I figured out some stuff i struggle with with my dog, but I don’t know how to teach her to fix it

[jesusisyahweh]

I found a few small training things that I’d like to change with my dog, but I’m not sure how. shes a 2.5 year old poodle x golden retriever so she’s smart and usually learns pretty fast.

She won’t lie down from a standing position and instead goes into Bow (I did teach her this). She can’t go into heel or Middle (between my legs) unless it’s from behind me, and still gets those cues confused even though we’ve been working on them for months. She also tend will switch sides on heeling if I end up in front of her which I don’t like unless I ask her to. She generally is pretty slow to do things when I ask her to, I don’t n e e d her to be fast but if I’m out with her I would like her to be quick with what I ask.

I’m not sure how to work on any of these, any suggestions?

 

[dawei7]

@jesusisyahweh

She won’t lie down from a standing position and instead goes into Bow (I did teach her this).

What I've found works for me here is to use a treat lure in my right hand and place it near the dog's chin, then move it backward toward the dog's chest so they have to shift their weight backwards. That usually produces a dropping back and down into a down. You can click your dog for shifting back at first and then for dropping even partially if you need to capture the behavior if it's not freely offered.

he can’t go into heel or Middle (between my legs) unless it’s from

behind me, and still gets those cues confused even though we’ve been

working on them for months.

Are you using "heel" for both heeling on the left and the right or are you using separate commands for heeling on the left and right? If you're using the same command, I would absolutely switch to two separate commands so it's not confusing for her.

I start heeling as a position using a small bucket or other mark for my dog to place their front paws. Susan Garrett has a video on how to teach pivots and spins here that kind of explains how to use that work for positions.

I work positions, switching from front to heel (left) and side (right) before I work it with forward movement. This might help you line your dog up to heel on either side from the front.

You can add the "middle" command by having your dog from being in heel on either side to coming around from behind and going through your legs in the center, simply by luring it. If you want middle facing backward, lure them forward to front and then through.