Hi everyone, for context, I have an adorable 11 week old german shepherd mix. She knows some cues like sit, lay down, touch, shake, leave it, drop it, go to bed, give me kiss, etc. I have been trying to get her to learn heel and how to settle, but i seem to be getting nowhere.
Specifically with heel, i have watched countless videos where they have you take a step back with a food lure and flip your wrist to bring her in position and say yes, then reward. She can do that as long as i do the food lure but i feel like she isn't understanding why she's eventually getting the treat. I don't think it clicks for her that its because of how and where she is sitting in relation to me. I have tried doing that against the wall so she cant stray far but she will just walk in front of me and sit.
As for settle, I feel like she doesn't know how and I am at a loss for how to teach it. Sometimes she'll sit on her bed with her toy and we tried rewarding for that. But then she would forget the toy and sit with her ears perked waiting and anticipating the next treat. We started with small increments of time before rewarding, if she stayed on the bed. We slowly brought the time up between treats but then if it wasn't as fast as she would like, she would come jumping with her two front paws on the couch asking for attention or treats. She doesn't seem to be able to settle unless she has a long lasting food, like a bully stick or lick mat, and even then, its 85% of the time she'll stay with that but still a small 15% of the time she eventually gets bored and comes asking to be brought up.
We brought her on the couch and first time, after playing a bit, she fell asleep on me. Then the next two times, she won't settle at all on the couch without her bully stick. She won't relax and stop moving or even register that sleep is a possibility.
I get that she is a puppy and they have high energy and no regulation yet, as well as get overtired but she sleeps the recommended amount of time for a puppy – always somewhere between 18-20 hours and it is in her crate in the living room.
Please help with any pointers, it would be so appreciated!!
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