# Obedience and Agility Training



## farmgirl (Jun 2, 2010)

Hi, I've never posted here before, but lurk a bit. Sorry if this is long. I have a 6.5yo, very athletic Malt that I got as 5yo show/breeding retiree from a reputable breeder. He was already pretty well behaved and had great lead manners (heels naturally, 90%+ off-lead recall), so I haven't done any training with him. He got no regular handling (or human socialization, for that matter, but that is a whole other issue) after showing and before I got him (3-4 years?). His breeder mentioned that his line, and some of his puppies competed in agility and that he almost went that route, but that his original owner wanted to show him instead. 

Anyway, I now want to start doing some formal obedience training. As (more) background, for the first +/-8 months I had him, he almost never sat or laid down--only on his bed, the couch or crate. I was told by someone who shows, that this may be b/c, as a show dog, he wasn't allowed (was trained not to?). Not sure if this is true, but, regardless, he doesn't/didn't do it.

Recently, he has begun sitting and laying down more often, so over the last few months, every time he does I say "good sit/down Tyler" and gush over him to try and pre-associate the words with the action. More recently (OK, 2 days ago) I started doing ask/lure/reward for the sit. I was taught that you hold the treat over the nose and move your hand back so they eventually plop their butt down. Not Tyler, he will back up, ask to play, beg, jump or get bored and walk off (if you try to push his butt down he usually squirms, braces and/or runs away). 

We finally got it. On a rug. Any rug in the house, but only on a rug. He will not sit on any hard or cold surface. I can't blame him, but... At one point I waited almost 5 minutes and he just stood there and looked at me. I moved 3 feet to the rug and he sat. This morning I did a few sits on the kitchen rug, moved a few feet to the floor and asked, etc. He looked at me for a moment, then backed up until he was on the rug and sat *sigh*. At least he seems to be learning something... It's almost as if he doesn't understand WHY I want him to do this. Oh, and I can't keep him sitting for more than a second. I was told to keep feeding him tiny treats so long as he sat, but I can rarely get 2 in him before he pops up.

I've only ever had large dogs before and they usually got sit-stay in a day or so of just 5-10 minutes and down-stay in another day or two. Is it a small dog thing, or just him?

Any suggestions? FYI--He is signed up for a beginners obedience class in March, but if I could get sit, down and rudimentary stay, we could move to the novice class. Ultimately, I really want to do some agility work with him since he just loves running, jumping, fetching and having something to do.

Thanks!


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## jmm (Nov 23, 2004)

Every dog learns differently. Certainly their background influences how they learn. Often a different approach will make a world of difference. Maltese are very intelligent and can excel in obedience and agility. To participate in agility you will need a good base in obedience.


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## farmgirl (Jun 2, 2010)

Thanks, that's why were trying to get the basics down  Do you have any suggestions for a different approach? Pushing down the butt and lure/reward are the only two I know, and they don't seem to work on hard surfaces.


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## jmm (Nov 23, 2004)

I would first work on a surface he is comfortable with. You may find it useful to "capture" the behavior with the clicker instead of luring or physically placing it. Once he has it on cue on a comfy surface, then I slowly change the surface (to a light mat on a slippery floor, slowly make it smaller and smaller until its gone).


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## hoaloha (Jan 27, 2012)

Perhaps figuring out what motivates him the most will help him not be "bored" of your commands? ie. some dogs are very treat/food driven vs. others like to play, etc... Reward the desired action with what you think the dog will feel rewarded with. Sometimes, instead of food, I will throw a toy or rope for fetch as the reward. I am in no way an expert in agility but have found that understanding what makes your dog "tick" goes a long way. hope it helps!


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## Madison's Mom (Dec 26, 2007)

My two Malts will not sit on a hard floor either. As a matter of fact when Paxton recently went through obedience class, I took his little blanket for him to sit on and as soon I put it down, he sat perfectly. They always 'sit on the rug' but will not sit on the hard floor. I thought mine were just being weird!


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## Snowbody (Jan 3, 2009)

Tyler's the same. His little derriere doesn't want to hit the cold wood floor. He runs to a rug and will do anything. In obedience class they had a mat otherwise he would freeze on the very slippery wood floor of the gym Welcome to SM and hope you pursue agility. We have several members here who have done great work with their Maltese and I've been lucky enough to see them in action. :thumbsup:


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## mostlytina (Jan 3, 2009)

Try to use a wall or curb as your aid. They will have less free space to move around. As for sitting on the hard floor, I think it is just a matter of practice. My girl didn't like it at the beginning, but eventually she got the gist of it and was actually pretty proud of herself.


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