Training my Dog for 20%
9/30/20
Hello everyone! For my 20% Project, I will be learning/trying to train my 10-month-old miniature Yorkie, Bear, basic commands such as sit, rollover, and etc. I will also be trying to teach him how to not bark at people when they walk by, and how to sit still because he has a tendency of getting excited a lot. While training him, I will try and either take short video clips of his victories and fails, or I will take pictures of his victories and fails, and post them on the blog. I know this process is going to be rigorous, so I will have to be extra patient with my dog.
👈 This is a picture of my dog, Bear.Here is a link to a website that talks about how to train your puppy! https://www.thesprucepets.com/steps-to-train-your-dog-1118273
Wednesday, October 7th, 2020
Today... I watched some videos on how to potty-train your Yorkie, and what to say or do to keep his pee/poo on his pad daily. After watching the youtube videos, I also tried to teach him how to sit and high-five. What I did was get the clicker that I bought, get some treats out, and have Bear right in front of me. I grabbed 1 or 2 treats out and put the bag somewhere where Bear won be able to reach them. I started to introduce him to the word "sit", and I would pick him up, and carefully place him in a sitting position. After doing that, I got excited and started saying "good boy!" and "yay!", which led him to become excited as well! So after doing that a couple of times, he sort of got the hang of it! When he sat, I clicked the clicker, and then he was rewarded. Here is an image of him sitting on command.
Today, I watched a couple of youtube videos on how to teach your dog to sit. As of right now, this is one thing that I simply want Bear to master. I follow Chewy, on youtube. This channel allows me to learn new things, about dog training and etc. After watching the video, I learned that you should always use treats to start off with, and when using them, place the treat over their nose, but place it above them. When doing this, their instinct is to sit. When he sits, you should click your clicker, or just chant "Good Boy!" or "Yay!". Then the dog will know he made you happy! After trying this method, Bear sort of responding well. He had his moments where he would sit, and then he would just stand on his 4 paws confused. I think on my behalf, I need to make it a little more clear for him because sometimes I confuse him. Other than that he did okay! When I ask him to sit, sometimes he'll just look at me. From watching some dog training videos, it says to raise the clicker above his head when telling him to sit, so when I try to do that, he'll just look at me.
We cut his ears and trimmed his leg hair so that is why he looks a little different.
Wednesday, October 21st, 2020
Today, I continued to work on teaching Bear how to sit. I believe it is safe to say he sort of has the hang of it. He gets very happy when I call him a good boy, but sometimes he'll still get confused when I tell him to sit, and that's only when I don't have the treat in my hand. He's mastered sitting when I have the treat in my hand, but now I need to practice without the treat in my hand. I'm going to start working on this, and hopefully, he'll still know that sit means sit, even without the treat in my hand.
Wednesday, October 28, 2020
Bear is officially potty trained! He's been going on his pee pad the past 2 weeks when he needs to poop, and pee! I am very proud of him. He's adapted extremely well, and I'm very surprised. Now that he's mastered potty training on his pee pad, all I have to do now is work extra hard on training him how to sit, and how to not bark at people. I'm very happy with the progress I've made so far, however.
Wednesday, November 4, 2020
Bear is doing extremely well, better than I thought he would do to be quite honest. I've been working on teaching him how to sit, and also how to not bark at people. When people walk by, I always say his name, and call him a "Bad Boy", and then he looks down, and doesn't bark, which makes me very proud. When it comes to teaching him how to sit, he knows the word sit, and when I use the clicker, he knows that he needs to sit. When I try to say the word "Sit" out loud to him, without using the clicker, then he sometimes sits, but it's sort of an off-and-on process. I'll continue to work on that but so far, it's going good!
Wednesday, November 11, 2020
So... Bear had been doing good. He's always going on his pee pad to do his business, which makes me a very proud dog mom. He's still barking at people, so what I need to do is watch more youtube videos on how to minimalize the barking. Other than that he is doing okay, when it comes to learning how to sit, he's still kind of stubborn. I really need to work on that, and then after he learns how to sit, I'll try to teach him how to high-five! So far so good!
Wednesday, November 18, 2020
Today I read this blog, that contained vital information on how to get your dog to stop barking at other people, and why he/she could be doing that. Here is the link to the website.
On the website, I learned a lot more, and what I'm going to try from now on is this method for when he barks at people. When he starts barking, let him bark for a little bit, then put your hand over his muzzle, and say "Quiet". Once he stops, then take your hand away from his muzzle. When repeated over and over, he'll know then to stop barking at others when they walk by. I think this will work, so I'll try using it from now on. He's doing pretty good when it comes to sitting, I won't say he's mastered it, but he gets the hang of it. Here is an image of him sitting next to his two new toys! 
Wednesday, November 25, 2020
I am extremely happy with the progress bear has made! 80% of the time, he'll sit on command, and 99.9% of the time he'll pee on his pee pad! When it comes to barking at people, the technique I've been using has helped a lot. Overall, I think bear has been doing pretty well. Occasionally he'll bark at people, but that's just occasionally. I'll continue to work on that but so far so good!
