what do I do?

[laurenngl]

Magic is 11 weeks old now. I have taught her to sit and to speak, but she speaks as she sits and if I am trying to teach her anything else, she just speaks. Its the greatest trick to her.How do I get her to know its one at a time. I think I made such a big deal about her speak trick that she only wants that one.She also barks at me when I am telling her to do something, I know she's kind of talking back to me like a bratty child would at times. This is my first BC. :confused:

[Kitch]

Do you reward her when she speaks when you don't ask her to? You shouldn't give any positive reinforcement for a behavior you aren't asking for at the moment (don't yell at her, just ignore it). Often if I ask for a behavior that Dublin doesn't particularily like, he might offer another one instead, in the hope that I will "cave". He usually does this when I ask him to down when a cat is within his perceived comfort zone...he will sit, but not down then.

 

I am not an expert trainer by any means, so hopefully some more experienced people will chime in as well.

[Deanna in OR]

Kitch is right--just ignore behaviors that you haven't asked her for.

 

And have patience....she is only a baby! You have many years to teach her and this is just the beginning!

 

Deanna in OR

[laurie etc]

Now that she knows "speak", you can teach her "quiet" or "whisper". Reward when she "doesn't speak", and call it "quiet". Or train for a "whisper" - when she does a "polite little bark" or "air barks", reward it and name it. Try adding some other behaviors that don't involve vocalizing, like "high five", "lie down", "roll over", etc.

You are right - you probably rewarded so much for the speak, that she "defaults" to that now. So just start rewarding for other stuff, ignore the speak for a while, and pretty soon you'll have a puppy offering you all kinds of behaviors.

[urge to herd]

Sammi learned Whisper, and it's much the most favorite trick she's got. She'll go on cue from Speak to Whisper and back a few times, everybody thinks it's just the greatest thing in the world.

 

Do ignore, and ignore completely the barking that's not cued by you. And, for all 3 of my dogs, that means no laughter, no shaking my head, no response at all. Your pup probably enjoys barking, so it's self rewarding for her in and of itself. Any response from you will keep her trying it on.

 

You can try also rewarding her for a sit when she sits without a cue, so that she gets the idea that a sit by itself is a good thing.

 

Good luck!

 

Ruth n the BC3

[Kadie]

Its called a default behavior, as previously mentioned. do not reinfoce it, but what she is doing is thinking "I dont know what he/she wants, so I will give her what worked last time." She is a very smart animal from a very smart breed and she does not want to disappoint you by not doing what she thinks you want. Also, barking is fun! Mila talks at me all day long. I taught her "speak" only so I could follow it with "quiet". Some animals are very talkitive, others, well, I wonder sometimes if Gypsy has a voice. (until she gets snarky at a strange dog and barks on-leash) Be patient, she is only a very small fry, and will learn if you keep at it. Best of luck!

Kadie

[Powder Puff]

wow how do you guys teach your dog to speak? my border never barks enough to teach her that, i cant even get her that excitied that she will back seems impossible

[urge to herd]

Sam would bark quite excitedly when someone knocked on the door, so it was pretty easy for us. If there's anything at all Roxie (that's her name, isn't it?) barks at, start with that.

 

Ruth n the BC3

[Powder Puff]

hmm my dog doesnt bark but growls if someone knocks on the door she is very protective in the home environment and doesnt like any strangers but once we leave the house and yard she will say hello to anyone

[urge to herd]

Powder Puff, the instant she growls, reward her,however you do that. Have somebody in the family knock on the door, or see if she'll respond if you just tap on the wall. Out a cue on it - like Speak, or if you'd like to make the growl and a bark separate cues, you could just say growl.

 

When she's doing it reliably on cue for you, and you're rewarding her, (I use food, it makes this sort of stuff really easy) get her all riled up, cue her, and don't reward the growl. See if you can sort of 'frustrate' her into actually barking. If she does, go nuts with the praise and the treats. She'll pick it up quickly.

 

Ruth n the BC3

[Powder Puff]

hey that sounds like a good idea ruth, i have never thought about rewarding her for growling, some people around here disapprove of it but shes just protecting the house she does really like her treats, about 2 weeks ago she learnt twirl and turn around and she had that down pat, i was teaching her to roll over from a stand postition and it was sooooo funny, i couldnt stop laughing i asked her to roll over and she kept twirling and turning around and looked at me like what? when am i getting that treat! she then figured out she had to roll over, which she knew how to do from a down position so it didnt take long to figure out think it might have been one of those moments when you wish you had a video camera

[laurenngl]

Thank you so much, everybody for your replies!

I enjoy Magic so much! She truly ih the smartest dog, well I mean breed! I have always wanted a dog like this.She is so responsive. Can someone tell me anything about using an electric fence?

[laurie etc]

edited to say - you might want to start a new thread on this topic - in the general category.

 

I assume you're talking about invisible fence? There are many opinions. Mine is that you need to think about the individual dog, his drive (determination) to get outside the boundary, what's on the other side that might entice him, as well as what's over there that might be dangerous. I have a couple dogs who would probably comply and stay within the barrier because they have really good self control, and a low pain threshold - they would not like to risk the consequences of getting a shock. On the other hand, at least 3 of my dogs have a very high pain threshold, and would think that is was definitely worth a little shock at high speed to get to chase the horses on the other side (or a cat, or an ATV, or running, screaming kids, etc, etc). Invisible fence would be money wasted, and probably a shortened life span for those dogs.

I'm sure others have opinions...this is just mine.