How to Train Your Dog to Act Like He Was Shot

Hello, I suggest combining a few things in your case. You need a way to communicate with them so I suggest teaching the Quiet command from the Quiet method in the article I have linked below - don't expect this alone to work but it will be part of the puzzle for what I will suggest next. https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-shih-tzu-puppy-to-not-bark Next, once pup understands what Quiet means you will choose an interrupter - neither too harsh nor ineffective. A Pet Convincer is one example of an interrupter. A pet convincer is a small canister of pressurized, unscented air that you can spray a quick puff of at the dog's side to surprise them enough to help them calm back down. (Don't use citronella and avoid spraying in the face!). In situations where you know pup will bark or is already barking (catch them before they bark if you can), command "Quiet". If they obey, reward with a treat and very calm praise. If they bark anyway or continue to bark, say "Ah Ah" firmly but calmly and give a brief correction. Repeat the correction each time they bark until you get a brief pause in the barking. When they pause, praise and reward then. The combination of communication, correction, and rewarding - with the "Ah Ah" and praise to mark their good and bad behavior with the right timing, is very important. Once pup is calmer in general after the initial training, practice exposing them a lot to the things that trigger the barking normally (make a list - even if it's long). Whenever they DON'T bark around something that they normally would have, calmly praise and reward them to continue the desensitization process. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Chloe, She is likely used to seeing the treat before obeying, you will need to phase the treat out gradually. To phase out the treat, begin giving her a treat after every third command/trick, instead of each time. Also, you can reward only for better and better performances. For example, if you call pup to Come, praise each time for only reward for the third come in a row. If you call pup to Come and they come very slowly, praise but don't reward. If you call pup and they come very quickly, praise and give a treat also. As pup improves, you can slowly transition to less and less rewards by moving toward only rewarding better performances than what pup normally does (but always praise), and by requiring more and more commands/tricks to be obeyed before you give a reward - like every third time, fourth time, fifth time, ect... You want to keep pup guessing whether there will be a treat or not, instead of just removing the treats altogether right away. If you are in the habit of showing pup your treat before giving it, start hiding the treat behind your back or in a pocket in a ziploc baggie, or treat pouch tucked under your shirt. You want pup to never know whether you may have a treat or not. A good way to transition to treats being hidden is to practice something where the treat is inheritably visible and you aren't just bribing pup with it, like teaching pup to watch you by holding the treat up by your eye while saying watch me. First, you hold the treat by your eye to get pup to look and reward with that treat when pup looks toward your eyes. When pup is good at that, then you pretend like you have a treat in your fingers while holding it next to your eyes and watching Watch Me, but you actually have the treat in your other hand behind your back. When pup looks at your eyes thinking there is a treat in that hand, you praise and give the treat from behind your back. Next, when pup is good while you pretend to hold the treat but has learned that it's actually behind your back but will still look at your eyes as a hand signal now, then you point to your eye with the hand that previously held the treat so it's obvious you don't have one, while saying watch me, and reward with a treat from behind your back. Finally, practice saying watch me with both hands behind your back, rewarding if pup makes eye contact. If pup needs a hint, briefly point to your eye again as a reminder but don't show the treat. You can see from the above example how you can transition away from pup needing to see a treat by gradually phasing the treat out. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello! Some dogs are that way and it can be tough to train them. Most dogs can only handle about 30 minutes of training time in one session. So try to push her to about 15 minutes. You can put her on leash and use some super tasty meat or cheese treats that she only gets during training time.

Hello, if you are training Finn to roll over using a treat as the lure to roll, chances are that he is looking for the treat. So, he may not be biting intentionally. The other reason could be that he just does not like the training session, and of course, if that is why he is biting, it has to stop. To teach Finn to not bite, take a look at this guide and the Leave It Method. https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-shih-tzu-puppy-to-not-bite. Teaching Finn not to bite will ensure that he does not bite when excited, doesn't nip when a fast-moving child runs by, and doesn't form an annoying habit. The Leave It Method also comes in handy when out for walks; if Finn sees garbage and wants to grab it, you can tell him "leave it" and he should not attempt to eat it. Good luck and happy training!

Lova is a doll! Thank you for the question. How is she doing with her basic obedience commands? Sit, down, come, and stay are essentials she will need for safety and to keep her well-trained and listening to you. Heel is another command she'll require so that she walks along nicely beside you on every walk. Once Lova has mastered those commands, yes, she should be able to learn this. Have fun training!