# FreedomStarFarm... Dog advice?



## Trip Trap Mountain (May 1, 2011)

Will try to keep this short...

We adopted Blossom a year ago from our local humane society. She is a small terrier mix. She has come a LONG way in a year. She was from a hoarder... she survived starvation while successfully raising 4 puppies in a horrible conditions, was rescued by the shelter, found her forever home with us only to fall desperately ill with Distemper and Bordetella, SURVIVED against all the odds.... She was so so sick, we almost euthenized. She got distemper from another dog on the ride to be spayed the night before we brought her home. 
Anyways... She has some serious issues. We have worked out most of them. She had some fear aggression with other dogs and some weird food issues but that is all resolved. She walks great on a leash now, the leash pretty much immobilized her to begin with. I try really hard not to spoil her but it's pretty hard b/c she has such a sweet disposition. 
I have been working really hard on getting her to sit which is slow going but slowly happening... but the command come? Forget about it. She just gets scared and runs away. And she is really scared of men. Soft spoken men are ok, but loud big men... freak her out. She loves my husband and he loves her but she is still so skittish around him. When he comes to bed she will leave the room and go in the living room until he is asleep then she comes back. When I am gone she is much better with him. She will very rarely let him pet her and would never curl up beside him. He is very sweet and it makes him sad... but he has a big loud personality. I almost think its a dominance thing... almost like she is scared he will be mad at her for being close to me. Does that make sense?

Here's a little picture for you:


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## freedomstarfarm (Mar 25, 2011)

She is adorable! 
Ok dogs go thru 2 permanent fear imprinting times. One is when they are 8-12 weeks old and the next start at about 6 months length is questionable. During these times things that frighten the dog severally can be permanently imprinted on the dog. These can't be fixed only managed. They will get better thru time. 

Sit can be hard for some dogs. Does she act like it hurts at all? Does she do it but just choose not to all the time? 

Before we even get to come.....  Does she do down? Quickly, whenever you ask?

I always try and remind people not to yell the commands at the dogs. The way you want to say the command is what do the letters C O M E spell? If she is running away when you ask her to come she may have had a bad experience before when she did come to someone.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

> but the command come? Forget about it.


 Put a dog collar on her...and a semi long rope...stand at a short distance away ...but far enough.. to get her to come to you.....as she gets better about coming to you...then make the distance farther away next time.. just by a little......it is best to be outside ...so she doesn't get tangled around things... say "come" in a gentle but meaningful voice....if she doesn't come to you... pull on the rope gently towards you....if she makes a couple of steps towards you ...that is an achievement.... 
don't drag her....just a gentle pull or light tension on the rope......to get her to move forward...try to get her to come to you...getting closer and closer.... have a treat waiting with praise ...when she does get to you..... Only work her for like 15 minutes a day.... she may learn the command to "Come"... good luck.. :hi5:


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## Trip Trap Mountain (May 1, 2011)

OK. She was 2 years when removed from the hoarder so who knows what happens to the poor thing at 6 mos. It was really really bad conditions, I'll spare you the details. I am going to read your whole first paragraph to my husband. It will make him feel better. 

Just today she finally sat on command for me for the first time. She doesn't act like it hurts.. she tucks her tail and scrunches up and moves away in a fearful manner. Then will come back happy for the treat but then when I ask her to sit she acts scared again. Today it finally worked because I had my lab sit for a treat right in front of her... then she did it! 

Yes, she gets down pretty quick, but she very rarely jumps up on people... only on people she knows well... she can sense if they will mind or not. The one time she jumped up on a stranger while on a hike I had her on a leash and pulled her right down... the lady laughed and said oh, no I love it! and called her right back up for a pat. It's like she knew this was the one person we passed that wanted her. 

She will come if things are all normal.. but if anything has spooked her she just tucks tail and runs. I worry that if we are ever out hiking, etc. and she gets loose.. and something scares her... she won't come to me when I call.


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## freedomstarfarm (Mar 25, 2011)

Yes he should never think it is him. It is for sure from the dogs past. 

Dogs are like monkeys and they do learn very well from seeing other dogs do the actions. 

Thats good that she doesn't jump on people. 
By down I actually meant lay down. Does she lay down for you? This is much more of a give in than sit and is more important in my opinion. 

If you get her to down (lay down) quickly on your command it can really help you with the come. If she ever was to get off leash when hiking you would immediately tell her to down then you could go get her or then have her come. When a dog is scared or really excited they have a harder time listening to come but a good down will always save the day. If that all made sense. 

To teach come I will try and make a little video to show you since some things are so hard to explain. I will do a down video also if you would like.


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## CapriGem (May 12, 2010)

I have a rescued papillion that had no training. She didn't even know "sit". It was a joke to call her as she just looked at me or walked away.