Wednesday, December 9, 2020
So far so good! As of right now, I am still working on teaching Bear how to sit on command, but he knows the word sit, and it's on and off. Since I successfully potty trained him, once I'm doing teaching him how to sit, I want to try to teach him to give me a high five. That's one trick I would LOVE to teach him. Other than that, he is doing amazing! Here is a video clip of me telling Bear to sit! Let's hope he sits on command!
Wednesday, December 16, 2020
I am a little disappointed in Bear. So throughout all last week, and this week as well, Bear has been peeing on the carpet! I really don't know why he is doing this! He was doing extremely well-going pee on his pad, but I guess not. He knows when he messed up too! He will run away from my mom when she tries to get him. I also think he does this by accident. I really think he doesn't mean to pee on the carpet. What I need to do to prevent this is to take him out more often. So, I will be setting hourly alarms on my phone on when I should take him out. Here is a picture. 
Wednesday, December 23, 2020
The hourly alarms worked! He started peeing and pooping on his pad as usual. His birthday is coming up! He's about to turn 1 on the 26th! I can't believe how fast time flies by. I think that bear, has tried learning how to sit to the best of his abilities. I think when it comes to teaching him, I've tried my hardest. What I think I want to work on is teaching him how to high-five. I think that will be really fun.
(December 26, 2020)
It's his birthday! Here is him in his Christmas attire!
Wednesday, December 30, 2020
So I've started trying to teach bear how to high five! Here is the link to the youtube video that I watched that helped me.
I really liked this video because even though it was short, it was very informational. Here is me beginning to attempt to teach bear how to high-five. Here is a link to a video clip of me trying to teach bear.
Wednesday, January 6, 2021
So... it's 2021! Finally! So... I am happy with bear's progress so far! I've been training him or at least trying to get him used to the word high five, and I do the steps that are needed for him to do that. Whenever I'm training him and my mom is home, she'll try and help me. It's really funny because for some reason bear gets all happy. Bear has been doing decent with learning how to high-five, and I am really happy!
Wednesday, January 13, 2021
Bear is doing amazing! He has been high-fiving most of the time! I love that he'll high-five me even when I don't have treats! So overall, I am happy with his progress. I really an enjoying teaching him this trick, and I think he enjoys it as well. Here is a video clip of Bear high-fiving me on command! (He got a little trim)
Wednesday, January 20, 2021
Bear has excelled! At first, I thought it would take him more time to understand how to high-five, and to understand the word itself, but no! Surprisingly he has caught onto this trick very easily. When I am playing with him for example, and he fetches a toy that I threw, I'll say "Bear high-five" and he'll high-five! It looks so funny because sometimes he'll get on his hind legs to high-five me. So overall, I think this trick was a success but I'll keep on continuing to teach him just so he doesn't lose the hang of it.
Wednesday, January 27, 2021
Well, it is official, Bear has mastered how to high-five. He will do it on command, and now he is even starting to give me a high five with one paw instead of two! I am very happy that he can high-five, without treats being given to him! He has been such a good boy, and I am extremely proud of his growth.
Wednesday, February 3, 2021
I am very impressed with Bear. Not only has he learned how to sit, but also how to high-five as well. I am very proud that he can high-five, and sit on command. Since I feel like he has mastered both of these tricks, I will be trying to teach him a new one. I don't want this one to be too easy, but I don't want this one to be too complicated for him. Here is a link to the youtube video I was watching on tricks for dogs.
Wednesday, February 10, 2021
So if I am going, to be honest, I haven't decided on what I am going to teach bear. I don't know whether I should try and teach him the prayer trick, or the roll-over trick. So, what I've been doing in the meantime is just having him do the ricks he already knows like sit, and high-five. By next Wednesday, I think I will have a trick that I want to teach him. Other than that, he's been a good boy.
Wednesday, February 17, 2021
So I have decided on what new trick I am going to teach him! I think I am going to attempt to teach him the prayer trick! I thought it was pretty neat, and I think it will make my mom laugh so why not! I always have the video beside me with treats as well.
Wednesday, February 24, 2021
Wednesday, February 24, 2021
So, I've been going over the trick with bear, and he is kind of struggling on it. For example, when I am going through it with him, he'll think I'm asking him to high-five me when I just want him to put his paws on my arm. So it's the little things like that, that I need to go over and work on with him. I hope that by next week he will sort of have an idea as to what he should be doing. Overall, he is not doing the greatest, but he isn't doing the worst.
Wednesday, March 5, 2021
Bear has been struggling. The trick I am trying to teach him seems too difficult for him to understand. When I try to ask him to put his paw on my arms, he gets really confused. So, what I am going to need to do is try to come up with another trick, which is simpler. I hope I find a video that has a simpler trick for him to learn.
