Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi, we just got our 11 month old staffie-boy a few weeks ago. He is such a wonderful dog! Amstaffs are great dogs, and hopefully our pup, Maverick, will help the public to view them as the great dogs that they are! Well, anyways, his one problem is that he doesn't listen to me. He'll listen when I have food, or if there are no other distractions......how do you keep their attention? Also, he listens more to my boyfriend than he does me! Little rascal! Also, how do you post a pic?? Thanks for your replies.

One thing that is STRONGLY recommended for "bully" breeds, and for ALL dogs actually, is to start taking dog training (obedience) classes. Make sure to observe the class w/ the actual trainer you would have to make sure you are comfortable with their methods. I think that bully breeds need to have only positive reinforcement, but that is my opinion. The trainers have ideas that can help you and the organized structure (is that phrase redundant?) helps so much. Keep working w/ the treats for now, eventually you can start replacing them w/ heavy praise. You would substitute praise for every 3rd or 4th treat, but don't do that yet, because he is still adjusting to you. Hope this helps.

As far as the pix, go to the top of the page and click on "photo gallery" and it will walk you through it.
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sue, cheyenne the American bulldog bully, and nehi, her long suffering border collie/pit bull mix

>>Hi, we just got our 11 month old staffie-boy a few weeks ago. He is such a wonderful dog! Amstaffs are great dogs, and hopefully our pup, Maverick, will help the public to view them as the great dogs that they are! Well, anyways, his one problem is that he doesn't listen to me. He'll listen when I have food, or if there are no other distractions......how do you keep their attention? Also, he listens more to my boyfriend than he does me! Little rascal! Also, how do you post a pic?? Thanks for your replies.

One thing you can do immediately to help the treats be more effective--well, two things, really!--is keep treats on your person at all times, and keep them out of sight. When the dog has done what you asked (even if you helped him do it), whip out the treat and give to him. Don't show it in advance. This tends to wean the dog off having to see the treat in order to believe he'll be rewarded for listening to you.

A third thing you can do to make treats more effective is create a bridge with your voice. For example, my dog Gabriel jumps up and down at the fence, barking, when he sees a squirrel on the other side. I call him to me, and he comes running...because...he knows if he comes really quickly, I'll say "Good boy, that's a Cookie Opportunity!" and I'll walk to the treats and pass out 1, 2, 3--one to each dog--then 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, and sometimes even twice more! Three to five treats keeps the dog's focus on you longer than just one. With multiple dogs, I find I get a lot better "team spirit" by rewarding all three when one does something I want to reward, and all are together at the time.
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Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series at www.veterinaryforum.com

>>Hi, we just got our 11 month old staffie-boy a few weeks ago. He is such a wonderful dog! Amstaffs are great dogs, and hopefully our pup, Maverick, will help the public to view them as the great dogs that they are! Well, anyways, his one problem is that he doesn't listen to me. He'll listen when I have food, or if there are no other distractions......how do you keep their attention? Also, he listens more to my boyfriend than he does me! Little rascal! Also, how do you post a pic?? Thanks for your replies.

Since he is food-oriented, the spitting hot dog trick is one that helps initially to get him to focus on you. Put hot dog in mouth and tell him "Look at me!" with an excited voice. When he looks, spit out a piece of hotdog for him. A number of reps of this and when you say "look at me!" he will automatically look. The reward of food should be accompanied with pets, of course, so that when you withdraw the treats he will still keep looking. Dog trainers say that rewarding with food at random actually reinforces the behavior you want. I never found that to be true with my totally food-motivated Lab but it could work for you. If you alternate feeding him with your boyfriend, take over all maintenance of him for a while, and do the "nothing in life is for free" thing. He must sit before getting his food, sit before going for a walk, etc. Then release him with a "okay, let's go" or "okay, you can eat". This, and perhaps deepening the tone of your voice and making it a bit more forceful, might help with him listening to you as well as he listens to your BF. I would definitely enroll together in a basic obedience class as well (is he good around other dogs?) so that even if he knows commands, it will help practicing them with him and you two will bond better.

Tasha
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Tasha