How Do You Teach "get In"

[brody_smom]

Evie sounds a lot like Brody. He does not get very excited about training, unless it's something active, like weaves or spins. Then he almost gets over-aroused, he acts like he doesn't want to do the trick, barks a couple times, then does it perfectly and really fast. We tried doing the "get in" up close to a wall and it worked as long as we stayed there. As soon as we moved away from the wall, he would sit about a foot away and at an angle or even facing my side. He is very difficult to fine tune for many of his fairly well-known cues, like sits and downs. He doesn't seem to get the "raising the criteria" idea, and shuts down when I stop treating for sloppiness or slowness, so we're always back-tracking. Then he gets bored and walks away.

 

[Mutt]

Evie sounds a lot like Brody. He does not get very excited about training, unless it's something active, like weaves or spins. Then he almost gets over-aroused, he acts like he doesn't want to do the trick, barks a couple times, then does it perfectly and really fast. We tried doing the "get in" up close to a wall and it worked as long as we stayed there. As soon as we moved away from the wall, he would sit about a foot away and at an angle or even facing my side. He is very difficult to fine tune for many of his fairly well-known cues, like sits and downs. He doesn't seem to get the "raising the criteria" idea, and shuts down when I stop treating for sloppiness or slowness, so we're always back-tracking. Then he gets bored and walks away.

Maybe some dogepuzzles are an idea to play with him so he learns to think more for himself?
As for 'get in': try using a target mat and reward for looking forward (to prevent facing you)

 

[brody_smom]

Tried the mat idea, but we were using a mat for some of his settling exercises from "Fired Up, Frantic and Freaked Out", so now when I pull out the mat, he thinks he's supposed to relax on it. I tried using different mats or folding up a towel, but he seems to think I want him to pick it up and carry it away if I don't click him for lying down on it. I'm trying to do more shaping to get him thinking, but most of the time he offers me behaviors that I have never clicked for, like barking, scratching and biting. I'm considering adding a no-reward marker, much as I don't really like them, but he might need more feedback, at least for a while.

 

[Mutt]

Maybe its a good idea to just leave it for a while.
Untill the setteling is fully "done" for instance so you can use that mat.
If I really get stuck that usually works for us

 

[brody_smom]

Maybe its a good idea to just leave it for a while.
Untill the setteling is fully "done" for instance so you can use that mat.
If I really get stuck that usually works for us

You're probable right. I'm having a hard time coming up with doable tricks right now. I've been trying to concentrate on basic commands, but those can get boring so I want to mix in some more fun things. We were doing the elephant walk with some success, and I had seen a video about how you can use that to teach a good heel as well. Maybe I'll go back to that and see if it works any better.