How Do I Train A Playful Cockapoo.?
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My little dog is playful..but when it comes to obediance, he just turns it into fun and games. Any Tips?
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From Vivian Bregman’s training article entitled
CIVILIZE YOUR DOG
The purpose of obedience training is to teach your dog to be a well-mannered companion, who is responsive to your commands and who looks to you for leadership. The process of training should be enjoyable for you both, and enhance the bond between you as well.
How Dogs Learn
Dogs learn by associating an action with a consequence. If the consequence is pleasurable, the dog will tend to repeat the behavior. If the consequence is unpleasant, he will tend not to repeat the behavior.
In training you show your dog the action you wish, helping him to perform it by luring him with food or a toy, or by collar pressures. When he performs the action, you immediately provide a pleasant consequence, by rewarding him with a special praise word and giving him a small treat. This is called “positive reinforcement,” and will cause your dog, after several repetitions, to repeat the action.
If you give your dog a command word at the same time that he performs the behavior, he will learn to associate the behavior with the command.
For example, in order to teach your dog to sit, say the command SIT as you help him to do it. This can be done by luring his head up with food or a toy held in your hand, which will cause his rear to sink into a sit, or by use of collar pressure coupled with the pressure of your hand on his rump. The instant he sits, say his special praise word and give him a tiny treat. After many repetitions of this he will make the association between the command word SIT and the act of sitting. He will learn to obey the command by being positively reinforced by your praise word and a treat.
Using A Special Word to Speed Learning
You can speed up your dog’s learning a lot by using a very special praise word reserved for the purpose of telling him that the action he is performing is correct and that he will be reinforced for it. You can also use a “clicker” instead of a special word. (Dolphin and killer whale trainers use a whistle for this purpose. You’ve probably seen this at dolphin shows or on TV. The whistle tells the dolphin that what he did was correct, and he can get a fish to eat.) We suggest using a single word such as “great” or “yes” or “wow” that is different from general praise words like “good boy.”
You dog will first need to learn that this special sound, called a “conditioned reinforcer” means something. Teach this at home by saying the word (or clicking your clicker if you are using one) and immediately giving the dog a tiny, succulent food treat. The order is very important. FIRST you say the word, THEN you give the treat. Your dog shouldn’t be doing anything special, just say the word and toss the treat. After several repetitions of this you will see your dog startle and look at you when you say the word. That means that he has learned that it means “a goodie is coming.” Now you can use your conditioned reinforcer to clearly tell him he has performed an action correctly and will be reinforced for it, with food, a toy, praise, play, or all three.
In order for this to work, you must find something your dog likes and will work for that you can couple with your conditioned reinforcer. For most dogs, tiny pieces of soft, tasty food work best. We suggest tiny pieces of hot dog, cheese, soft-moist cat food, or lunch meat. Buy a cheap belt pack to carry the food in when you are training and at class. Once your dog has learned commands, you will not need to carry food, and can reinforce with praise, petting and play, but using food initially will help him learn much faster.
Remember that your conditioned reinforcer must be given the instant the dog obeys your command and while he is still performing the behavior, and not several seconds later. You will need to train him daily in order for commands to become part of his long-term memory. He needs to be quiet and controlled while you are teaching him. He can’t learn if he is wildly excited or not paying attention to you. Therefore, begin his training in quiet, familiar places, and add distractions later as he becomes proficient in his commands.
As you start this obedience course, it will seem like there is a huge amount of things you need to learn and remember – new words, new ways of handling your dog, and new ways of relating to him. Don’t worry about trying to learn it all at once. It will all be repeated over the weeks of the course and you’ll find it becomes second nature as you gradually train your dog. Just relax and have fun.
And remember these three things that form the cornerstone of dog training:
PATIENCE
PRACTICE
PERSEVERANCE
It should take a while to teach the dog all this stuff. I am being vague on purpose!! Don’t panic if the dog doesn’t seem to be catching on in one week. Training takes time. If you doubt that the dog is making any progress, keep a training diary. This will help you see just how often you are training (once a week won’t work) and you will be able to see that you ARE getting somewhere.
Best of luck with your Cockapoo!
You need to show him who the leader of the pack is, and that is you… there is what is called clicker training , where you get a clicker, and when you want them to do something you click it. when they do the task, you praise them,. when not.. they get no praise.. they soon learn it is more fun to get the praise than not.. You may have to growl at him, or make a shhhh sound at him to get his attention.. that is another way of training.. but he just needs to know who is boss,, and what number he is in the pecking order..
try this. teach your dog to sit. call it by name and tell it to sit. you have to put your hand over his hips and gently push him into a sitting position. once u have it in sitting position call it by name and say stay. dogs r usually intelligent so it want take two many times of doing both to teach it. once you get it to obey sit and stay, try this walk into another room for a few moments to check if you have taught enough. when it is not supose to be playfull give him the command sit and stay. GL
What would you like it to do…….poo?
Try using a harse tone of voice when training him also, ignore her or continue with your harse voice to control her if she trys to be funny and playful during training. Remember, do not laugh, smile or join in her fun when you are triaining him as he won’t know the difference between training and play time until u set it clear to him.
Ease up when training completes, cuddle her, treat her, etc.
Well first of all, you make the cockapoo poo. then the cockapoo will love you (Y)