# Is it me??



## Claire (May 21, 2012)

So, one of the things I was hoping for in a dog was an aptitude for obedience/tricks etc, and I'd heard that Vizslas were very capable of this.
Liesel's still very young, she was 12 weeks a few days ago, and she knows sit, 'beg' (kind of), lie down (though it's quite an excitable POUNCE to the floor, rather than a regular down...), paw, and both paws at once into my hands. She also does a pretty good "kisses and cuddles" on command - putting a paw on each of my shoulders and nuzzling into my neck, licking and biting my hair... I CALL them kisses but it does occasionally hurt. 

It's just, I occasionally see posts on here about 8 week old Vizslas doing pretty much the same amount of tricks as Liesel does now, including things like 'roll over' which she doesn't seem to be grasping. So I suppose what I'm asking is, is it me?! Liesel wouldn't learn anything at 8 weeks except sit, and perhaps paw... Do I need to do a bit more research into training techniques, or is it possible she's just still quite easily distracted and will learn at her own pace as she gets older?

I guess I'm just quite eager to get her learning things from a young age to help keep her mind active, but we haven't learned a new command for a couple of weeks because she seems quite impatient about getting the treat and often won't focus at all. Perhaps it's another thing I'll need to just relax a bit on... I have heard Vizslas need training to be 'fun', maybe I should be wearing a funny hat during training sessions. (Joking...)


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## harrigab (Aug 21, 2011)

it's not a competition Claire  at 17 months Ruby doesn't do half of those things, mainly as I've tried concentrating on more "hunting orientated" commands. 
Stick with it and just reward and praise for good behaviour and obeying commands.


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## Suliko (Sep 17, 2011)

My two Vs (2.5 years and almost 1) don't know half the tricks your little Liesel knows! She's such a trooper! Great job keeping her occupied and entertained! 
Just be aware, there may come a day when she will decide to challenge you and a "sit" will take about 10 minutes  Selective listening is one of the traits they don't talk about in the V books, and it starts in their early teens!


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## flynnandlunasmom (May 28, 2012)

I agree with what harrigab and Suliko said. My v's don't know a lot of those things Liesel knows and most of what they do know took a lot longer than 12 weeks to learn. 

She's still very young so I would try not to get discouraged. It sounds like she's doing wonderfully.

Also, Suliko is so right. My Luna is a teenager now. She was once a star pupil at her training classes and I thought training her was a breeze. But, she has started to challenge me and we're having to really ramp things up again. I keep thinking "She used to be so good at this! What happened?", but I know it's common at her age.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

I wouldn't worry about it. Anything you teach now is just puppy games. Fun for you and her to interact together. There is plenty of time later for formal training.
Quit stressing and just enjoy the puppy stage.


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## MagicandNucky (May 14, 2012)

I think you need to remember you are dealing with a baby. You shouldn't be expecting much besides a happy puppy at this point. If it comes when you call it you are doing a fine job. Other than that try to enjoy the moments you have with your pup before it grows up and take tons of pics.


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## Claire (May 21, 2012)

Thanks guys, I think it's just lack of sleep (everything's completely changed, understandably, since I got her) but I have been stressing the little things a bit lately - her lead walking is another thing that's been bothering me. I do need to remember she's just a baby, and in many ways she's doing wonderfully. She's such a little sweetheart and I'm very proud of her, don't get me wrong.

As for taking loads of pictures, I take a few almost every day, and I'm still in the habit of taking a photo of her in (roughly) the same position every week so I'll have a kind of timeline to look back on!
Things haven't been easy and I know once she turns into an awkward teenager it'll be even harder, but she's so worth it - I left her sleeping in her crate for two hours tonight so I could watch a film with a friend, and I found I couldn't wait to go back to her and cuddle her, after about an hour... Of course, when I did get back I got a massive amount of kisses from a very warm, sleepy puppy!!
Thanks again, the advice and friendly reminders to chill out are just what I needed.