What worked for me was to carry some small tidbits of yummy treats with me while in the house. I started by just giving her a litttle treat here and there when she was near me. 

Once she realized I was a walking treat dispenser I added calling her name before giving the treat.

Then I waited until she was out of sight and called her, treating when she came when called.

After a few days she was responding well when called and now I don't need treats at all.

Once she came when called I started making her sit before she got the treat. She sits well now and also decided to be crate trained after seeing my 2 australian shep mix boys get treats for getting in their crate. She wanted a treat too and started getting in the extra crate I have in the kitchen.

She now goes to lay down in her crate when I go out to milk, she just likes laying in there and waiting for me to come back inside with her sip of goat milk. I leave the crate door open so she can relax in there if she chooses and she does use it voluntarily.

It also helps to have a daily schedule of sorts.

Good luck it may take time but she'll come around.


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## freedomstarfarm (Mar 25, 2011)

Jodi it is great that you give her the crate option. Wild dogs are a den animal. Most domestic dogs love to have a little home be it a crate, box or laundry basket like in the photo.


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## Trip Trap Mountain (May 1, 2011)

down video would be great. thank you so much! and no she won't lay down either. i have barely scratched the surface of sit... didn't even think about lay down. i think the treat has a lot to do with it too... there was some horrible fighting over food in her past, major survival of the fittest (notice the scars on her face)... so i think any time food is involved she panics. she either rushes in to grab it and then runs away to eat it or just tucks tail and runs. we have been working on her eating as a pack with our labs to help her learn some better behavior but b/c she is so nervous about it we normally let her eat alone. 

i should probably break down and get her some professional training but i keep spending money on goats instead.


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## freedomstarfarm (Mar 25, 2011)

I don't use any food at all when I am training. My methods are all based on dog psychology. You don't need food I think that it is great for some dog to learn tricks but over all unreliable. 

I will make a few videos most likey not till this weekend. 
Lets see what we can accomplish long distance. :greengrin: 
I unfortunatly don't have faith in most dog trainers and would hate for you to spend any money. Save it for the goats! :wink:


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## Trip Trap Mountain (May 1, 2011)

freedomstarfarm said:


> I don't use any food at all when I am training. My methods are all based on dog psychology. You don't need food I think that it is great for some dog to learn tricks but over all unreliable.
> 
> I will make a few videos most likey not till this weekend.
> Lets see what we can accomplish long distance. :greengrin:
> I unfortunatly don't have faith in most dog trainers and would hate for you to spend any money. Save it for the goats! :wink:


Awesome!!! Thank you so much! I know if I can figure a way to train without treats she will do so much better. I just didn't know how to go about it.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

> I don't use any food at all when I am training. My methods are all based on dog psychology. You don't need food I think that it is great for some dog to learn tricks but over all unreliable.


 I am sorry but... I disagree ...I have had success doing treats to start them out....... as the animal gets better at what you are teaching them...... then...instead of treats every time... you reward with praise petting them and saying "good dog" .... and give a treat every once in a while... everyone has their own methods... there are tons of them... :wink:


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## freedomstarfarm (Mar 25, 2011)

I am sure people have wonderful success with treats and that is great! I will never discredit the power of food for training. I just personally don't train with it.


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## freedomstarfarm (Mar 25, 2011)

I use lots of praise and positive attention. 
I found that in some instances with some dogs food became unreliable. If a client was on a walk with their dog and their dog decided to bolt after a squirrel or got fixated on another dog those clients could have waive a steak in front of the dog and not gotten their attention of what they were fixated on. So for me I choose to train in a way that I know the dog will listen to me no matter what. If there is a way to get that with food I am all for it. 
In TripTraps case like many dogs I have worked with the dog has food issues and therefore food isn't the best monitor for her situation.


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## Trip Trap Mountain (May 1, 2011)

toth boer goats said:


> > I don't use any food at all when I am training. My methods are all based on dog psychology. You don't need food I think that it is great for some dog to learn tricks but over all unreliable.
> 
> 
> I am sorry but... I disagree ...I have had success doing treats to start them out....... as the animal gets better at what you are teaching them...... then...instead of treats every time... you reward with praise petting them and saying "good dog" .... and give a treat every once in a while... everyone has their own methods... there are tons of them... :wink:


treats worked great with our labs... but this little dog in question has some serious food issues. treats freak her out rather than make her feel good. she feels like when she gets one she will be attacked.  poor girl.


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## freedomstarfarm (Mar 25, 2011)

We will figure out how to help get her thru this and trained well. The main thing is a loving committed person such as you.  
Oh and I meant to say motivator not monitor like my spell check switched it to.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Hope it all works out for you and your pup..... good luck.... :hug:


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## Trip Trap Mountain (May 1, 2011)

thanks pam!!


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