“Overly” food motivated 10.5 month old Doberman?
So, I have a 10.5 month old female Doberman. She is probably one of the most food-motivated dogs I’ve ever seen. I know being food motivated is generally a good thing, but I feel like it’s actually becoming an issue with training.
She is SO focused on the food that she locks her eyes onto the treat/bowl of food rather than me. She’ll listen to commands she already knows really well, like sit, down, and wait, but teaching her something new is where we struggle.
I can usually get a few repetitions in of what she knows, but then she gets antsy and starts trying to get over to the treat, past me. And yes, I have tried keeping the treat/food out of sight. I’ve let her see it, then put it on the counter out of sight to hopefully assist her in focusing on me.. but she still just looks behind me and won’t even LOOK at me. If I don’t let her go, she starts throwing out every behavior she knows- sitting, laying down, shaking, etc. Basically trying random things to see what will get her the treat. Then if I keep waiting and trying to get her to focus on the new task, eventually she just gives up and walks away like she’s completely done with training, or gets super frustrated and starts barking.
What is this behavior called when they start spamming behaviors they already know? And what causes this? Is she somehow too food motivated, or is this more likely an issue with how I’m using treats during training?
How common is this, and how would you guys go about fixing it? I’m genuinely looking for opinions because I’m sure there’s a chance I’m contributing to the problem with how I’m training her.