[Pixi7272]

So I can't get my little white boy to do anything for a treat but sit.... HE STARES AT THE TREAT OR THE HAND HE THINKS its in... SO all he does is sit stare blow bubbles and drool all over the floor.... I just don't know what to do .. I even try to use my older fawn to show him what I want... I will ask Brannon to sit and I give him a treat and then I ask Brannon to Lay and I give him a treat... But all Winston does it stare at the treat... Any ideas???? Winston is very stubborn and I can work with that on some levels... But this staring at the treat and not doing anything is making me crazy!!! So any suggestions are welcome.

***edit** I forgot to add something...

The other thing he does is if I am trying to work with him on Lay down when I take the treat near his nose and then down towards the floor as I get close to the floor he stands up so his head is closer... Any thoughts??

 

[msdiamonddawg]

When I taught Tango to lay down, he did the same thing.  What I did was as soon as he stood up I gently pushed his back end down and said "down" and it seemed to work...  Needed to do it over and over though....

 

[lulu]

Practice, small sessions and praise like crazy when they do it right.

 

[g00dgirl]

Use the treat to direct him.  Sitting should be easy just bring the treat over his head and as he follows the treat with his nose he should naturally sit.
As for down, I gently held Felix's butt down with one hand and brought the treat to the ground with the other.
Maybe in his case it would be better to train AFTER feeding him, and use less exciting treats... lol.
Good luck!

 

[samsonsmom]

I had the hardest time with Angel teaching "sit", show dogs are not taught that command. I think it took me well over a month..Now she sits soo pretty anytime I go into the kitchen :lol: If he's that fixated on treats, use that to your advantage, teach "leave it"...lay a treat on the floor very close to you, wave your hand over the top of it and repeat "leave it", keep waving your hand..If he breaks his sit, scoop up the treat and start again..Keep sessions short tho...Teaching "down" was always hard for me, mine have never mastered that, but they do "wait" very well

 

[AshleysMom]

Well, your post states he is already in a "sit" when the treats come out..so your half way there. Boxers CAN learn from others fairly well, but you have to keep in mind the mentality of them..HE thinks if he takes his eyes off the treat..your going to give it to the other dog..probaby causing the stress you see ( The bubbles..snorting..ect ).
Just my opinion, but I really think you need some one on one time with your boy. Try short ( as listed above ) times, where you can be alone to do the "down" command. and yes..they might get it for a second..and pop up..but each time..your making progress. The "down" for me worked best by figuring WHICH treat is the dogs favorite..once in "sit" palm the treat and bring it to his nose..then UNDER his chin..following the chest and legs to the floor..A natural reaction is once that chin goes down..the front legs start sliding out..and the dog should follow your hand to the floor..Treat, and praise..IMMEDIATELY...remember..its not a contest to see if he can maintain that position..as he WON'T for quite some time.
Bets of lucj on getting him to get this down!
And Willow..I know how tough it is..my first female..would NOT sit even till she was out of the ring for almost a year...great for showing..crappy for us...at least she never became a "treat jumper"!!

 

[Pixi7272]

I want to say thank you so much for the suggestions... I started as soon as suggestions came in... I tried holding him bum in place so he could not pop up and the was the first time he actually went into a down! ! ! ! This was also right after he had eaten for the most part. So both of these suggestions worked. Thank you. I am also going to try using the fixation to my advantage with "leave it" . It had never even occurred to me to use this to my advantage... I am hoping that on Sundays when my husband is home we can start working with the dogs together on training so they are each getting some one on one work... But I was so excited he actually "down" like 6-8 times I was crazy happy for him... We are also going to start working with no jumping as people come in the door. I feel like I have some training confidence again. Thank you all for the suggestions. I will keep you updated as we progress with this "down" situation!!!!!!!!!

 

[samsonsmom]

Glad to hear you are seeeing some progress, that is awesome....

 

[mylittledeers]

Glad to hear you're making progress   As far as not jumping on people as they arrive, ask your guests not to look at, talk to or touch your dogs until they are calm or sit quietly whichever you prefer. We actually have this posted on our door and IMO it's harder to teach the people this behavior than the dogs. If everybody co-operates however, it works great. The dogs get excited over people coming to see THEM! Once they think that isn't the case they settle pretty quickly.
As far as the one on one time, I sooooo agree. I tried working with Blitz when Donner was around, with pretty limited success. Especially with hand commands, she just can't watch us both at the same time The more we have some "girl time" the more her confidence and focus improves. Good luck, let us know how it's going.