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## kmmosca (Jul 11, 2012)

We got our Vizsla at 8 weeks in July and let me tell ya... those first two months were SO HARD! BUT I cannot believe the attachment we have grown to each other in the short time I have had her. She is 7 months old and knows sit, shake, kennel, down, roll over and snuggle shake (she puts both paws on my legs and her head close for snuggles). We started training her as soon as we got her, but she really started learning and getting them after four months old. It took her a good week to week and a half to get each trick and LOADS of practice. Also, she kind of talks back if she doesn't want to do the trick lol. BUT your pup is still an infant pup so it will probably take a bit before she has the attention span. Even now, ours gets so excited for food (she does not get meals without doing a trick before) that it takes about 5 minutes until she does the correct one. Stick with it and happy training!


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## kmmosca (Jul 11, 2012)

P.S. Kennel training was the worst! It took 2 months straight before she would not cry for 45-1 hr. It was horrible, but now our persistence has paid off greatly. She loves her kennel and we don't worry about things ripped up when we are gone.


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## Stacey (Oct 30, 2012)

My Vizsla is almost 12 weeks old and it sounds like I'm stressing over the exact same things as you. Skye knows sit, down and we are working on shaking a paw. I'm also thinking she should know more than she does but as described below I guess it just takes time. I also found the first month was a LOT of work. She is walking much better on the leash now (she at least moves forward). I try to find the little things that she improves upon each day and keep thinking it will definitely get easier.


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## Kermit_days (Sep 24, 2012)

Our V is 16wk now. She knows quite a few tricks now but its getting easier to train her as she gets older. At 12wk she really had to be in the right mood. She was just far too excitable to have the concentration to learn new tricks.


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## Claire (May 21, 2012)

Glad to hear training will get easier. 
To be honest I'm more stressed these days about lead training, as I said - but I think time will help that a bit too, as she matures a bit more... hopefully... 

She seems to understand what I want of her, I THINK, but then just keeps charging forwards, and I either have to let her, which I'm very reluctant to do because it encourages the habit, or, keep a very short lead which can sometimes feel like it's choking her because she still won't relax and just WALK! I'm also trying tugging it to the side, every time she pulls forward, to throw her off course. This seems like a less brutal method, but I've not really seen any signs of improvement yet. Maybe very slight ones.


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## Kermit_days (Sep 24, 2012)

That sounds just like Ruby. She would regularly be up on her hind legs where she was pulling so much. She still does it occasionally but as with the tricks the older she gets the better her concentration is. Now it tends to be to get to another dog/person whereas a few weeks ago it would be nearly the whole walk. She's more able to focus now. She's definitely still a puppy and by no means perfect, but we're getting there.


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## Claire (May 21, 2012)

That's encouraging, thanks. I do think it's mostly her age but some days I worry that I'm not doing enough while she's still small and easy to control!


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## Kermit_days (Sep 24, 2012)

Yeah. I used to worry about that too. But already I can see the hard work paying off. When she's being unresponsive and mischievous just remind yourself just how young she is. Of course she'd rather race to explore her new environment than walk by your side. She's excited about chasing birds or meeting new people. As you walk more and more it will slowly become more familiar and she can focus more on you and your requests. The same goes for training indoors. Sometimes Ruby was (and still is) too excitable to concentrate on learning tricks. But she's getting there and on on Sat she passed her puppy training. It was nice to have proof that we have been making progress.


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## kmmosca (Jul 11, 2012)

*QAs*

This might be kind of a band-aid, but we use the easy walk harness with both of our dogs. It makes it a ton easier to walk them. Also, when people, strollers, before we cross streets or when other dogs are approaching (obviously less successful in this condition) I pull them off to the side and make them sit. Anywho, the easy-walk harness, although probably not good because I am not teaching her correct walking, is one of the most amazing inventions ever! Can't recommend it enough!


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