[EvoIan]

I recently adopted a wonderful collie mix, who is really skittish. I fell in love with this dog when I met him, and I want to give him all the love and attention he needs. I've been giving him 2 one hour long walks a day, and I need some other activities to do with him.

He won't play ball, chase after it or anything. Simple training is really difficult, don't know if it's too early. Trying to get him to do anything for a treat, other than handing it to him, results in him cowering away. I've tried sitting down at his level, standing up... always results in the same thing. He follows me everywhere, and I know he isn't a lost case.

Any suggestions? I would love to know something else I can do to bond with my dog other than being a couch potato.

[piratekitty]

How old is your dog? Is he friendly towards other dogs? If so take him to a dog park where he can meet others, or better yet if a friend has a dog introduce them so they can play. Its never to early to train your dog in anything. You could sign up for a dog class. Or just start at home training, with sit, down, come, be excited and reward with good boy and stroking under his chin and around his face. Dogs love to please their owners, and they love praise. Try teaching a simply trick.

[EvoIan]

He is 2+ years old. He is friendly to dogs, however I'm still training him how to be comfortable in the car. I've been working with him a little each day, hopefully next weekend he'll be good for a trip without throwing up.

I've taught plenty of dogs how to sit, but I'm no means an expert. Every effort I make to try to teach the "Sit" command ends up in him cowering with his tail between his legs. I'm not being loud, or mean... and have even tried different tones with no luck.

[lange]

Do you motion with your hands when your training? He might be hand shy. Why don't you look into clicker training? It will be easier on your dog and wont put any pressure on you or him.

read here: Oliver's tricks- clicker training Sara has posted a lot of good info & should lead you in the right direction.

[Lunareclipse]

Or you can teach your dog sign language by making the hand motion for the word. Make the motion close to your body so it doesn't startle him. All of my dogs know sign language.

[dralionagogo]

You need to make training less direct so his confidence can grow first. Instead of going through the motions of teaching sit, try rewarding him for doing it on his own. When he sits, use only the vocal command in a friendly, casual tone, treating and gently praising him for doing it. Keep it up for awhile and he'll get the hang of it.

Another thing you may want to try before any real training is interactive toys. Kong's good, but Nina Ottosson is my favorite. Start with level easy - a good one is Dog Magic.

What an interactive toy like this will do, is exercise his mind with very positive results. B/c he's working for the treats {and use several at the beginning}, it'll raise his confidence and also wear him out a bit.