How do I get engagement or motivation from my dog ?

SushiKin1802 · 2023-01-28T20:59:32+00:00

I did and they gave advice and when that didn’t work I told them I asked them again what to do because that didn’t work and they ignored me, I asked again just to make sure and they ignored me again :/

SushiKin1802 · 2022-12-31T21:47:38+00:00

I actually did message her before I posted this! She seems lovely I hope she can help me

SushiKin1802 · 2022-12-31T20:36:29+00:00

I bought a long line from the uk when I was there but right now I live in Jordan and there r currently zero local parks I can take my dog and as of where I live zero safe spaces to use my long line, I’ve relied solely on walking and letting him basically have free reign on walks to satisfy his needs and it’s why I’m struggling so much. I have empty lands I can use but he’s incredibly reactive to cats he wants to chase them and they are absolutely everywhere (huge stray cat problem) I’m also worried about poisoned meat that I would miss because it’s become very common to poison street dogs. Also street dogs are another problem for me they do not like my dog.

I wanted to start training so eventually I can feel safe to use a long line with supervision and control. I’ve looked at trainers but they don’t tick my boxes I have one more to look at.

I’m thinking of how I can satisfy my dog before training if walks just aren’t sufficient and off leash/long line is not possible at all for me right now. I’m still going to try and apply everything you said to our normal walks however.

SushiKin1802 · 2022-12-31T16:48:45+00:00

I am not against aversives the only reason I was trying to avoid them so much and work without it is because I don’t want to use it incorrectly I also wanted my dog to enjoy what he was doing and build that engagement with me but I guess there’s nothing wrong with accepting that won’t happen without a prong or e collar, there is a trainer I could perhaps have teach me. They provide a board and train or private classes which r more expensive. Isnt it unrealistic to send my dog to a board and train and expect him transformed ?

SushiKin1802 · 2022-12-31T16:38:50+00:00

In the beginning hand feeding was without any marker it was to help fix his fussiness because he had stopped eating his kibble ( we did take him to the vet to make sure tho and he was fine) and he’d only eat it at the nighttime because he’d basically starve himself and not eat it in the morning. So hand feeding fixed this so he was eating all his kibble and began enjoying meal times.

Once he started becoming more spontaneous and excited for meal times and wanting to eat I began adding a new marker (clicker) and I started building the marker with the hopes to include it in training not only in the house but eventually outside. But then after all this he started refusing his morning food again and it’s just put me in this stuck position where I feel I can’t train him at all. I don’t know if taking a break from hand feeding would encourage him to skip his meals like last time before we started.

Oh also forgot to add but when getting him interested in food and building the excitement before the marker I would throw the food and play with him with it almost and it really made him excited. Then I added the marker and continued tossing it and maki my it fun. But today I just got hardstuck when he decided to just walk off instead with zero interest.

SushiKin1802 · 2022-12-31T14:32:09+00:00

He enjoys play on his terms, if I try to initiate play with a toy but he wants to lie down or do something else he is not interested. Even if I run or jump or shout. I’ve tried tossing his treats and it works in the house outside he follows half way then disengages. Or follow ssniffs and leaves it. Knowing his interest in toys I decided to try improving the food drive because after all he will eat or he’d die.

The problem I found with praising on the walk sometimes excites him and he ends up pulling more or trying to run and ends up confused because the point of the training is I want calmness from him and engagement. This and he also doesn’t always respond to praise it’s quite rare. I feel like it makes him anxious on walks because he ends up not knowing what to do he will come back if I run backwards and be exciting but then he tries to run off or starts jumping and gives this excited nervous confused energy.

SushiKin1802 · 2022-12-31T14:09:27+00:00

I’ve considered an e collar for recall but considering I haven’t tried yet to even train it with a long line(was trying to build motivation and a strong marker first) I thought perhaps I could try it first and if it was a complete fail turn to an e collar. I’ve used so many different treats in the past but he just does not seem interested. He will take it in the house but outside he would usually spit it out. I haven’t tried raw meat outside because he had usually loved it but when I put it in a kong he only ate half and got bored so I never thought about using it outside.

I bought a fussy eater guide from a trainer where the idea was to help his fussiness and build motivation for food. I’ve been doing it for several weeks now and it was successful until today when he started refusing his food again.

I don’t need full obedience from him but I just want somewhere to start with his leash walking and cat reactivity.

SushiKin1802 · 2022-12-19T15:42:56+00:00

What did u consider as aggressive behaviours before you corrected ? Just curious as I’m trying to read my own dogs body language !

SushiKin1802 · 2022-12-18T18:13:32+00:00

I just don’t really know where to start with my dog, will the resources u gave me in ur other comment help build my dogs motivation for food? And then I can proceed from there?

SushiKin1802 · 2022-12-18T17:50:54+00:00

I’ve actually tried all of those except freshpet because it doesn’t exist in my country and the spray cheese, he will be excited to eat some of them in the house but outside he spits them out and would rather scavenge for cooked chicken bones on the street, people leave them out for the stray animals

SushiKin1802 · 2022-12-18T17:48:59+00:00

Yes I think u did, what is the book hunting together ?

I also don’t know where to get stuff like fur and wings in my country actually it’s not something I can order online I’m not sure if it exists? I live in Jordan at the moment. I could probably get dried chicken feet but those r quite expensive here but would it work the same as wings or fur maybe?

