[Smeagle]

Treats are not enough if the dog sees other things like the mail man, scenting, other dogs etc as higher value than you.

If you think of it on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the most exciting high value thing EVER, where do you think your beagle sees you?

The training I do with Daisy involves making sure that she sees me as a 10 and teaching her that everything that is fun and exciting comes from me and not through other things. We are doing food based drive training with a behaviourist, and the results so far are excellent although it does take a lot of work - Daisy is learning that nothing is more rewarding than what I have to offer her.

 

[Smeagle]

Originally Posted By: BubblesFirst of all, I am glad Sammi is safe. You must have been terrified. I have been working with Snoopy for almost 4 years now. She is typical beagle. If she wants to respond she does so on the first utter of the word come. If she chooses not to respond, well, she doesn't. Ha, ha. All I can say is that is a beagle. She does come to me inside the house. It is outside where the problems start. Too many distractions, scents, etc. She is now (finally) starting to understand that if she comes to me she gets A LOT of praise and an immediate treat. Food is the key to any training of a hound.

Food is a great motivator, but often hounds are equally if not more motivated by 'prey' so training with toys can also be really useful!