Hi everyone

We've had our rescue springer for about 3 weeks now.  He had been abused and so was extremely nervous at first and did a wee if you so much as looked at him but he's come on in leaps and bounds and now only does the occasional wee inside when excited or worried.  He still gets a bit worried when I try and teach him things but so far I've taught him sit and down. 

I don't want to go too fast with him but would like to teach fetch so he can have a good run around when we're out.  I've started with his toys inside and it's taken a few weeks to even get him interested enough to get the toy if I throw it a few feet away from him, then when he gets it, he just runs straight to his bed with it!  I've been training with rewards but can't reward for fetch if he never brings it back!!  when he's got the toy, if I call him he will come over to me and I praise him but then he runs straight to his bed with the toy!  Any advice appreciated :-)

IMHO you sound as if you've done a lot to gain his trust in the short time you have had him & if it was me I would just carry on with what you are doing. We had similar problems with our rescue dog - weeing if you so much as looked at him funny - but gradually he learnt to trust us. I'm sure he's still feeling quite insecure (with good reason from his past, bless him!) but like you said he's already come on leaps & bounds in 3 wks - keep up the good work
Regards

Stand in (or as near as you can) his bed. Hopefully you can then get him into the habit of bringing it to you (& reward him for doing so), without putting any pressure on him.

Thanks for the encouragement :-)  I think you're right that it will probably just take some time, he's a very sensitive little dog but he seems to really enjoy learning new things once he's got over his initial worry about upsetting you.  I will try throwing it away from his bed and staying nearby to praise him when he brings it back and then moving away from the bed a little bit more each time.

Hi Pinin

Have you heard of clicker training?  IMO it is a very good way to train, especially for dogs which are lacking in confidence.

You need a clicker and a tub of treats.  You can buy a clicker from loads of places online - just Google it.  They cost about 50p.  You can also get them from most pet shops.

First you need to tell the dog what the click means. 

A click means:

1. You did the right thing.
2. You're going to get a treat.
3. The behaviour is over now.

Click then offer the dog a treat.  Do this till all your treats are finished and do it for 3 days in a row.  Don't ask the dog to do anything yet.  Just click, then give a treat.  By the end of 3 days, when you click, the dog should look at you for the treat.

When you get to that stage, you could use the click to go over the sit and down, which you say you've taught.  If your dog already knows sit and down, say "Sit" and the very SECOND the dog's bum touches the floor, click.  Then give a treat.  Say "Down" and the very second the dog is in the right position, click, then give a treat.

To train the retrieve: 

If you have a dog that will already pick the object up, start from here:

Put the object on the floor AT YOUR FEET.  Maybe start with a new object or toy so the dog is naturally curious about it.  When the dog picks it up, click.  The dog should then drop the object and come to you for a treat.  Throw the treat AWAY FROM YOU.  When the dog turns to chase the treat, pick the object up.  (It is important to throw the treat away from you, because the reason the dog is returning to bed with the toy is because he wants to keep it from you - he thinks it is important to you.  So if he sees you pick it up, he will think it is even MORE important to you, and he will get more possessive. Prevent him from seeing you pick it up by throwing the treat away.)

If the dog doesn't drop the object wave the treat under his nose so he has to drop the object to eat it.  Be ready with a treat in your hand to do this, the instant he picks it up from by your feet.  Don't give him a chance to take it away anywhere.  If he drops the object when you wave the treat, then throw the treat AWAY FROM YOU.  When the dog turns to chase the treat, pick the object up.

Keep doing this a lot, until the dog drops instantly on hearing the click.  Then you can start to place the object further away from you and he will naturally come towards you with it once he has picked it up, expecting the treat.

There are a few more stages after this, but I'll leave it there for now.

Tell us how it goes.

Put your dog on a long line and work in a space that is long and narrow if possible.  Get the dog interested in the toy then throw it out bearing in mind it has to be within reach of your dog's line.

As soon as he picks up the toy call him back to you praising him every step of the way.  If he doesn't come of his own accord give a little tug on the line and reel him in.

As soon as he gives up the toy throw it out again.  If you keep him on the line until he learns that the game only continues if he brings the toy back to you you should then be able to play with him off line.  At the moment you have no control over who plays the game and how its played.  He is in control as he can get the toy and run off with it = game over, toy his!

I would teach the retrieve by firstly training the dog to "give"you the toy/sock etc. this means getting the dog to firstly take the object from your hand then release it...reward instantly with a treat. Then progress to placing the object at your feet, then reward the dog for the "give". Only when the dog has mastered these progress to the actual retrieve. You may find it  more useful to use a sock filled with treats for the dog to practice with, rather than a toy. I found that the dog is less likely to bog off with this than with a toy, as when the dog brought the sock to me, i opened the sock to get the treat out.

Thanks for the replies :-)

Onetwothree I am interested in trying clicker training but I think I will have to find out a bit more about it first to make sure I do it right!  Just read some old posts on here and someone recommended a book by Karen Pryor - have you seen this or do you know of any other good books on clicker training for beginners?!!  I was a bit worried about having to have your clicker to the ready all the time in case you miss the behaviour but I suppose if you do a couple of short focussed training sessions a day this would stop this happening.

Hi Pinin,

I think clicker training is one of those things that sound a lot more complicated then they are.  You don't have to always have the clicker to hand...

Don't worry about missing a behaviour you like.  In your training sessions you'll have your clicker with you and it'll be then that the dog learns the behaviour.  Sure, it might go minisculely quicker if you can catch a few more behaviours with the clicker, but not to worry.  And the speed the dog will learn with the clicker will be incredible.

If you want to get started there is loads of useful info on the net actually.  So much so now that I'm not sure it's worth buying a book. 

This should have everything you need to get you started:

http://www.clickertraining.com/training/clicker_basics/index.htm?loaditem=what_is_ct

When you've mastered the basics, here's the clicker retrieve (in more detail than I explained it):

http://www.shirleychong.com/keepers/retrieve.html

Hi onetwothree

I've had a quick look at the first site you recommended and like you said it looks like all the info. that would probably be in the book so am going to print it out tomorrow when I've got a bit more time.  Am also going to call at the pet shop on my way home from work and get my first clicker!  I'm looking forward to trying it!

I'll let you know how I get on or will more than likely be back with more questions later :-)