Puppy stopped doing trick?

Lovely

Lovely

Member
We have a gorgeous little 6 month old puppy, and she is one smart cookie. We took her to puppy training classes and my husband has taught her loads more tricks since then. She can sit, lie down, give her paw, walk round, crawl, stand, and probably most impressively, speak on command.

She's not a barker, although when she sees a cat for instance, she will bark. She loves to perform her tricks for treats, but I would say she has never enjoyed the 'speak' trick.

The past two days, when we have commanded her to 'speak' she wont! She obviously knows what it is, as she'll make a little noise, or whimper and lie down, as if to say she's sorry, but she wont speak!

Does she hate it? Does it hurt to bark? Should we stop asking her to do this, or should we pursue?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.
Oh, I should have mentioned, we don't make her do these tricks all day every day. We run through all her tricks once a day, as reccommended by our professional puppy trainer.
 
S

smile

Member
Your tiring her out! Making her repeatedly do tricks, shes just a little puppy! ITS LIKE TORTURE TO HER DOING IT ALL OVER AND OVER AGAIN! Give the little pup a break! When you overt-train a dog, it shuts down and refuses to do it. And shes 6 months old! Your over working the little guy! Let her rest, don't make her do tricks for your entertainment for a few days. Then she'll understand your not using her as a doll. Just let her train like thirty minutes, not every day.
 
A

Anna

Member
I would say that you are asking her to do tricks far too often, and she is getting bored of it - my dalmatian has a very short attention span, and so when i do tricks / teaching him, i only ask for it a few times, then end it on a good note. Seeing as she is already good at the basic things, don't ask her to do it everyday, as it will become to much of a chore rather than a trick.
Clever puppy though :)
 
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