Struggling to Train Dog

[FoxyMulder]

I agreed to take in a 15-month-old terrier after her owner, my neighbour, sadly passed away.

She's not too badly behaved, but she has no recall whatsoever, and will bark at people passing the gate/window, at birds chirping too loudly outside, etc.

She is also pretty anxious around other dogs when walking (although does not snap or lunge or anything) and will often refuse to walk at all (whether there is a dog around or not).

I've owned several terriers over the years, so I'm not a complete novice, but what I'm finding hard is that she is not remotely food-orientated, so training her is not going well at all.

Any ideas what I can do to motivate her and work on these behaviours? She's a lovely, sweet dog on the whole, but needs some help!

What about squeaky toys? Have you tried them.

How long have you had the dog? It might still be grieving for the lost owner.

Personally, I would spend as much time with the dog as possible in order to gain their trust = takethe dog with you wherever and wherever you can. This can take a few weeks. I would also start gently training around the house, going toilet in the garden good dog toilet! (Maybe try calling in for praise
... this can work wonders for recall outside the home!)
Once the dog is settled down, you can look into things that motivate and start training with the basics like sit down government paw ...

A few months now.

She loves playing with squeaky toys, but if I try to use them in training, she's not interested! For example, if she's in the garden and I try to call her in with a squeaky toys as an incentive, she will just ignore it, but if I give it a squeak indoors, she'll be right over.

She's fully toilet trained and has never had an accident, she'll sit on command and shake paws, but anything else is a no-go unless she feels like it!

She is with me all the time already. I work from home, so she doesn't get left for maybe more than 15 minutes if I nip to the shops, and she seems fine (I'e got a camera to keep an eye on her).

You might be right, and it might just take time, but I was hoping to be a bit more proactive!

How long have you had her?
Sounds like she's unsettled which is not surprising as she's had a lot of upheaval in her short life.
Have you got a back garden? And will she toilet in it?
If so, I'd forget walks for now and concentrate on building a bond with her and making her feel safe and secure.
Loads of quiet time so she learns to be calm. Mine loves a massage but she's not a terrier.
Enrichment activities to keep her brain busy. Make her work for her food, snuffle mats, treat dispensers, kongs... you can make things quite easily too. Mine loves a box full of balls or shredded paper and hunting for treats.
Re the barking, it is annoying I know. Can you stop her looking out of the window or put something on the window to make it blurry? Limit her access to the gate.
Some supplements to help with anxiety might be beneficial too.

Good luck and well done for giving her a home. I'm sure you'll get there.

We took on a similarly aged terrier and our story is almost identical to yours.

Somebody advised us to take her to a series of training classes which we did. Mostly puppies but some older dogs there too. Just going through the 12 week programme with her gave us loads of tricks and tips and also kind of reset things for her.

We weren't new to dogs and she wasn't new to training but something about doing it together really sealed our bond and gave us all confidence.

Within six months she was a laid back, really good and lovely girl with amazing recall.

Two other things - if she responds to the squeaky toy indoors could you practice recall indoors? I know it would be over a small area, but it might get her into the mindset of 'command, respond, reward'. Finding the key to getting their attention is a breakthrough moment and then you can take it outdoors.

Edit - Sorry, I forgot the last thing. We had success stopping barking by training our dog TO bark. We taught her to bark on command and then miraculously she learned to stop barking on command. It was as though she realised the bark and command were connected.

Your terrier sounds like a bright, sparky joy who will be just perfect in a little time.

Firstly, just to say (without wanting to sound patronising) that I think you'e done a really lovely thing in taking her in given the circumstances.

On barking etc, I am no terrier expert so refer to others on that. BUT what I would say is it takes time for dogs to bond with their owners - even when you've had them from puppies and it takes a different amount of time for each dogs. When I foster I've had dogs bond straight away and with others it's never happened (even after months). I'd start training classes in the evening or weekends with her - just you and her to build that bond etc.

Does she respond well to praise and fusses? One of mine HATES toys (she literally walks away from them) and isn't food motivated. But what she loves more than anything in the world is being given a huge fuss and pats when she does something good.

Just keep with it. You'll get there.

A few months now.

yes, I have a back garden and I let her spend lots of time out there, but getting her back in is a nightmare because she's young and fast and has no recall!

I've been shutting the blinds, but even if she can hear someone walking by, she'll bark, so that's something to work on! I'll look at putting some privacy screening on the gate though.

I have snuffle mats and Kongs and stuff, but she shows very little interest because she's not motivated by food at all!

She does love to play fetch and she likes to wrestle, but if you try to use games like that as an incentive to stop her barking, or get her to come to you, she knows what you are doing, and just refuses. That probably indicates she's intelligent and can be trained though, so I'm trying to see it as a positive that needs some work 😂

On the plus side, she loves people and is great with kids. I knew the owner well before he passed, and he was amazed to tell me that she had never once had an accident indoors, even though he got her at 10 weeks, so no issues with toileting!

