Dominance and a hard temperment in a pup...

[esotericvision]

Hey,

I'm hoping for advice on training a fila. We are very new at this. My fiance and I are very happy with this dog but do realize that the dog is a hard headed. Even as an 8 week old pup, he is given a command (sit) and will generally follow it. We are also fairly certain that does understand it but at times just looks up at us and simply disregards it. You can see it in his eyes.

I've been working on making sure that he see us as pack leaders and could probably take a ton of advice here but right now I want to know what is the best thing to do when he disregards a command? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Best Regards,

Ben

[de la Luna]

Good morning,

The training school I attend has as part of the motto, "Consistent, Persistent, Insistent". What we do in our home is find a series of 'rules' and 'commands' and stick with them always. An example, palm outward held up (like a STOP motion) with the command "WAIT" keeps them in place. Such as, if I am going to open a door and don't want them to rush through....WAIT with the hand command, open the door, walk through myself, turn around and say OK. Whatever words you want to use, whatever hand signals to accompany, would work. I would say ALWAYS, ALWAYS, even if mad, when you call their name and say come...if they do, praise reinforces the come. The recall is very important to me. It could save their life some day.....or save someone else's life. Have you thought about checking out the Community Services in your neighborhood Recreation Department? They have fairly inexpensive obedience classes. It would be great for your little kid's mind to watch other dogs learn while he is.

Hope this gives you some ideas.

[de la Luna]

Ben,

Didn't mention the "disregards" specifically. But what we have learned is that whatever command, like (sit), that is given, each and every time you make the command follow through until it is done....EVERY time. Things like: get in bed, wait, sit, down, heel, off, no, outside, inside, stand, mouth, kennel....use them every day, and both you and your fiance be consistent, persistent and insistent with praise the moment you get the desired response.

Does that help at all? It works with us at least.

[Linda]

Dianna gives the best advice- consistancy and ALWAYS making the pup do what you asked. If say sit and pup doesnt just put him in one. Then let him up and repeat the command. If he sits right away give lots of praise and let him go off andbe a puppy. try again in 15 mins or so. These short frequent training exercises are best for a young puppy as they have the attention span of a flea at this point. Always leave off on a positive note with the puppy having done what he was asked.

[Brasileirokid]

agreed, once the command is given there is no disregarding it, even if you change your mind. once the command to sit is giving make sure he does sit etc.

[stonefree78]

i think as for obedience u can expect them to do as the same as lab, golden, gs, dobe or even rottie. cause they are goofy and need life long training . u just can't expect then to do well with just one or 2 years of training. what Dianna say is true. need lot of "consistent, persistent, insistent" and if you don't have time don't just simply give a command and not wait till the command been done. if in that case it will get worst. and a 2 month pup learn very fast. u using food training?? but at some point their stubborn will reach a stage that they know the command already and they do see you as a pack leader but if you use food training too often then if they feel boring they don't even want to take the treat. training is break into three part " introducing, training and proofing" for food training can use for introducing. then when come to actual training need to mix with toy to and use their play drive. a young fila is very playful. so take advantage of it. and as for training ,praise (food , love ) are important but correction us very important too. cause without correction then they won't know when they do wrong. do get me wrong "correction" not mean beat up the dog. correction mean that may be by using sound make by u, or some time physical contact is needed. it depend on you self what u feel the correction level will be. never train your dog when you are frustrated or in a bad mood cause the correction will lead to abuse. if using choke chain then just a check when only they do wrong. and then show them the right thing or position. actually correction is a training too. so when you give a correction then to say out the correction word then only follow with the physical correction. the sequence is very important too cause many people tend to give the physical correction then only follow with the correction word . now when in time when you say no then there are no meaning to your dog. and as a saw from a member that always post at his footer (don't remember who is that) is you want a lab then don't get a fila cause they are not the same.

[stonefree78]

[QUOTE=stonefree78;1021]i think as for obedience u can expect them to do as the same as lab, golden, gs, dobe or even rottie.
sorry i don't mean "can" but i mean "can't"

[stonefree78]

one more thing you must always remember that when your fila do wrong thing it not your false and don't blame it on your dog. cause it is our false as the owner and the trainer.we have to find the right way to communicate and train our dog, every dog is different

[ligiamorris]

one more thing you must always remember that when your fila do wrong thing it not your false and don't blame it on your dog. cause it is our false as the owner and the trainer.we have to find the right way to communicate and train our dog, every dog is different

From my experience, Filas can be very obedient and they do not respond to methods where aversives are employed. Not only that, but that its never to late for a dog to learn.
Two years ago, after having a terrible experience with the "so called" dog whisperer Cesar Milan, I was introduced to positve methods - clicker or no cliker - w/o reprimand - w/o punishment..
Filas respond very well to it and furthermore, its amazing how quickly they respond!

here's an amazing clicker trainer that has great techiques - which I use a lot! You can use a clicker or not.. http://clicktreat.blogspot.com/
Also look into a concept called the Premak principal!

Btw, what is your experience with dogs, breeds, training concepts?

LM

[esotericvision]

Wow. Hey Guys! Thanks for all the replies. The dog is responding better now as I improve as a trainer. I've been watching and following the videos by Leerburg. This is my first dog and of course I get a hard nosed dog. What a great dog though. The dog sits on command now and happily follows me around still. I think at this point I was sending some mixed signals regarding pack leadership. I've corrected that now. I didn't quite get the time frame for development of puppies either. I do now. I've ordered some dog whistles from the USA and will start training when they arrive. I am currently using food for motivation and it's working pretty good. Do you guys recommend prong collars or choker collars when they get a bit bigger and for correction?

Ben