# Please help!



## olive_i (Feb 4, 2016)

Needing advice concerning my 5 1/2 month Vizsla girl, Olive. 

She's an absolute darling, very sweet and loving and people oriented and social with other animals.

We have completed a puppy course with her and will be starting weekly group training classes at our local club next week (plus daily training at home), at this point in time I have not extended past the basic 'sit' 'down' 'stay' 'heel' 'come' and 'leave it'. She definitely knows these commands well, but for the past few weeks she has been indifferent to commands and ONLY really listens when i have food (which I hope to fade out in the future).

At times I get very frustrated with her selective hearing and really just want to gain full trust, responsiveness and respect from her, I understand she is entering an independent stage in puppy life but I'm getting very discouraged. 

Another issue I've been having is indoor manners + meeting new people: she jumps all over my friends and family and WILL NOT settle down indoors  - always pacing and staring at me. I just want her to relax with me as I work from home!

Possibly this is a result of under exercising her?? I'm not sure. But I'd love to hear some advice from you! ;D


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## gingerling (Jun 20, 2015)

Part of the problem with food training is that they (and you) become dependent on it for results. They perform not so much to please you or b/c they have to, but b/c there's a treat involved. And initially, you might need to offer food, but at some point, you need to phase out of it, otherwise you get what you've got.

Once you reasonably are sure she understand the command....that they've successfully paired your word with their expected behavior, start offering the food with the word "Good" or "Good girl". Then, when they understand the paring of praise and food, start changing the time when you offer the food...still praise..excitedly, too...but withhold the treat randomly Over time, you want to lessen the amount of time the praise is paired with the treat. Always praise, though. And make sure she gets excited, so it feels good for her. You're substituting the emotional excitement for the treat.

Her jumping on guests, you want to do the opposite: You want them to come in and be very calm, and bend down to greet her so she doesn't have to jump up to greet them. You and whoever is being greeted should pair her not jumping with "Good down, good girl". So she pairs "down" with 4 on the floor, and "good"...Your satisfaction with her. Eventually, when she knows the expectation, you can quickly turn your back towards her when she leaps, telling her "Down!", but right now the need to greet is so strong, she needs to do that and you should bend down and use the opportunity to teach the command.

And yes, they also need their exercise and will be much better if they are physically relaxed. Try to incorporate long walk or (preferably) off leash time into her day.

Don't get discouraged, she sounds normal, it just takes some time to work these things out.


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## MCD (May 4, 2013)

I started using clicker training upon the trainer's advice. She taught it in her class. Positive reinforcement is also what she taught. I got Dharma to answer to a whistle because I can't physically whistle myself. Some of Dharma's commands are also just done by hand gestures. She always gets verbal praise and a pat. Training must be done consistently and daily. I found that I really had to think about what and how I was asking her from day to day. They really are smart and want to please you.
Olive is still young and developing both mentally and physically. We put Dharma in another class up from basic training and really benefitted from it.


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## Pecan_and_BB (Jun 15, 2015)

Jumping up is a tough one I've found with Pecan as well as she is just so darned excited to say hi to people who come into the house. The one piece of advice I can give is, depending on your girl, is it is much easier to train her to stay on all 4s than it is to curb her personality of being so excited and affectionate towards people. 

With staying down, it is all about the timing of the command. If you are giving her the command once she has already jumped up, you aren't training her to stay down in the first place, just that once she jumps, she should get down. Think of it like when you want to turn right or left in your car, you put your blinker on way before you turn and you want to do the same in this instance with the command to not jump on people. So you need to identify far in advance when she wants to jump, and issue the command before she actually jumps, then at first, do your best to keep her on the ground and as Gingerling said, praise her greatly when she stays on the floor.

What we have done with Pecan is have her sit and we issue a "wait" command while people come through the door and are taking their coats and boots off (use a leash and a small mat at first to get the "wait" to stick). She does wait in place with her bum wiggling a mile a minute, and she pulls out every noise she has in her repertoire to get everyone's attention. Once the guests have greeted my wife and/or myself, we then have the guest issue the release command from the "wait" and my wife or I follow that up with our "Stay Down" command as soon as her bum comes off the floor which reinforces her to greet the guests from all 4s. For us, as long as she stays on all 4s, we are more than happy to let her be herself at that point and roo roo roo, wiggle her bum, grab one of her toys to present to our guests, etc... since that is her personality and her way of saying hello to people.


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## olive_i (Feb 4, 2016)

Hi all, thanks for the replies!

Also, would any one have some advice for leash walking? She pulls like no tomorrow, i have tried stopping and waiting till she loosens, doing a little loop around to redirect/ reposition her and discourage pulling, putting her on a shorter leash and harness... I have no idea what else to try??!! 

It becomes quite frustrating because I just want to have an enjoyable time :-[ 

Also, this is a bit off topic, but she stinks!! like a real strong doggy odor that she never had up until a couple months after adopting her.. I don't think it's anything to do with anal glands though.

Do you recommend regular washing? Say, every week or two? Or is this too often and damaging to her coat?...

I appreciate everyones help


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## Spy Car (Sep 3, 2014)

Does your V get time to run hard off leash? 

No human being can walk enough hours to adequately condition a 5.5 month Vizsla on a leash. Just not possible. Vizslas are not couch potatoes. They need to run. And run hard.

I think you'd have a different dog is she got the daily hours of exercise she needs. 