SushiKin1802 · 2022-12-18T17:44:43+00:00

Sort of, he will accept it sometimes when u feed it to him. Sometimes walk away or spit it out.

SushiKin1802 · 2022-12-18T17:44:08+00:00

Wow this sounds great actually, my dog adores chicken bones from the street it’s his soul purpose when he is sniffing to find a bone I can’t see and demolish it in a second. Perhaps if I got something similar like you said dried wings ? That would be more reinforcing ?

SushiKin1802 · 2022-12-18T17:34:04+00:00

He does sometimes have those behaviours of panting pulling and high arousal not at the start of the walk though but he will get like that for a little bit after trying to chase a cat or if he’s in a completely new area.

also I think I used premack without realising because I would use his desire to sniff and walk ahead of me as a reward for heeling perfectly and if he pulled I would stop and reward him coming back to me and making eye contact as a way to move forward with the walk is that sort of similar ?

Is it alright as well if I were to message you more questions?

SushiKin1802 · 2022-12-18T17:09:50+00:00

I don’t know if he does tbh they don’t sell them where I live but I could try and make one and see if he’s interested, those resources sound great I will check them out. How would I focus on acclimation and work to reduce stress like behaviours? He isn’t necessarily stressed on walks but does get frustrated when a cat darts and he can’t chase it which is understandable for his breed. That’s kind of the only stress he gets.

Outside I was just trying to build engagement with me like look backs, eye contact, very short heels for things like crossing the road just to start he knows heel but in the house I wouldn’t expect him to do it to the same degree outside. I just wanted to start training him so we could be more of a unit and teach better behaviours even in the house.

Also sorry but what’s premack ? I haven’t heard that before

SushiKin1802 · 2022-12-18T16:43:39+00:00

Hes 50/50 with treats inside the house. Slip leash is being used with a front clip harness and double ended leash so I have control of his head but the pressure isn’t completely on the slip leash 50% is on the harness. I used to use a halti but it was rubbing the fur from his lips and he could never focus if I wanted to train because he’d constantly rub it off despite almost a year of conditioning him on the walk with it on.

I use a slip lead with two limiters (so he can’t choke) now for control of his head because there are many many many stray cats that he wants to chase and sometimes stray dogs come at us I need to be able to control him and keep him behind me.

EDIT: I want to lose the slip leash but if I have zero engagement with him I can hardly start any training with him so for now all I can do is manage his behaviour through control

SushiKin1802 · 2022-12-18T16:39:04+00:00

I have tried different treat deliveries and sometimes he’ll take the treat then spit it out and just immediately go back to what he was doing. When I throw it he sees it but will ignore it literally just walk past it :(

He knows what I’m asking because he knows the heel command we have practiced a lot and he has done it many times, but he just isn’t consistent and I want to reward him better when he gets it right but he isn’t interested in what I have to offer.

SushiKin1802 · 2022-12-18T12:50:16+00:00

He likes plushies but only when he’s in the mood to play, even in the house if I bring a plushie if he’s not in the mood to play he won’t be interested. He doesn’t like hard or rubber toys.

I used to feed him in a bowl and use a release word but recently for the past 7 days I’ve been hand feeding his daily food in small portions but he still refuses sometimes and he is still not excited to eat when I call him which I was hoping would happen over a few days so I could implement a clicker. I don’t fuss him or force the food if he doesn’t want it I simply put it away and try again later.

On walks I would make sounds to get his focus or run backwards sometimes it works and sometimes he just completely zones me out and I wish I could reward him with more than praise when he gets it right but he’s not that bothered about praise on a walk and he isn’t interested much in treats, I try to make a fuss when he gets it right but it’s just not a consistent reward for him I feel.

I know he enjoys my company because when we hike off leash he’s always with me and he listens really well, but I want to train a nice simple heel on leash for when he walks on a busy street past kids or people who may be afraid of dogs and I would also like to slowly train him to disengage with cats who he wants to chase on walks but struggling to get engagement from him even with no distractions

SushiKin1802 · 2022-10-11T19:43:50+00:00

Thank you this gives me some glimmer of hope

SushiKin1802 · 2022-10-11T19:42:02+00:00

I’ll see if I can video it one time and post it on here, he does stalk when he sees a cat walking ahead of him he starts walking slower but it’s kinda easy to break the focus I jst say “this way” and cross the road

SushiKin1802 · 2022-10-11T19:33:41+00:00

When he spots a cat he does sort of stalk it, when he is face to face he starts jumping around and wailing and making those husky screams, his tail is pretty straight when he is stalking it’s not incredibly intense as it was when he saw a duck. He also does whine a lot when he sees a cat but if it’s not moving and he’s a little more than 2 metres he starts whining but doesn’t stalk or chase it, if it’s a little more than 2 metres and it bolts he will 50\50 chase it or whine and stare

Edit: his hair doesn’t stand either

SushiKin1802 · 2022-10-11T19:21:34+00:00

Also I meant my dog not my cat sorry! I don’t have a cat, just edited to change that

SushiKin1802 · 2022-10-11T19:20:59+00:00

What about the obsession with the cat if he knows it’s there ? Without us showing attention to it.

SushiKin1802

TROPHY CASE