Working on Self Control

Webe, my Australian Terrier, is now 10 1/2 months old. He is the pushiest and most dominant and demanding dog I've ever had (and I've been involved in dogs with dogs of my own since mid 60s). He is also very loving, smart and willing. But I have to make it worth his while and he needs to believe it is his idea. Self control often has a LOT to do with attention - and it's something many people tend to overlook. Yes, your dog can give you great attention, but if they have no self control when they see a ball on the off-8 (That was my precious boy Wally!!!) there is a good chance they'll leave you to get the ball. Self control enters their life many times at a trial - and it's something you need to work on. Here is a video I did with Wally when he was 3 - - he struggled with self control and this ball forever. Any ball, but especially this one. Watch at the end and you'll notice that even tho he's been looking at me and seems to be "paying attention" when I tell him to "get it" meaning another toy, he charges for the red ball,which has dominated his mind the entire time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ba9bOwgZvU&spfreload=10 Back to starting off with your dog at least focused on you - not complete attention but interacting with you as they come out of the crate - no matter where they are, home, park or a trial. Getting out of the crate Webe would want to charge out the minute the door opened. Not shown on this video is how I worked on that - when the door opened I used my LH to put a treat way back into the crate and as he pulled back to get it I would C/T (Click and Treat). I would do 3-4 treats every time I opened the crate. While I do not always do that now, I still reinforce waiting until I invite him out of the crate (you'll hear me do that in the video) I still reach back into the crate with 3-4 treats every couple days. Once he was out of the crate at the park it would be pull, pull, pull. I ceased to exist for him. As he comes out of the crate now I have a handful of treats. You can see how we work this - this was done this AM as we arrived at the big City park - where there were a lot of workers tearing down from the big carnival and "October fest" vendor area from the weekend. Interaction with me is what I'm interested in here. He can jump on me, sit and stare at me - he has to acknowledge my presence. You can google Premack's Principal for more information - you know it as "eat your vegetables and you can have dessert". LOL