Just back from the NAT.APT, nice to meet you Lins and your dogs, hope you enjoyed your day.
Tessa, I wouldn't beat yourself up about it, Munsters are a step up from any dogs, even other HPR's when it comes to communication, and because of this they are quite astute in reading people, the trouble is they expect you to talk their language in return, and I'm afraid for many of us things often get lost in translation, I had a good teacher but my report card for the first ten years would have read "A bit fragmented and must try harder!"
We often think that because our dogs pick things up quickly, they are smart and therefore their understanding of things is set at a higher level, and thus we tend to over complicate their training. This at first, appears to work , but later it all falls apart because what we think they have learnt, they have in fact only got a shallow understanding of. ( and are often reacting to subliminal signals we are giving rather than the actual signals we have actually given) You'll often hear this in gundog circles as the `one step forward and three steps back' phenomenon. I have to say it is this basic principle that often makes you and your dog a stronger partnership in the long run. So, frustrating as it may first appear to be, its something that you should except and get use to , as your likely to go mad if you don't!
Moving a dog from its family position, from where you have inadvertently put it to where you want it is all about canine psychology, and as such its all about the dogs mental perception, this by its very nature is very simplistic in its form, ( its us that tend to over complicate it) . The advise already given covers most techniques that can be used, however I would just add a note of caution. I have already said that our dogs like to communicate, and expect a two way conversation, and I have also said that the dog will understand very simple signals, therefore you should all be warned that these signals are by there very nature very strong in there effect, and you should only use them sparingly and in a controlled manner. They may not seem like much to you or I, but believe me they can be as brutal as an abusive whipping and I hope none of you would consider doing that to you dog!
Peter