the right thing and make it interesting when she's gotten good at it by throwing in different words and trying to trick her. An important thing to remember though is that this should be a special toy that she does not have access to all of the time.

This is one of Sadie's favorite games, its her reward in her training for agility and flyball.

Good Luck!