Whats been your most challenging training obstacle?

[monkeys23]

For a long time with Lily it was reactivity because she is so super friendly and nosy. She's pretty solid on that now, but I'd like to do a refresher when Scout finds a home just to fine tune things.

I have never been able to get Lily to go into a down away from me... she always wants to come to me and then down. I guess I shouldn't gripe since she IS half Sibe and I'm pretty darn lucky she's such a velco dog given that. Le sigh, we'll be able to work on that more specifically when Scout finds a home (sensing a trend here?).

Scout... oi vey where to even start. She had such a huge myriad of issues when she came to me. A lot of it was total lack of socialization and not good socialization from well meaning, but unqualified previous owners... plus inadvertant reinforcement of her skittishness by previous owners. On top of it all, not so great genetics and bad early imprinting from the hoarding bust that was her experience for the first three months of her life after being born into it. So yeah. She's come a hell of a long way, but I don't think she'll ever be "normal". She has what I believe is generalized, genetically based anxiety about life in general. I am very unsure as to whether drugs would help and I'm on the fence about drug therapy anyway. I can't afford drugs or a behaviorist so its a moot point. She is very very solid temperament-wise despite that and a damn good dog.... you wouldn't know her issues when she is working, she's like a whole different dog. In obedience work our biggest obstacle is that she will not down on command consistently, I know she understands the concept (she is scary scary intelligent... she was not pleased when I figured out the "I don't know what you mean" thing was a sham that worked on previous owners) and I can't figure out why she just won't function... I have a gut feeling its tied to her anxiety and dysfunction about life in general, poor thing... I'd like to beat that hoarder for letting those dogs reproduce with those genetics... I hope he never gets another animal. She's such an odd duck.

The biggest problem we have overall is that I can't ever leave Scout behind and have one on one time with Lily. This is an enourmous problem that is not fair to any of us. I'm pretty sure its a direct result of imprinting from being born into a hoarding situation. She also has SA in regards to me, but is generally ok if there is another dog in the vicinity. She flips into total panic mode if she is ever totally alone though. Dear sweet thing, gotta love her. I can't afford to keep her permanently and I think someone who could afford more extensive training would really help her a lot. I really really need to find someone for her, I can't keep doing this because I'm stressed 24/7 about if she'll be okay and what is best for her and etc. .... which in turn stresses her more because she's so in tune with me... ugh its a vicious cycle. She needs a home that can either be with her 24/7 or has either an old male dog that doesn't mind getting left behind sometimes or two males so she's never left alone (crated seperately of course... she'd eat the house loose... trust me I've replaced so much stuff I could not afford to replace (didn't really have a choice... gotta have leashes and shoes) from her escaping the crate... scary smart dog...). Despite all this crap, I'm really glad to have helped her and I do really love her. She's very sweet and intelligent.

[SerenityFL]

Serenity, I hope everything with Shasta turns out well. I know exactly what you mean about having to be hyper vigilant about leaving the two together alone, you just can't because it isn't safe. It sounds a lot like Indi, when she see's me working other dogs she flips out...And you can't trust her for a while afterwards, because if you think dogs don't hold grudges, you've never met Indi. I swear she holds onto stuff for days and plots in her little head how to get back at them. That or it is just stuck in the back of her mind that dog A. is on her $#!+ list and must be "taken care of" at some point in the near future. It's scary stuff. Just keep working with Shasta, and if the problem doesn't go away you'll find a way to be able to manage it I'm sure. It's taken me two years, and Indi is 2.5 yrs old, to even find a way to control her aggression in some form or another. It can be done. It's just so hard. -________-;

CavePaws, just wanted you to know, I did a lot of research and now that I have the place where I have room and no gators and QUIET from idiotic neighbors, (or, as RachelsaurusRexU says, "douche lords"), I have hired a trainer. He comes out tomorrow for the first time. He's expensive but I have read a lot and talked to him on the phone for a good hour and I have confidence that he's going to help.

I told him that my major concerns were with Shasta and his dominance/aggressive (dog on dog), issues and that I want that nipped in the bud now, not wait until he's older. I also told him that they are scared of cars and trucks, (they were dumped in to traffic), and would like to work on that, as well.

I said, "Listen, I want my dogs to repsect me and I want them to do things for me because they WANT to, not because I have to bribe them with a treat." So, this is more about behavior, (mainly on my part), and less on tricks.

We'll see how it goes!

[Khan]

Khan has been relatively easy when it comes to training. He mastered the art of leash walking fairly quickly and painlessly. He doesn't pull at all. In fact there are a lot of times when I have to make him walk faster rather then slower!
He is a Champion "Sitter" Doesn't matter if we are home, or if there is a ton of distractions around, you say, or motion sit, and his butt is on the ground! When we are walking on leash, and I stop at a corner, his butt is on the ground. When we approach people he sits immediately so he can receive attention.
He also has excellent recall. I can be across the park and without fail a "Khan Come" instantly has him charging for me! I worked really hard at getting him to not only come to my front; but also to my back. I would hide behind trees so he couldn't see me and call him, he instantly pops his head up, and comes running!
All of these things however were to just to throw me off! He wanted me to see how good he was at these, so I would overlook the fact that he wouldn't do a "Down" I bet it took him 2 months to do a Down. Oh I could get him to do it at home; but when we got to class, nooooo he wouldn't do it to save his life. Our trainer felt so bad for me; because he was doing everything else without fail. All the dogs would be in a down, and here's Khan, standing up, nuzzling me, licking me, turning away from me in hopes I wouldn't see him! He tried everything in his power to get me to give up so he wouldn't have to do it! At one point we thought maybe he had a spring loaded butt! Cuz I could get him to sit, and when I would lure his nose down, up popped the butt! When he finally went into a down, everyone cheered! LOL!
He still doesn't like going into a down when there are new dogs in the class. I guess he figures he needs to be showing everyone that he's "The Man" and down is just too submissive or something.