At training we are working on recall, which puppyboy is fantastic at.  I am not, however.  We are to call the dog and say YES as soon as he is on his way to indicate he is doing the correct thing and encourage him.  When he gets to us we click and treat.  I am spastic, or something, at saying YES.  One time I said it over and over (YES, YES, YES) and the next time I didn't say it at all.  When I am centre stage I just go to pieces and have no idea what I'm actually doing.  I was the same in the show ring when riding and when agility trialing Jet.  What is wrong with me?

Sorry I have never done training so cant give much of an answer, however it seems to me to be more of a confidence problem which will come together with time.

I am sure that others will help out more.

I think this is embarassment. Who wants to shout 'yes' in an enthusiastic voice to a room full of strangers. It's like that advert (i'll have whatever she's having). Don't worry about it, only you notice your own mistakes everyone else is too busy feeling their own embarassment to care!

I had some stange looks over the field with my pup , saying " yes" and today she had her first wee and poo out walking and was saying " good girl " and other sily things and the neighbours etc were looking at me very strange!

Oh well, the pup is doing well on her recall though not doing clicker trainning!

Just got over one bitch who is a yr old and the stress of the recall some times when she wouldn#t ome back though i turned my back and she sooooon come back when she thought i was leaving her

Now im starting again with the 14 week old

To be honest I would find Yes, Yes, Yes, a strange thing to stay, I've always said Good girl/boy or NO!

I don't think I've ever used the command Yes ever!

It isn't as a command it is an alternative to the clicker something that confirms the dog has it right.

YES, (see, I can do it here :) ) Brainless has it.  Our teacher says we use it when we don't have the clicker.  YES, that's right, you got it.  As soon as you reach me you will get a treat.  Just one YES, not several as I did.  One reason she gave to not use GOOD is that half the people you meet will tell your dog he's good, even if he's not.  I'll have to let her know my neighbour told him, "YES, good boy." 

It is easy to get nervous but just block out everyone else and think of the effect its having on pup. I used to get nervous praising my dog and doing the training with him out on walks (its easy at home when no one is watching you) but now i dont give a s**t and i'd rather get embarassed for training my dog than get embarrased because ive got a badly behaved dog.

same here since having a dog any self conciousness has flown right out the window! it had too!  x

I help out at a puppy class and I always tell people to be very enthusiastic when calling puppies into a recall and show them with my own dog (or even theirs) how it should be done. They then call COME in the most domineering voice. I explain that if I were their dog I wouldn't want to come either but people just don't seem to be able to get over the embarassment of being silly with their pups. Funny how we go to pieces isn't it.

Like on Dog Borstal when Mic tells the men to be more like their partners and talk in a gay girly voice to make the dog want to come back on recall. Makes me chuckle every time. For a military man Mic has a very high pitched girly voice when used on the dogs :-) :-) :-)

> but people just don't seem to be able to get over the embarassment of being silly with their pups.

I think I must look & sound like a complete looney when I'm taking my 9 month mastiff pup for a walk. He had got very bad with pulling, he is now walking fantastically on lead :) , but this requires me keeping his attention with a lot of verbal rewards & encouragement, all in silly over the top 'baby' voices, so there's me saying "YAY!!!!! what a goood boy, yes baby yous a goood booooy.... what a gooood boy" (sounding like I'm talking to a little baby) and there is my HUGE pup, nearly 9 stone in weight!!!! It must look silly, but I'm not embarrased, as this keeps him focused and walking lovely, if I didn't do this he would pull to get to everybody - now that would be embarrasing - me not being able to control my dog :(

To the OP, try thinking of how brilliant it will look when all your hard work in training has paid off, it's a lot less embarrasing training your dog than it is to be out & about with a dog that wont listen to you :)

I'm with you mastifflover. Now i would do whatever it takes to make it work but when i first got my dog i was nervous and embarrased to do the stupid voices etc. Just the other day i was walking along with Fred on a seemingly deserted path looking at Fred saying "whos a good boy then, whos a clever dog, mummy so pleased with you" in the silly high pitched voice on our way home from an excellent walk. Looked up and saw 2 workmen sat where they were obscured from my view. Both looked at me like i had absolutely lost the plot and needed taking to the nearest asylum right away.....i said "oh didnt see you there.morning" and went on my merry way while they sat there open mouthed and shocked :-) Like i said, couldnt give a s**t :-)

I can do lots of silly things to get the response I want.  I just can't say YES.  Or YAY.  Oh well, he comes so well anyway.  For some reason I can say it while we are out walking around the village, to reward a good heel position.

As to the domineering, commanding voice, I really agree with that.  I read a tip some years ago that said when you are calling your dog to COME to you, say it in a happy, excited uplifted tone of voice.  The example given was, imagine you are announcing to a group of young children that you are going to give them ice cream.  ICE CREAM.  And say DOG COME the very same way.  It really works to think of this when calling the dog and I see in my class how the other owners make it sound like a stern command

But remember the woman on Dog Borstal with the Newfie who said his name after every command - she would be told NOT to then would do it 2 seconds later, it was one of the funniest things I've ever seen - so no matter how bad you are JJ you can't be worse than she was. Just yell Yeeeehaaaaah at the top of your voice instead LOL :-D :-D

( Don't our dogs make us feel like right pillocks sometimes :-D :-D)

It certainly took me a while to learn to talk in silly voices and jump up and down squealing with excitment - I think it's that famous British reserve, lol! If saying 'yes' feels funny, try something else like 'clever boy' or 'come on puppy puppy puppy yippee!!!!!!!' :-D

When people come to collect their pups, I always run through a few training ideas (for their benefit, not the dogs.)  I can see that they're mortified at my stupid high pitched voice when showing them how to get pups attention.  But I do notice that when they call pup to them, and it doesn't respond, and I show them what I mean - and the pup comes wagging and happy, they will try and copy what I've demonstrated (maybe not quite as daft as me though!)

Have to admit that it doesn't bother me in the least talking daft to a dog, but I would feel a right prat if I had to speak to a human like it!