Bill


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## kmjeffus (Feb 4, 2016)

My girl is 7 months and I purchased a harness that snaps closed on her back, rather than in the front (like many do). I also bought a 3' training leash for our walks. The harness has made a world of difference with her pulling (but it HAS to to be the top-snapping kind). Our trainer tried to get me to use a Gentle Leader but that was a nightmare. She completely shut down and refused to walk - a lot of people seem to have luck with those


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

> Possibly this is a result of under exercising her?


She is going to need some outings, where she can just run off leash and be a puppy. If you having been doing that much, try and incorporate it in you daily schedule. 



> She definitely knows these commands well, but for the past few weeks she has been indifferent to commands and ONLY really listens when i have food (which I hope to fade out in the future).


I like training with positive rewards. As they get the commands down, you can have them do 2 or 3 before they get the food reward. But keep a praise reward after each command is completed.
You can also have a leash on her, so its easier to have her follow your commands without having the (treat) reward in your hand. Then after a short session have her Stay ( or walk with you), and walk to the next room to get her the treat she is craving. If you do this part of the time, they still get just as excited on following commands. As they know a reward is coming, even if they don't see it.


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## Spy Car (Sep 3, 2014)

To teach heeling with a PR method you can have treats, which you sort of keep on the nose, when the dog is just where you want her praise and treat reward. When she gets ahead, do either a quick back-peddle or a 180 while keeping your voice frisky and encouraging (not using command word, as the dog is out of position. When the dog is back where you want it to be, use command, praise, and treat. This method is highly dependent on good timing. The instant the dog get out of position you must change course/back-peddle. Don't let the dog pull. Be fast. Don't pull yourself. Do be chipper. You may look like a loon to neighbors, but if you want a PR method this works (with time, patience, and great timing).

A non-PR solution is to get a prong collar. While the standard ones look like medeveal torture devices they are relatively safe and humane (especially compared with dangerous choke chains). One should never "pop" the leash with either of these collars, no matter how many times one might read such advise. With a prong one should simply let he dog walk into the "correction" (the martingale will close, and the prongs will tighten). As the dog resumes the correct position the correction is self resolving. 

Training with a prong is easier and more efficient than the PR method, and takes less expertise/timing. But with commitment, either work. And methods can be combined.

Herb Sprenger (a German company) make the finest prong collars IMO. They also make a variation called a Neck Tech Martingale collar that looks like a man's stainless steel bracelet watch which hides the teeth inside the collar if the looks of the standard prong are off-putting. The effectiveness is equal. The price of the Neck Tech Martingale is higher. There is a non-martingale Neck Tech, I would not advise this one, so that care in ordering.

Gundog Supply carries both these collars.

Bill


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## gingerling (Jun 20, 2015)

I've never heard of a V that smells. Actually, what most report is that they are odor free. So, if she smells she's either rolled in something or has another issue, perhaps a yeast infection in her ears. You can bathe her as you wish, just be aware that their short hair leaves them prone to dry skin, so don't do it often...and use puppy shampoo, I like Burts Bees, it's all natural, super mild, and leaves a fresh clean smell, not that overly perfumed fragrance most have.

I'd advise using Bill's methods of "Stop, look, listen", using the treats to get her attention and to reward heel walking. Dogs pull b/c they're outside and want to explore and they're totally focused on that, they need to focus on you, too. Leash walking is one of the hardest things to accomplish, but I prefer to advise you got thru it with a nylon buckle collar and not go for a 'choke' or prong collar just yet, what ends up most of the time is that they pull against it, or the owner invariably misuses it and pulls/jerks them, which not only makes it uncomfortable for both of you, but also doesn't teach her what your expectations are.


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## Spy Car (Sep 3, 2014)

To be clear, I strongly oppose the use of choke collars. Most people have no clue of how they are supposed to be fitted (right under the ears, not around the neck) so tremendous damage can be done to the sentsitive areas of the windpipe, especially when owners "pop" the leash to give corrections (as used to be advocated by many misguided trainers). Misuse of choke chains can lead to permanent damage of the esophagus. There is no good reason IMO to take the risk.

The prong collars, while they look scarier, have a martingale that limits pressure to the throat area, and the prongs only contract on the neck muscles. This is a vastly safer design. Obviously, one should not yank or pop prong collars either, as the increased safety is not limitless, and prong collars can be abused. "Corrections" with the prong collars should be self-imposed by the dog, as should the release. 

Used gently and with care prong collars can be a very efficient way to curb pulling. 

The PR method works too. It just requires consistency and (most critically) good timing. One can also use a mix of both methods.

I'm not a fan of harness to stop dogs from pulling. Pulling is the natural reaction a dog will have to being harnessed. I have what's called a "roading harness" designed precisely for "pulling" to give resistance exercise, which is a great way to build muscles.

Bill


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## Spy Car (Sep 3, 2014)

Also, agreeing with Gingerling, a V should not smell. The breed is famous for being relatively odor free.

Something is amiss. Yeast infection is likely if it isn't the anal glads. Have you sniffed the ears?

You may want to see the vet. Not a normal situation.

Bill


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

As a general rule Vizslas don't smell doggy, compared to other breeds.
That doesn't mean they never have a smell to them. When mine have been digging in mud, pile off in some of the ponds, or find the smallest thing to roll in, they can stink. Even playing with other breeds of dogs, and the doggy smell can rub off onto them.
I use detergent free dog shampoo, so it doesn't dry their skin. Make sure you wash their bedding at the same time, or the smell will return.


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