She's a sweet border collie/sheltie mix, probably about 18 months old. We feel that in her past life she was a bit neglected. She is well mannered but it seems she does not know how to play typical dog games such as tug of war, catch and a few others I'm not going to go into now. I know that some of these games require training and lots of patience. Well anyways I would like to start teaching her how to catch small treats. Right now I will toss her favorite treat to her and she just stares at me and does not even attempt to catch it. She will wait until it lands and then go get it. Any thoughts on how to help her learn how to catch?
2007-06-15 09:52:30 · 11 answers · asked by Sonnie S 4 in Pets ➔ Dogs
Try stadning right in front of her, holding it right in front of her. Then move it up just a bit, so she has to tilt her head back a bit to look at it. Hopefully, her mouth will be open and you can drop it in. Pick a word you want to use, like "catch" and say it the very second it touches her mouth. Once she catches on to that, you can try it from just a bit further away - you need to take it in slow stages with her.
I hope you're working on socializing her too - that's more important for her than learning tricks right now. She needs to gain (or re-gain) some self confidence. Try doing some obedience with her, just at home for now. Use lots of praise and treats, make lessons short and fun. Dogs gain confidence from success so this should help her out. Besides, both border collies and shelties are really intelligent dogs who are happiest when they're mentally stimulated as well as exercised.
2007-06-15 09:58:57 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
That is submissive behavior... The dog will wait until the food is on the ground before touching it. You don't say how long you have had the dog. We too adopted a collie mix, and it took him about 3-6 months before he was really comfortable in our place. He had been through so much that it just took him a while to see he was staying and wasn't going to be treated poorly. After that, teaching him to play was easy. He now tugs with the best, and plays fetch (though getting him to give it up is still a little hard) and he catches treats like a pro.
Just be patient. The dog is adjusting (some dogs take longer than others!)
Good luck, and thank you for adopting a dog rather than purchasing!
2007-06-15 17:03:29 · answer #2 · answered by Jocelyn7777 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Give your dog a LOT of LOVE. She needs TLC especially if she was neglected. Give her LOTS of hugs and affection. Take her for nice long walks and don't yank on her leash unless there is danger. She is simply scared because of how she was treated in the past. When she sees that you love and adore her she will learn to trust you and will learn the typical doggie games. She will be the best friend you could ask for and will give you years and years of caring friendship. She is part of the family and needs to know that. She is afterall a human being like the rest of us. If there are other dogs her size in the neighborhood try to get them together. Maybe she was treated bad in the past for doing something and is now scared to play. Which is way too sad to even think about, but there are horrible people out there who should go to jail for animal abuse. Again all your new daughter needs is extra special LOVE AND ATTENTION.
2007-06-15 17:04:02 · answer #3 · answered by Ginny M 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
do not push this dog, she needs time & patience. you are trying to get her to do to much at one time & confusing her
shelties are by nature very shy dogs so some is the breed. you don't toss something TO her you want her to catch, you toss it up in the air - not very high - but up in the air. she just may never do that too. tug of war is not a good thing to teach any dog IMO as it encourages aggressiveness
this dog needs a lot of exercise in the form of walks - several a day. I would advise using a harness for walking, not the collar.
give her time to settle in
2007-06-15 17:00:53 · answer #4 · answered by sadiejane 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
That is so sweet and wonderful of you to adopt this timid dog. It's going to take a lot of time and patience. She was probably as you say neglected and just totally ignored.
With your help and guidance I'm positive she will blossom into a great dog. Like I said it takes time and you sound like the type of person that is willing to work with her. Good luck.
2007-06-15 16:59:14 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
The best way I've found yet, and some times your dog just won't cooperate. But, Put the treat on the end of her nose. Instinct will most likely make her attempt to catch it when it falls off. She'll get better at it. Have you made sure she's not blind? I know it sounds rude, but it's pretty common.
2007-06-15 17:00:46 · answer #6 · answered by Shelly M 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Patience! Patience!
Right now, the dog is probably freaked out from all the moving around.
Let her get used to the idea this is now her home, it will be tomorrow and the day after that. Just be patient, do what you are doing.It'll come.
PS what's her name?
2007-06-15 16:58:39 · answer #7 · answered by Barry auh2o 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Some dogs just aren't into that.. my beagle bassett mix doesn't fetch.. he waits for it to drop and then finds it.. With a border collie/sheltie mix you may want to find ways of going with the herding behavior (both breeds mentioned are herders).. what I do with my hound is hide things that he has to sniff out.. goes with the hounds natural instinct.
2007-06-15 16:57:48 · answer #8 · answered by kaijawitch 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
My dog knows how to catch.
Start with the food right above your dog's head and drop it. If it drops on his head, don't worry, he will start to realize it's coming from above and look up. In a while he should anticipate this and begin to open his mouth and it will fall right it. Once he can do it from right above his head, you can start adding distance. It can take a while for dogs to learn to judge distance well enough to catch.
And socializing and working on teaching him to play will help too -- and be really good for him!
2007-06-15 17:21:05 · answer #9 · answered by Carrie O'Labrador 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Hi Sonnie,
your best bet would be to check out:
http://usefulresources.info/dogtrainingsecrets.html
It's the best dog training resource I've come across so far and is suitable for all dogs. I'm very satisfied with the positive results brought by their step by step program.
Hope that helps! :-)
Best wishes,
Kimberly
2007-06-16 08:36:48 · answer #10 · answered by Kimberly 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