Frustrated.... Does chowder even listen or hear me?

tonytones · Sep 8, 2014

Hi guys

so after saying leave it 5 times and not even a look back to me I decided to get on my phone and ask some questions.

Chowder is now 5 months old, he's very smart and attentitive. Especially when food is involved he will do all his commands (sit,down,paw, come, wait, leave it, look....)
However when the treats go away and it's time to apply it in real life situations I.e. When he is chewing on my shoes I say leave it!
It's almost like he doesn't even hear me. Not a single hesitation or a look back he will simply stare. Same with other commands as well. Am I doing something wrong? Or is this just the nature of frenchies and maybe he's going through his terrible 2's?

If you guys have any tips/suggestions please let me know.t

Thank you and hope everyone had a great weekend

Tgirl · Sep 8, 2014

Once he knows a command, you only need to say it once. If he doesn't do it, correct him. If you say "leave it, leave it, leave it, leave it, leave it" then correct he thinks..eh he I don't have to do it until he has said it 5 times. What you could also do is once you are confident he knows a command and had been doing it for a while with treats, is start to give treats every other time then maybe every few times he does it. You can also start training with more distraction once he does the commands well without. A dog may sit and stay at home in the living room, but not when you get him outside. For instance you may practice in the yard with little distraction, then once he is doing that well, you could practice at the park, and maybe at the pet store. He is still young though, so you have to keep that in mind also.

bullmama · Sep 8, 2014

Tgirl said:
Once he knows a command, you only need to say it once. If he doesn't do it, correct him. If you say "leave it, leave it, leave it, leave it, leave it" then correct he thinks..eh he I don't have to do it until he has said it 5 times. What you could also do is once you are confident he knows a command and had been doing it for a while with treats, is start to give treats every other time then maybe every few times he does it. You can also start training with more distraction once he does the commands well without. A dog may sit and stay at home in the living room, but not when you get him outside. For instance you may practice in the yard with little distraction, then once he is doing that well, you could practice at the park, and maybe at the pet store. He is still young though, so you have to keep that in mind also.

Excellent advice!

I start training with praise more than treats, praise also works very well with my crew.

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FrenchieDante · Sep 8, 2014

Just be firm. Danté is the same way. But if I raise my voice enough... He knows I mean business.

Alice Kable · Sep 8, 2014

Bulldogs have "selective " hearing. You've got to be firm and consistent!

eeturk · Sep 8, 2014

Alice Kable said:
Bulldogs have "selective " hearing. You've got to be firm and consistent!

This. Sometimes it just takes them a while to learn that selective hearing doesn't fly with you. We actually thought Hudson was deaf for a while because it was so bad...but he could magically hear once treats were involved. Just stick with it! It gets better as they age and you stay consistent.

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davidh · Sep 8, 2014

He is still young yet and will get it. Just be consistent and patient.

Cbrugs · Sep 8, 2014

eeturk said:
This. Sometimes it just takes them a while to learn that selective hearing doesn't fly with you. We actually thought Hudson was deaf for a while because it was so bad...but he could magically hear once treats were involved. Just stick with it! It gets better as they age and you stay consistent.

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After we got Jax I thought he was deaf cause I would be calling and calling his name and he would totally ignore me. Then I figured out he had selective hearing lol.