Hi!! Recently foster failed a 7 month old dachshund/terrier/poodle mix, my first dog of my own! My last dog was my childhood yellow lab, big girl and very smart! My new puppy isn’t food motivated no matter what high value treats or rewards I try to use. Shes also very independent, which is one of the reasons I fell in love with her because I don’t like a clingy dog. But because of that, she’s easily distracted and it’s difficult to maintain her attention even during short training sessions. She has mastered sit, down, and shake, and knows stay pretty well but when distractions are present she couldn’t care less what I’m asking of her.
I live on a couple acres in the country and I really want to be able to not worry about her being off leash walking in the yard. Looking for any help or tips in this area. Do I just need to teach recall/how best to do that with a small dog? Or how do I teach her to stay in the yard or within a certain distance from me when off leash? We are signing up for puppy training classes next month to work on following commands when distractions (the other puppies) are present, but I think the class itself will just work on basic commands and leash walking which she already knows, not focus on my particular training goals.
Another point, she is 11lbs and just came up from Georgia a month ago. So she SHIVERS when we out in the Wisconsin cold. Which isn’t ideal for any kind of training or desensitization that I would like to be doing at this age.
submitted by /u/pilatesandpuppies
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