Completely blown off -_-

slkblaze

So... sometimes when I call for "Sakura" (I've been calling her Zatara because she's a freaking magician when it comes to escaping xD) she will just lay/sit there and look at me. I try to amp up the energy, clap, use her call word "here", but she'll just sit and give me the same bored stare, not moving an inch. For reference, using the word "here" to call her means she will get a treat 100% of the time if she comes to me. It's been extremely useful with my Shiba when we're at the park - if a situation is getting a little hairy, I can call her over and she always comes because she's a little pig, lol xD.

Back on topic - I'm just wondering if this is a JA thing? Because if she KNOWS I have treats, she comes right over to me (MOST of the time). And sometimes she listens just as well whether I do or don't have treats, but just recently she's been deciding it's fun to watch me jump around and clap like an idiot while her majesty sits and watches. I've also been trying to switch to not always carry treats, and show her that I will GO GET HER a treat is she listens and just because I don't have them on me, doesn't mean she isn't getting one.

She's just about 3 months old and very smart... is she messing with me or am I doing something wrong?

PoetikDragon

Akitas are stubborn, stubborn, stubborn! Most are are not food motivated, eager to please, or enthusiastic about anything.

slkblaze

Haha, ok that's good to hear xD. What a little booger!

NotoriousScrat

I think you just got lucky with your Shiba. Mine has a command that I only use to call him over for snack time (and he loves treats, not food, but treats) and he totally blows me off a good quarter to half the time. So, I think it's probably just an independent dog thing.

rafatturi

My Kai will do this to me sometimes but it's usually when he is really distracted. Even when I have chicken he will ignore me. I find if I skip his breakfast then he listens better. A hungry Kai is a compliant Kai. Maybe your Akita is the same? Btw I always feed him later just not right on schedule sometimes.

Kuma123

I completely agree with @poeticdragon lol Akitas are stubborn! They do what they want and they do it when they want to......
With that being said, see if she is toy motivated. If you find something (anything) that she dearly loves use that but only give it to her during those times when you are asking her to "come" or "here" or whatever it is you feel important. Let her play with it and when she walks away from it put it back up. This is the only thing that works for Kuma 95% of the time. Using the toy on walks usually helps distract her from the mindset "OMG big scary monster heading towards my mom! I better bark and carry on and act like a bad ass!". I squeak it and she turns to me and the big scary monster passes and then she looks around and it's gone and meltdown avoided lol (this works about 85% of the time).

Your pup is still so young that she isn't going to be dependable or reliable when it comes to commands. Good luck and keep at it

jellyfish

Hahaha! Sounds about right. Have fun

jellyfish

Bu yea, an Akita doesn't care to please you. If you ask something of them, there has to be something in return that benefits them. and sometimes, lazing around is way more indulging than listening to you. It doesn't mean they don't love you, it just means they don't see a point in doing somethings asked of them. Akitas are very self indulgent beings.

PoetikDragon

When I was working on emergency recall with my last Akita at obedience class, the instructor stressed the importance of not over-using the recall word or practicing it too much. You don't want the dog to think its just a routine thing she can ignore. As with everything else, we never repeated the command/sign and only used it once per action. We didn't use the dog's name or "come" at all, but instead a special rarely-heard word (I chose "oide!" which I think is Japanese for "come!") and gave the dog a "15 second puppy party" every single time it came. We also incorporated a dramatic sweeping gesture, kneeling down on one knee and putting the right hand on your chest, so the dog could see and recognize it from far away even if it couldn't hear you. We practiced on-leash only at first, and would reel in the dog if it didn't come right away. We never reached or grabbed for the dog, instead waiting until it got up close in the personal space to be able to hold the dog's collar before rewarding. I don't think going to get her helps... it teaches her she can just wait for you to come to her. You'll end up always having to chase her down, which is not good if she's actually loose somewhere.

By the way, here's that dog practicing her recall... She loved it

Kuma123

@poeticdragon, love that picture

slkblaze

Thanks for the great feedback

@poeticdragon I started taking her to obedience class, but so far it's HORRIBLE. It's the PetSmart class, and the girl who is the instructor looks/acts like she's in high school and just sits around chatting with us about her dog stories most of the time... she also couldn't get any of the other dogs to even sit down -_-... going to be getting my money back. What kind of instructor/class do you recommend? The only thing I can think of is a Yelp search ><

slkblaze

@poeticdragon Also, love the picture!

Hinata23

@slkblaze I took both my Shikoku and Kai ken to the PetSmart classes and we loved it. They both had different instructors--specific to their needs. You should ask for another instructor or your money back if your trainer is the only one there. I met with both instructors and had them meet my dogs before registering for the classes. PetSmart classes teach positive reinforcement training, which is what you would want, but if the trainer is inexperienced, you should switch. You might want a more experienced trainer for NKs.

PoetikDragon

I second what @Hinata23 said, find an experienced positive reinforcement trainer.

shibamistress

I love that pic too! Look how happy she looks!

this is a site we often recommend on the shiba side for those looking for truly positive trainers. Check it out: http://www.trulydogfriendly.com/blog/?page_id=4

CarabooA

That is a great pic!

Kuma123

Just checking in to see how things are going today?

slkblaze

@Kuma123 Working with her is a learning experience for me, but I'm catching onto a few things that work better than others. She's very curious, and the more interesting I make something seem the faster she responds. She's not incredibly food motivated like my Shiba. She will respond sometimes if she knows I have food, but I don't want to be bribing her to listen to me so I'm cutting back on treats. I think the real key is patience and not letting her get away with not listening by going to get her like @poeticdragon said. I will just wait until she does come over and praise/play with her to show that it's much more fun/rewarding if she does come over to me.

@Hinata23 I'm going to get in on a different class at PetSmart, and if I still don't feel like it's up to par, I will search around on the link @shibamistress posted

MapleTwinkie

I love reading these types of threads. It's really helpful to me as I've never owned an akita, but at least now I'll know what to expect!

PoetikDragon

This meme is relevant

ttddinh

Lol!

CarabooA

We don't have Akita's but this still made me lmao!!! lol

Hinata23

Good luck Hope you can find a trainer you like. I would call an ask when the other trainers will be teaching and take your dog and meet up with them. That way you can see how your dog interacts with them and visa-versa. It'll also be a great opportunity to talk to them and see if you like them or not.