This is my first Corgi puppy to train on my own. ekk! He is pretty laid back and well behaved but he has the attitude of not listening, like a teenager. He is 5 months old. I have a few puppy training books but cannot seem to figure out where to start. I have been working on come for about a week now and he will only come if i am outside with him or he sees a bag of treats..how do i/when should i ween out the treats? After come what should I work on, sit, stay, place!!? i just don't know. Please let me know any feedback you have or worked for you and your corgi's! Thanks so so much :)
Thor and Carrie
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We're signing up for Puppy Kindergarten/S.T.A.R. puppy program locally, but you can find places that offer it via the AKC site directly.
Maybe there's something similar in your area?
We also did the AKC but basic obedience...I recommend it...I learned as much as the dogs, haha....
Thanks for the ideas. I know there is a few obedience classes around here
oh that's good to hear, i'm very excited for it!
First I would suggest "sit" Do you have someone who can "help" you? A good way to learn "come" is to have another person hold the pup and you go maybe 15 feet away. When you say "come" they let go of the collar and when he "comes to you then he gets a treat. You will want to work on bringing him close enough for you to grab his collar and by bringing the treat closer into you that can happen. I would get these 2 1st and then work on down. Stay will take awhile. Treats are important cheap hot dogs and string cheese cut in tiny pieces work great and you will need to use them for quite awhile. Do remember to only use the word once...."puppy come" don't comtinue to say "come,come come" I see this often and we as people need to be patient...it won't happen overnight but once he catches on...it will work. I could go on more but this will work for 1st. Also at some point you will want to have a word for the emergancy recall which is the most important word he will have...
Thanks for the ideas. I will get someone else in on it with me maybe that will help too!
A class with a positive trainer will be your best bet but you can do alot before you start a class. With the recall I always start with a leash and when the puppy focuses on something before me I say "puppys name..Come" using my best party voice. You can also start backwards a little because that will trigger his instinct to follow. If he doesn't come right away, use the leash to gentle bring him your way. Only use the recall at first when you can bring him to you not when he is free to ignore you and never when you are going to scold him. His name should not be associated with punishment. Also, sit is an easy one especially at meals. Just hold the treat in front of him and gradually bring it up a little, if he doesn't sit automatically, gently bring his butt to the floor (not by pushing down but by coming in with your hand behind his hind legs) immediately say sit and give a treat. I randomly use treats and praise after the puppy gets the idea for all but recalls. With recalls I start with something yummy (little hot dog pieces are much loved) and gradually switch to easier stuff like commercial treats but always use a treat. That way when you really need a recall to work the dog will not wonder if I have one :) If I am out without a treat my dogs will still come even without treats because they know I usually have them. There are lots of books and articles on training tricks and corgis seem to love learning them so have fun.
Agree with Bev about the "fun" party voice:)
Just keep working with him, it takes time and practice. Snickers is 5 years old and she still ignores me if there is something interesting to sniff. Little brat!
If you've never trained a dog on your own I would highly recommend a basic obedience class with a positive based trainer. He is way too young to phase out the treats yet IMO. You can work on training multiple commands, but keep the sessions short, less than 5 minutes. His attention span is short and corgis are kind of known for not caring to repeat commands over and over. Make sure you always make training fun and end on a happy note, no matter how frustrated you may be with his performance. I would start with sit and down. For come you can try calling his name and then running off a bit so he chases you, and always reward him when he comes to you. I would not use the command "come" unless he has a leash on and you can pull him to you if he decides he doesn't feel like it.
I agree with Jane on not phasing out treats. Until he's about a year old he should really always get treats for everything he does. There's a thread on teaching "come" in the FAQ. For puppies, everything should be like a game; keep it short, keep it fun, train when you are the most interesting thing around, and only train when you know you are going to get the response you want. Every time you say a command and he ignores you you are teaching him that listening is something he can do or not, as he sees fit.
I also agree that if this is the first dog you are training on your own, classes are great. Sit and come should ideally be started at around ten weeks of age; they listen better when they are younger. It's never too late to start though!
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