But why is how I am with Ollie related to my college studies? They are completely different.
Hi Laura
I haven't had much to say on your threads before, but I have just read this one with interest.
Your comment above?.........you are the common denominator. You feature in your studies and you feature in Ollie's training.
If you have a commitment and interest in learning as far as your course goes, then it would be reasonable to expect the same sort of attitude to your dog.
Also, as far as your comment about clicker training and preferring to use a reward instead......I think that is basically all clicker training is. But the clicker allows Ollie to pin point exactly what it is you are rewarding (i.e. the behaviour he has carried out immediately before the click). So if he shakes his head and you click (then treat, of course), and then do the same thing every time he shakes his head, then he will know that by shaking his head he can expect a click and treat from you. Then you introduce a name for the behaviour so that once he has learnt that you can get him to shake his head on command. Easy, huh?
Now you can do it without a clicker. You can say "yes" in a particular tone instead, or snap your fingers if you like. But the system is the same. The main advantage of using a clicker is that anyone can use it and it will sound the same to Ollie, and of course it is not a sound he is likely to hear "by accident" in any other situation (such as you yelling "yes" when your team scores a goal or whatever).
Anyway, you have the great privilege of owning a fabulous young dog. But you do need to remember that with every privilege comes responsibility.And that means taking yourself out of your comfort zone sometimes and doing things you might not feel like doing. Also, of course, asking for advice isn't really just a tool to get some sympathy or comfort. It's about receiving the advice and doing something with it. What you do is your decision, but you have to understand that if people take the time to give advice, they would want to see more consideration for what they are advising. Rejecting advice merely because you don't like to be told what to do is a bit silly really.
I really do hope you can sort things out. I would be interested to know how much, and what your parents physically do for Ollie when you aren't at home.