I have 2 dogs. A Yorkshire Terrier and a Chihuahua. They're both 1 year and 4 months old. I would really love to teach my dogs tricks. From what I'm seeing my Yorkie is a bit more intelligent. Is it to late to teach my dogs tricks? If not can someone tell me a method for teaching dogs? I've tried all I can think of to teach them but they won't even learn SIT. Please help me~
2006-08-11 22:08:40 · 12 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Dogs
It's never too late to teach dogs - they learn every day from you. One book that I would recommend is "Catch Your Dog Doing Something Right" by Krista Cantrell -- there's a set of easy quick tests that you can give each dog to figure out it's learning style, and then there are tons of suggestions on ways to train your dog.
One thing to remember is that dogs WANT to do the right thing and to do what we want them to. They want to please us -- we just have to teach them our language. This takes consistency and patience. And sometimes, you'll need to teach the same lesson in more than one place - because dogs can be very location specific when learning things. If you use Krista's suggestions, you'll help your dog not just to obey but to think too.
And one more suggestion -- be excited! Have fun! Praise your dog when it does something right. Your dog will sense your enthusiasm and will want to do more.
I have a Silky Terrier (very similar to a Yorkie) and her suggestions have helped a lot in training my dog.
2006-08-12 01:09:29 · answer #1 · answered by Elisa D 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I find that Chihuahuas in particular learn better after a year old (don't know why, it's just the case with mine). Having said that.
Method 1. Take a favored treat (cheese works great for my guys). Hold the treat above their nose and move it back toward their hind end. They should sit (it doesn't always work though and may take some patience). AS they are sitting, say SIT.
Method 2. Catch them in the act. Keep treats with you and go about your business. Watch them closely though. When you see them about to perform a behavior you want, say the command AS they are doing it. Then treat them.
Method 3. Clicker training. Look this one up, I don't use it but people have great success with it.
Once you have one dog doing what you want, the other will be easier to train. Give the command and when the trained dog complies, give it a treat. Give the command to the other dog, when it doesn't do it and the other does, give the treat to whoever does the command. Only give treats to whoever complies. Eventually the other dog will try to figure out why they are getting anything. I do this all the time to my guys.
Of course there are other methods and you should explore until you find the ones that work for you and your dogs.
2006-08-12 06:05:19 · answer #2 · answered by SabrinaD 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The year one may take a while I should no I have a boston terri who's a year old and shes hard to train but the 4 month one has a good chance try showing them the trick and if they do it right give them a treat like a peace of cheese or a dog treat.
2006-08-12 05:16:23 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you treat them like they're your babies, they will be less willing to learn tricks or even how to sit from you. To get them to obey you need to be the boss. Only praise good behavior for example. For tricks, just keep repeating the verbal command and for "shake" you grab their paw and shake it. Expect to spend more than a few minutes doing this. Consistency is very important when training dogs. Keep it up and they'll learn. Even old dogs can learn new tricks.
2006-08-12 05:16:46 · answer #4 · answered by cricket 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It helps quite a bit to use doggie treats. Also, use very simple one word commands and a hand gesture. For example, when you tell your dogs to stay, put your hand out with the Open palm facing the dog. Teaching a dog to "shake" is usually an easy trick to start.
2006-08-12 05:17:29 · answer #5 · answered by demuse 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
don't listen to TROLLHEAR. we both know he is just being a female dog,right,lol. anyway when you are training your dog you have to be patiant with them or they will sence that you arent being joyfull so they wont listen.when you tell them to sit you have to say SIT and push their botoms down just a little then they just sit the reast of the way. so they say in their heads "if i sit then i get a treat oh so when i hear sit then i will sit so that i can just get food" then the rest they will just catch on to the rest of it. sorry i coudent help any more. good luck!
2006-08-12 05:21:22 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
no you an always take them to a dog trainer thats what my friend did
2006-08-12 05:39:28 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm in the same boat.I hope he will be an angel soon.Best of luck.
2006-08-12 05:20:23 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
A dog is only as smart as its owner.
2006-08-12 05:10:23 · answer #9 · answered by Trollhair 6 · 0⤊ 2⤋
IT WOULD BE BETTER TO TEACH THEM WHEN THEY ARE YOUNG BUT NO AGE IS TOO OLD.
2006-08-12 05:11:41 · answer #10 · answered by Stephanie 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