I was happy to have her. I've lost two elderly dogs in the same number of years, so she's saved me as much as I have her.

She loves fusses, yes, but she won't come over for a fuss when she's in the garden because she knows there's a chance it's a ploy to get her in 😂Patience will be key I think!

I rehomed an 8yr old staffie just over a month and have the exact same issues (except she lunges and growls at other dogs and isn't interested in toys).

Apparently it takes three months for a dog to start to feel settled.

My friend is a behaviourist and she also says to start all training at home. When you go out and doggo reacts to another dog, make sure it's on a short lead, keep walking and don't react with your voice (bad dog, no, leave, etc), if you shout then the dog will think there's a reason to react because you are. If you don't, they'll start to become reassured over time.

With the barking out of the window, etc, again, don't shout, maybe acknowledge by calmly saying good dog, thank you, pat on head. That will reassure it that you are in control.

Good luck! You sound like you're a fabulous owner and it will all come together.

Well done - what a lovely thing to do. Terriers make amazing little companions but they are a bit different to train. They need to WANT to do something. They aren’t people pleasers. Choice os your best friend with a terrier. You need to set up the environment so they make the right choice to get rewarded for it.

So that means lots of reward and frequently. You can phase this out over time but to begin with reward reward reward. Recall take her out and if she as much as looks at you then treat or toy. Every time. You need to elevate yourself.

Theyre immensely clever dogs but with that comes sensitivity. They are easily worried.

She’s very young yet for a terrier and the upheaval won’t help. I’d really recommend training classes for her to help you. I have a young working terrier and my last dog was a terrier hound. I have come to specialise a bit on training them. I competed my last one to a high level in agility and the current one has just started in Rally Obedience and is knocking the spots off the more handler driven dogs 😉

She sounds lovely! As do you :)
What are you feeding her? I wonder if something really high value, mine goes crazy for beef spleen which stinks, might help. She can't eat a lot of it but it's my bring out the big guns treat!

Obviously I'm not suggesting you starve her but feed her exclusively or largely in ways that she's got to work. Might help, I don't know.

@Newpeep has some good advice. Elevating yourself is something that doesn't come easy to me but I think it really helps with terriers.

https://www.shootinguk.co.uk/gundogs/gundog-breeds/terrier-breeds-anarchists-85061/

This is an excellent article.

Mine working at her very first KC show. Once you get that engagement you can do anything with them. I still get told (usually by men) you can’t train terriers so why try 🤷🏼‍♀️

A few more tips. Treats. You need to use something good quality as it will need to replace some meals. I use pate chopped up or the 90% fish treats broken in half. If I do a training session then I cut the closest meal in half.

Terriers are big on movement. Mine finds a moving treat either tossed or in a treat ball more rewarding than me handing it to her. She’s not into squeaky things (last dog was) but likes a game with something small and fluffy. Now she’s past the puppy bit she loves a rolling on the floor game too but she can become over stimulated and bitey so the game ends then.

A biothane long line for recall training was a lifesaver! We still use it in areas where we’re not sure as we do a lot of rural walking. We’ve just spent a week on Dartmoor walking and she was on the long line all week but at 10 m that gave her plenty of freedom but ultimately we retained control.

That's weird because it's always the older men around here who I see with the beautifully trained terriers, and the ladies struggling with pullers and growlers (not that I think women can't train dogs, just that I think it's weird you get men telling you it's impossible).

Thanks everyone, I'm taking all of your advice in, and formulating an action plan as we speak, but also relaxing a little because it will take time and she's been through a lot.

We were playing some focus games in our town when she was a pup and she was really enjoying herself. We then led into a bit of light hearted obedience work and I literally had a man walk up and stop me to tell me he’d had Borders all this life abd you can’t train them so stop trying 🤣 I’ve also had other men tell me I’ve got the wrong kind of border if I want to train them. People also assume she’s going to be aggressive and reactive too. She can be an excitement barker when we arrive but that’s because she knows she’s going to have a great time so I can live with that 😉

Wow! Some people, eh? I've had a couple of borders in my lifetime and they were the easiest, sweetest dogs, especially the bitch. A bit stubborn at times, sure, but nothing a bit of patience and perseverance couldn't solve!

I'm sure you gave their comments all the weight they deserved!

Do people let the dog use that garden as a toilet? Personally find it horrible, I just take them for a walk.

Yes and then I pick up the poop every time just like I would on a walk. It doesn't stay there.

Yes, I don't see the problem really. My garden is packed with birds, rabbits, hedgehogs, foxes, and all kinds of critters at various points of the day. Not going to worry about my own dog doing her business there when they all will be!

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