[mjblp]

Hi, I'm new here on the forum and have been reading as many threads as I can to gain as much knowledge as I can. I'm a first time dog owner. I rescued Twister about 3 weeks ago. Twister is a 1 yr. old Dachshund/terrier/beagle mix. He is very smart and layed back. Seems to pick up on the training very fast. Here's my question, a trainer told me to start rapid firing his name and give him a treat each time so that he gets used to coming to me when I call him. Then start calling him in different places of the house and when he comes to treat him. He definately picked up on the game on the first try. I was wondering how many treats should I give him? I've been breaking them up into small pieces. But I wonder if I could be feeding him too many........last night was the first night I tried it. I can't get away with carrying treats in my pocket because of his super sniffer Last night I worked with him for about 10 minutes and ran out of treats. Then went back for a few to put in my pocket to try later when he was distracted and all he did was sit and stare at me knowing I had treats. Any suggestions on what I can do to make him unaware I have treats (without having to buy a treat pouch)? Right now I carry them in a zippy but he already knows that's the treat bag.

 

[mjblp]

Me again, I just uploaded some pics of Twister. Here's my little man

 

[Nil]

He's very cute and looks very eager! If he is super food motivated you can always try using parts of his breakfast or dinner in the training too. For example, taking 1/3 of his breakfast and mixing it up with some other really good valuable treats as a sort of "training trail mix". Use this trail mix throughout the day. I like doing shorter sessions that are super fun and motivating. So I would maybe play the come game or work on sit/down/etc. for 5-6 minutes then use my "training is over" word. For my dogs I use "All done".

So it goes training, super motivating, fun, then I will end with a big jackpot if she did it correctly then say "all done!" in a cheerful voice. After I say "all done" I walk away and start doing chores or whatever. My dogs have picked up on the fact that "all done" means you can follow me and do whatever but I am busy and not going to be giving treats or giving you attention. Later in the day when I want to do more training I will call them over and start up another training session.

Edit: On days I am trying to train something new and want to test it in a bunch of places I will wear some old jeans and put my treats in the pockets. So I always have them ready but they aren't out in sight.

 

[Amaryllis]

He is super cute!

My husband and I feed Kabota half his food during training. (The other half is fed in feeding toys, we don't use bowls at all anymore.) Most of it is just "look at me" or recall work, because he wasn't that responsive when we got him. It's really paid off, not only does he come when called reliably, but he now follows us around, tail wagging.

We both use "all done", too, with a hands out, palms facing the dog "no more" gesture when more formal sit-down-stay training is over.

I'd be careful about leaving treats in your pockets. My husband took a nap one day and woke to Kabota with his head stuffed all the way in his pocket. When I say my dog is food motivated, I mean it! :lol:

 

[mjblp]

Thanks for your replies! Your advice is really helpful. We'll be starting beginner training on Aug 3rd In the meantime I'm going to just keep practicing.