How to Obedience Train a Weimaraner

Hello Amber, I would work on building trust in general by gently tossing pup a treat whenever you enter the room where she is, she comes over to say hi, or she generally acts friendly or calm around you. For teaching commands, I would use methods that are Lure Reward training - where you lure pup into doing an action or into a position using a treat, instead of touching pup very much, then genuinely praise and give the treat when pup does the action or behavior. Another option is to work on methods that "capture" the behavior you want pup to learn, meaning that when pup does something like Sit on her own, keep treats in a baggie in your pocket or in a training pouch at all times around her, and praise and calmly say Sit as soon as you see her sitting on her own, then toss a treat at her paws. These two methods tend to be the least confrontational while pup is still learning to trust you. Know that building trust also tends to take time. As pup gets to the point where they are comfortable with more interaction with you, teaching commands, taking pup on walks, rewarding pup for good responses toward you, and playing training games are actually good ways in themselves to build the trust further, it can just be slow getting to the point where you can do those things initially, with lower contact activities like the treat tosses at first. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

March 12, 2021

Hello Jennifer, Start by teaching pup some new commands so that you can better communicate with them during times of excitement. Step Toward method and Leash method for jumping: https://wagwalking.com/training/train-australian-shepherds-to-not-jump Leave It: https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-shih-tzu-puppy-to-not-bite Out - leave the area - to give guests space when needed: https://www.petful.com/behaviors/how-to-teach-a-dog-the-out-command/ Place - have pup work up to a 1 hour Place with a dog food stuffed chew toy to work on, for times when pup needs to be calmer: Start by practicing with everything calm for short periods. Work up gradually to you being able to leave and re-enter the room. Next, practice with family members or those pup knows coming to the door, entering and leaving over and over again until their presence is less exciting and pup can succeed. Finally, recruit some friends to practice the whole scenario often as guests coming to your home - but with people who know ahead of time this will be a training session so can help facilitate the interactions while you train. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O75dyWITP1s Heel - Turns method - have pup work on obedience during walks to wear them out not only physically but also mentally, to help with calmness: https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-poodle-to-heel For the barking, you need a way to communicate with him 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, (like at the door or while standing by the door before they begin), command "Quiet". If they obey, open the door slightly and toss a treat out, then close again. If they sit or stay quiet for an extended amount of time - open the door and let them in completely as a reward for calmness. If they bark anyway or continue to bark, say "Ah Ah" firmly but calmly and give a brief correction without opening the door more than what's required to spray briefly, then close it again. 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, whenever he DOESN'T bark around something that he normally would have or in a situation he normally would have (like at the door), calmly praise and reward him to continue the desensitization process, rather than just waiting until he barks and stops. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Dec. 22, 2020