How Do I Train My Dog?

Question

My dog's name is Holly, she is a year and a half and i got her for my 12th birthday last year and i never had a dog (of my own) but we had and still have the family dog but he is small. And Holly is really wild and i can't let her sleep in my room because she will eat everything, but i really want to train her.

I want to train her to always stay by me even without a leach, and not run away. I also want to train her to chew on my stuff and to not eat my rat.

I know i should have trained her last year but i was young and didn't know how, so can anyone please tell me how to and don't send me links. Oh and one more thing, if i teach her to do something by giving her a treat next time she will only do it if i have a treat... and i don't want that.

Answer 1

I know you asked for no links (for whatever reason) but you really could benefit from doing some research online and at your local library. You can also ask your veterinarian ... they often have several good books, as well as being a good resource themselves.

I would suggest trying to use a crate at night. Get one large enough for her to be able to go inside and turn around in, but no larger or smaller. She will bark and cry at first, but if you refuse to open the crate for her, she will calm down. It might take a while, but that means you will just have to be even tougher than she is.

I recommend the "nothing in life is free" approach. For example, she doesn't get her dinner unless she sits. She doesn't go for a walk unless she sits and lays down. You won't throw her favorite toy unless she sits and stays.

I know you want Holly to stay by you without a leash, but it's going to take a lot of training WITH a leash before that can happen.

You should also look into some training classes. Many local vets and pet stores will host training classes. They may not be the best, but they're affordable and will probably be very helpful to you.

I think you should also tell your parents that a 12 or 13 year old is a little too young to be solely responsible for the training of a dog. I don't mean anything bad by that, but they should help you out a little bit. After all, they have to live with the dog as well.

Answer 2

Well she's a year and a half old now and it's harder to train an older dog as by now it's formed some habits and gotten some wrong ideas about who is leader. I am figuring you've never trained a dog before? That means you know nothing of how to go about it, but that's not the worst thing in the world! If you approach this with the clear understanding that YOU need to be taught to train as well as the dog needs training you are way ahead of the game. So since the dog is going to be a little harder to train now and you don't know how to go about it this is my suggestion. Rather than try this on your own and possibly make mistakes that would cause you to become frustrated or disheartened, go to a professional trainer and work your dog with them one on one. Make sure you get a good trainer, check with the local training club or ask your vet even. You have a great goal and the right idea but you're going to need some help. And at the end of it you'll have a dog that's well behaved, listens to you and not only that, you will know how to train every dog that comes into your life in the future.

About the treat thing...some dogs are too food oriented and lose any and all concentration using treats. Those dogs shouldn't get treats for training at all. But in your case you have found out 2 things by your dog doing that. #1 he can be motivated to follow a command using treats as a reward. #2 he doesn't listen to you without treats for the simple reason he firmly believes at this point that he dosn't HAVE to. You need some help hun, but trust me your dog can be trained. Good luck :) and let us know how it turns out

P.S. I really don't feel 13 is too young to handle a dog or for you to train it. But do have your parents help you by paying for the trainer to teach you how. Ask for it as an early christmas present or something. It is a good and solid investment for both you and the dog.

Answer 3

start by teaching her the basic sit stay and come. Work with her for about 15 minutes a day on one thing and be consistant with her and firm, and instead of a treat give her love like a hug or something so she knows she was good. You could give her a treat once in a while so that she knows she gets one sometimes but not all the time. You could look at your local library for a book, but when you walk her and you want her to sit have her on your left side and tell her "holly sit" and if she doesn't right away push her butt down until it's on the ground and try to have her do that for a few minutes so that it sorta sinks in that she is sitting. As far as the chewing get her some chew toys and if you cathc her chewing on something you don't want to chew on then tell her no and give her a toy that she can chew on and tell her good girl when she starts chewing on her toy. You might even try to look inot some dog obediance classes so that she gets used to the leash and used to other dogs and people.Good luck I hope that i helped.

Answer 4

Go to the library and get the book "Training Your Retriever"

short book, lots of good information for all breeds, simple instructions.

Don't expect immediate results, but she's still young enough to learn.