alyssadfa
New Member
I have two English Shepherds, both of which are brothers, though from different litters. My oldest, Conner, is 8 months, and the new guy, Puzzle, is 7weeks.
I've grown used to Conner's lack of motivation in training - I thought it was just him.
It seems, however, that his little brother (though much more people orientated) is the same way. I'm hoping someone has ideas for motivation... but I should probably give a bit more detail =)
When Conner (then 12weeks) first arrived at our kennel (where we train service dogs) he was, to say the least, very independent.
-He didn't take food from people - not out of fear, he just didn't care about it
-We could pet him - though on his own terms. He never really saught out attention until about 2 months later. He is still partially this way.
-Walking on a leash? Forget it! He HATED it, and it took me several weeks to get him to comply without him acting like a bucking bronco! - Again, this was not out of fear or uncertainty, this way pure "Don't wanna, Ain't gonna"
He has come a very long way. A lot of this was due to his breeder having kept him alone in a pen for 2 weeks during a very crucial developmental stage (Though we only recently found this out).
ANYWAYS - he still doesn't really care about food. I had to make my own mix of goodies to get him the least bit treat motivated. He is occasionally toy motivated, but not always. And he is definitely not praise motivated. So what else is there? I try to make everything as fun as possible for him, but he would much rather entertain himself. And it's a shame because this dog is WICKED smart
So far, little Puzzle seems to be very similar. He's not very food motivated, nor is he toy motivated. Though, he's only 7weeks old, so who knows what the future may hold as he matures a little more.
I'm open to any suggestions about how to get Conner and Puzzle to enjoy training a little more. I want it to be fun for all involved.
I've grown used to Conner's lack of motivation in training - I thought it was just him.
It seems, however, that his little brother (though much more people orientated) is the same way. I'm hoping someone has ideas for motivation... but I should probably give a bit more detail =)
When Conner (then 12weeks) first arrived at our kennel (where we train service dogs) he was, to say the least, very independent.
-He didn't take food from people - not out of fear, he just didn't care about it
-We could pet him - though on his own terms. He never really saught out attention until about 2 months later. He is still partially this way.
-Walking on a leash? Forget it! He HATED it, and it took me several weeks to get him to comply without him acting like a bucking bronco! - Again, this was not out of fear or uncertainty, this way pure "Don't wanna, Ain't gonna"
He has come a very long way. A lot of this was due to his breeder having kept him alone in a pen for 2 weeks during a very crucial developmental stage (Though we only recently found this out).
ANYWAYS - he still doesn't really care about food. I had to make my own mix of goodies to get him the least bit treat motivated. He is occasionally toy motivated, but not always. And he is definitely not praise motivated. So what else is there? I try to make everything as fun as possible for him, but he would much rather entertain himself. And it's a shame because this dog is WICKED smart
So far, little Puzzle seems to be very similar. He's not very food motivated, nor is he toy motivated. Though, he's only 7weeks old, so who knows what the future may hold as he matures a little more.
I'm open to any suggestions about how to get Conner and Puzzle to enjoy training a little more. I want it to be fun for all involved.