Training help my dog won't get motivated grrrr

[Horsefly]

I am so frustrated and fed up with my dog! I am currently doing a once a week 6 week long training class with her. I am having the hardest time getting her to do anything. It's like she will do what I tell her a few times and then just quit. Also she never will focus on me and seems to be in her own world. She doesn't care for treats and toys aren't working as a reward. She make like something for 2 or 3 times and then it isn't cool anymore and she ignores it and won't work. I can't carry around a zillion things to see what she is in the mood for at the moment to reward her. She did good the first 2 weeks of training but our training sessions seem to be getting worse. She will do everything I ask for awhile but refuses to look at me while doing it and then stops working completely. I was in tears and so frustrated with her this evening. I knew I couldn't train like that so I turned away from her and calmed down for a few minute before wrapping up. I just don't know what to do, I love her but she just seems to be in her own world and doesn't need me, she actually reminds me of a cat sometimes.
Lizzie is a 11 month old black lab mix we rescued as a puppy along with her brother. Both dogs are fixed and wrestle all day long. They pick up toys and tease each other and run from the other. Lizzie let's Willy (brother) tackle her but if he has something she wants she has this snappy growl thing and he gives it to her instantly. They will get in big fights (willy starts them) over food (not treats) so they get fed seperately. Around other dogs, like at training, Lizzie will flop onto her back and is super submisive to them. Even the itty bitty dochund 10x smaller than her. I don't notice any super submisive behavior at home though. Lizzie is not an inside dog and gets put away in a 10x10 kennel at night with Willy, all day they are n a large shock fence area and we are always out there.
If anybody has any suggestions for me to get her responding to me I would really really appreciate it. And if I left any important I formation about her out let me know.

 

[paddock36]

Both my DS showed dogs in our local youth fair for the first time. I was always at the class of course so here are a few things that might help. First, if you feed your dog before training, DON'T. If she/he is not hungry then she/he will not respond to the treats. Second, what type of treats are you using? Try something soft that she would really like. Some trainers will not recommend people food for dogs, but a little bit of chicken, cheese, or cooked hotdog pieces might do wonders. Third, what type of collar are you using? One of our dogs is also a lab-mixed with Newfoundland and has a thicker coat, can be a little more difficult to work with, and just plain stubborn, so we purchased a prong-collar for him to use during training only. It made a major difference. Also, make sure when holding your treats that the dog can smell them, if she can't smell them, she may not even know they are there. Hopefully some of this will help.

 

[Tala]

I feel your pain! My ChowChow mix is like that, she doesn't really like toys or games, the ONLY ONLY ONLY thing she ever wants to do is go for walks. She will walk all day long if I would, but that's not exactly a training reward kind of thing. She will play fetch or tug for about 2 minutes and then she just loses interest. She wants attention but doesn't want to actually play.
She WILL work for people food though. You need better treats. Velveeta is the holy grail around here, but she likes cream cheese and hot dog slices, and cat kibble, and almost anything really.
She sits, lays down, shakes both paws, and goes in her crate on command --- she's not a circus trick dog, but she is trainable.
She paid better attention to me when she was a puppy and I was all-important in her world.


So I got a Lab mix dog who wants to PLAY PLAY PLAY - - - - CONSTANTLY. He's not lazy or boring, that's for sure!!!!!!! He will attempt anything for a ball, or a treat, but he's almost too hyper to work with. He WANTS the rewards so badly that he can't focus on the commands. Takes patience I tell ya!! He will sit or lay, and he learned super-fast to go into his crate on command (I feed them in their crates to avoid fighting)
Sometimes he's so much work that I wish I just had my lazy dog by herself though. LOL He's almost too much of a good thing, so be careful what you wish for!!

 

[Horsefly]

Thanks, she has a pretty thick coat so we do use a prong collar while training. I don't feed her before training sessions, I have tried a variety of treats and try to get smelly stuff to keep her attention. I know little soft bits are best so I tried string cheese, hot dog, bacon beggin strips, cat food, and her puppy food. Haven't tried chicken but it seems that mint be harder to break bits off of.
Oh I forgot to mention I always make her sit before I feed her and make her wait till I tell her to get it. I also require sits whenever I give them new toys, treats, open doors, ect.

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

Odd question, but have you tried ice cubes?

 

[paddock36]

Our lab-mix was also very difficult like that. I had to keep changing treats because he would not be interested for long. The only other thing that I can tell you is Practice, Practice, Practice. It takes a while but the dog will catch on. Also, be careful when you are giving your dogs treats at home. If the dog is used to facing you when waiting for the treat it may be getting confused because you have unknowingly taught the dog to face you for treats rather than being in heal position.

 

[Tala]

Quote:
True dat.

Dogs don't "generalize" very much. In their mind, the rules for one doorway don't apply to all other doorways, unless you do a lot of training in a lot of different doorways.
I've heard that they see in "snapshots" so they will remember exactly what position they were in and exactly what your face looked like when you give them a treat.

 

[lorieMN]

I seldom use treats,,,with the exception of minpins,,they will fly to the moon for a treat..most other breeds I use praise...tons and tons of happy excited praise...how old was your dog when you found her?..you may have missed the good bonding period,,after around the age of 16 weeks or so..some just have trouble bonding if they didnt get human interaction in the younger weeks...sometimes what you have is all you might get,,,another problem may be that you have her brother,sometimes having two grow up together forms such a bond between the two that they wont bond to a human,if this is the problem just keep seperating the two as much as you can,bring one to town and leave the other at home,you could try bringing her inside with you at night,even in a crate beside your bed might help.

 

[Horsefly]

I have given them ice cubes sometimes when they are hot and Willy will run off with them but Lizzie just takes them and spits them back out.
Thanks for the heeling tip, she tends to always want to be looking strait at me for treats not beside me. I'll have to work on that.
The only time they are seperate is when Lizzie is at training class once a week for a couple hours. We only take Lizzie to training because I think they would distract each other and there is only one of me lol. I take Lizzie out of sight into a part of the yard they aren't allowed in unless invited when I have my mini training sessions.
She was 3 or 4 months old when we got her, our neighbor (a vet) had found them starving to death in a ditch a few weeks before they gave them to us.

 

[Cindiloohoo]

It sounds more like an Alpha issue to me. The dog needs to know who the Alpha female is..you, not her. I think there may be some confusion there. I have to reinforce that CONSTANTLY with my older dog who is 5. Some things are just their personality issues shining through.