Erica has got a problem pooch:
“What do I do when my 5 mo. old pom/yorky ignores a command I am certain he knows and there are no appearent distractions? Do I enforce it by putting him into position?”
Training your dog is as much an art as it is a science! I don’t think you should force a dog into any particular position (sometimes a little gentle guidance is necessary for some dogs, but this is the exception). What you can do is “shape” him. Let’s take the sit command for instance:
Take a treat and let him have a good sniff at it so he is really focussed on it, then move it out of his reach but just in front of him. By moving the treat just over his head, his natural instinct will be to drop his butt on the ground so that he can still see the treat. At that point, praise him and give him the treat. Once he has sat a few times, start to use the word “sit” as his bottom touches the floor.
Once he learns the sit command, it is really easy then to teach him “down” to lie on the floor:
Ask him to sit, but do not give him the treat. get him to focus on his treat and bring your hand (with the treat in it) down and in front of him. Again. he will naturally adjust his body position so he can get the best view of the treat, so you can praise him and give him his treat.
Shaping is a very effective way of training your dog, and is a fundamental part of how clicker training works (though shaping is not exclusive to clicker training as you have seen here). You can find out more on clicker training on my Squidoo page here: Clicker Training
Tags: dog behavior problems, Dog Obedience Training, dog training
you respond with a firm voice. if it does not work then puppy training with a woman named trisha she a good dog trainer.but in order to have a dog you must have alot of time to practice training.like they say “practice makes perfect”.