[kimmy.doglover]

i Have 3 month old mini schnauzer and i am having a hard time training him with simple command. this breed are said to be intelligent, but my schnauzer is having a hard time following simple command. what's wrong and what do i need to do?

[cigwyllt]

Hello there

At three months your dog is still very much a baby so you mustn't expect too much in the way of obedience yet. What sort of commands does she understand? What are you trying to teach her? What sort of relationship do you have with her? What sort of things do you do together?

Sorry to ask so many questions but without a bit more information it is hard to know what is going on and what help you need.

[kimmy.doglover]

no worries, i also apologize with the little info i gave and thanks to the quick response.

he is always with whenever i am at home, sticks to me lick glue and i love it...so we basically do everything together when i am home...simple command he understand now is "come", "sit"...iam tying to teach him stand..and other basics...what do you suggest i start with??

[cigwyllt]

Come is the most important and sit is useful of course. Right now it is more important to work on things that he has to do or things that make your life easier is another way of looking at it.

What about if he has something he shouldn't have? You want to train him to let you take things from him - perhaps teach him to swap what he has for a treat or "Let me see". If my dog is crunching on something and I don't know what it is I tell him to "Let me see". He will let go of whatever he's got and I decide whether he can keep it or if I don't want him to have it he can come with me and get a treat - that would be something special like a piece of cheese or cold meat from the fridge, something that he is not used to having.

You will also find "Leave it!" is very useful. If you drop something while you are cooking or if you pass some litter by the side of the path while you are walking - anything that he might show an interest in that you don't want him to investigate. Teaching "Leave it!" can keep him out of all sorts of trouble.

Those are the sort of things that you will want to be sure of day by day and will make your life easier.

[Todd]

Originally Posted by cigwyllt

Come is the most important and sit is useful of course. Right now it is more important to work on things that he has to do or things that make your life easier is another way of looking at it.

What about if he has something he shouldn't have? You want to train him to let you take things from him - perhaps teach him to swap what he has for a treat or "Let me see". If my dog is crunching on something and I don't know what it is I tell him to "Let me see". He will let go of whatever he's got and I decide whether he can keep it or if I don't want him to have it he can come with me and get a treat - that would be something special like a piece of cheese or cold meat from the fridge, something that he is not used to having.

You will also find "Leave it!" is very useful. If you drop something while you are cooking or if you pass some litter by the side of the path while you are walking - anything that he might show an interest in that you don't want him to investigate. Teaching "Leave it!" can keep him out of all sorts of trouble.

Those are the sort of things that you will want to be sure of day by day and will make your life easier.

From attending puppy school with my dog Lucky another command I would enforce would be the "watch" or "watch me" command. Hold a treat near your face or toy and say the command and when the dog looks at you and gives you their full attention treat/priase it. eventually place the toy/treat down and have him watch you then allow him to get the treat/toy. This is very important to gauge the attention of the dog for all commands.