Wednesday, March 9, 2021
So... Bear got neutered. Eventually, we wanted him to mate and have kids, but that wasn't possible due to his circumstances. It would have been more dangerous if we hadn't gotten him treated because he could have gotten cancer. Right now, I have been trying to do some tricks with him, but since he is still hurting, he is not able to complete them properly. Here is a picture of him right now. I got him to sit, but sometimes it is uncomfortable for him. 
Wednesday, March 17, 2021
Wednesday, March 17, 2021
So I know this is off topic but, today is my Grandmother's 83 birthday! It's so crazy because my birthday is on the 13th, and since hers is on the 17th we are only 4 days apart which I think is so cool! I think when we go to drop off her birthday present, we will be taking Bear. He loves going on car rides, and he really loves my grandma as well. Bear, has been doing better! Sadly he will need to be wearing his cone for at least 2 more weeks, but his sutures are healing up very well! We have to take him back on the 22cd, for them to take out his stitches. The one bad thing is that since we can't take him a bath because of his sutures, he smells so so bad! He is like this little stinky furball. Here is a picture of him right now! We had to get him a bigger cone, just because with the other one, it was easier for him to try and get to his sutures. 
Wednesday, March 24, 2021
So... bear got his cone off! Here he is sunbathing like the little stud he is. On Monday, we took him to go get his stitches out, and now he is so so happy! So, over the course that bear has been healing, I thought of a similar trick to teach him. I will now try to be attempting to teach bear how to spin! I heard from youtube videos that dogs can pick this trick up quicker, and it's simpler for them as well. So soon I am going to go over it with him, and see if I can get any good clips! This is just a random picture I took of bear playing with his toy.
Wednesday, March 31, 2021
This week I was with my dad, meaning that I couldn't go over certain tricks with bear. Under certain circumstances I wasn't able to bring bear to my dad's house, so he had to stay with my mom.
Wednesday, April 7, 2021
Now that I am back home with bear, I can go over tricks with him! When I was with my dad, I really missed him and wondered how things were going at my mom's house, but now that I'm here, he seems to be doing fine. When I wasn't here, my mom was telling me how she was going over the tricks he already knows, like "sit" and "high-five" and she said that he was surprised at how well he caught on. Later today, I'm going to go over the new trick with him, which is teaching him how to spin. Even if he doesn't fully grasp the concept just yet, he will get plenty of treats for trying. Overall, he is going extremely well! (He recently got a haircut! The reason for the blue tape on his ear is to try and stable that ear so soon it can stand on its own.)
Wednesday, April 14, 2021
So bear is sort of grasping onto this new trick! It's really weird just because like 5 minutes into the training, bear just lays down as if he is tired.😂I'm really happy that bear is trying to learn this trick! Although it seems hard, I do think he'll grasp this one. I am having a lot of fun teaching him new tricks, and even going over old ones just because it supprises be how well he does them.
Wednesday, April 21, 2021
I'm going, to be honest, I really didn't go over the new trick with bear today. I kind of forgot to, and for some reason instead of going over the new one, I went over the ones he already knew. Surprisingly, he has gotten WAY better at them. I was in shock when he sat on command first try, and gave me a high-five on the first try as well! I'm telling you, once bear realizes how to perform a task correctly, he will perform it correctly 99% of the time. For sure though, I will remember to go over the new one next week so he doesn't lose the hang of it!
Wednesday, April 28, 2021
So, I've been going over the trick with him! He had his moments where he would do really good with, and without the treats so I am going to try and stop using the treats as much when guiding him. Overall though, Bear is catching on slowly but surely! When he does get the trick correctly, at the end I'll give him some treats.
Wednesday, May 5, 2021
It's crazy how long I've been working on my blog post! Anywho, Bear is MASTERING this trick! I swear I got a pretty smart dog!😂 I've been working on teaching him how to Spin without using the treats, and he still does good! I am going, to be honest, he still needs more practice because now he's starting to spin in a half-circle rather than a full one, so I need to work on guiding him properly, in order for him to complete that full circle spin. I think in order for bear to fully master this new trick, it will probably take a couple of more weeks hopefully! Overall though, I am proud to say that during this process, I taught him some tricks. Today, I will attempt to hopefully record a couple of clips of him spinning in a full circle, without any treats.
He is so cute! I'm so sorry for Bear :( I hope everything gets better and you can teach him more tricks. Something I recommend is adding a picture or link to each reflection and maybe making your responses a little longer. Other than that, it looks really good and great job! <3
ReplyDeleteYour dog is adorable and you blog was very interesting and it seems you had fun! Sorry about Bear as well.
ReplyDeleteYour blog was very interesting and I liked reading it. Sorry for bear hope he gets better. I just wished you added a little bit more pictures but besides that you blog was very well done!
ReplyDeleteYour blog was very enjoyable to read. It was so adorable seeing the different pictures of different tricks you were teaching him I also believe that it was really great how you included your time scheduling it was organized and planned very well.
ReplyDeleteYour blog was very interesting I didn't really expect anyone to train there dog for there 20 time project Great job.
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