I have a 1/2 lab - 1/2 german shepard mix.  She is a little over 1 year old right now.  Now, she is an
intellegent dog and learns quickly.  She understands sit, stay, no, ect..    and she is more than willing to
do what i say when I have a treat in my hand or she wants something.    However when I dont have a
"cookie" for her she couldnt care less what I tell her to do  As an example, something she knows
not to mess with while im watching will get pillaged as soon as she knows she can get away with it.

Basically she doesnt [Cartman] RESPECT MY AUTHAURITAAH! [/Cartman]

Any advice?

Edit, wow did i really mispell dog? fixed

If you give her a treat everytime you ask her to do something, of coarse she is going to expect it. You did say she is smart, right?

You have to gradually get her off the expectation that she will be getting them for every command. From now on, give her a treat every other time she does a command, then give her a treat every third and fourth time, etc.. This keeps her thinking that she might get something good to eat everytime you ask her to do something. I owned many dogs and it always works, whether it's a pup or an older dog.

What does she pilllage when your not looking?

You need a 2x4 to get a lab's attention. Maybe for a 1/2 lab too. I used to train labs for retreiving

Quoted: You need a 2x4 to get a lab's attention. Maybe for a 1/2 lab too. I used to train labs for retreiving

That seems to be the time she pays the most attention.  When Im obviously pissed off at her.  Then
you've never seen a more well behaved dog.  I like to be pretty nice to her and Id like to figure out a way
to make her behave other than fear of an ass beating though.   I'll try giving her less treats when Im
trying to work with her.  

As far as things she gets into.  It used to be the trash..  but she has stopped that after she figured out I
will notice trash spread around the house later no matter where I am when it actually happens.  ;)  
Basically she will go after anything edible..  and occasionally chew on things for no apparent reason.  
If i leave a little leftover food on the table and go to the bathroom, It may not be there when i get back.  
Although she wont mess with food unless she thinks im done with it.  Sometimes shes wrong.  

Quoted: You need a 2x4 to get a lab's attention. Maybe for a 1/2 lab too. I used to train labs for retreiving

 As true as it gets. Buy the book Water Dog, it is for Labs, but the training techniques could apply to any dog.

I have a lab/pit mix, we had a problem that sounds very similar to yours (he isn't perfect yet but he is WAY better). I can tell you what has worked for me. Its basically setting firm groundrules and being consistent about enforcing them (and rewarding when they are correct).  This is by far the single most important thing that you can do to raise a happy healthy obedient companion. My dog jake, being part lab is also VERY food motivated, this is a good thing as it makes training much easier (not easy but easier). I think that the problem that you and your dog are having is a dominance struggle, thats what it was for us. He knows the commands but doesn't see you as "the boss" so he chooses not to follow them.  A few things that I did to establish my dominance over jake:

1. Do a 30 minute down every day, preferably while you are eating a meal, cause then you can eat in peace. If he gets up and breaks his down, say NO! or whatever word you already use as a corretion, then put him back in his place that you orginally put him in with a firm hand and tell him to "stay" again in a firm voice, (make sure never to stare at a dog in the eyes because he will think you are threatening him). For the 30min down to work, make sure not to praise him while he is down, because this is something that he should do without reward, remember, the goal is for him to listen to you without question.  He should be waiting patiently for your next instruction.  You may want to start out with a five minute down, move to 10 when he has gotten good at that and move up to 30 when you think he is ready, but make sure to do it a little bit everyday or he will conveniently forget what is going on.

2.Make sure you establish places that he cannot go to. I.e. furniture, your bed, etc. Later in training when he is listening to you and respects you as alpha you can give him more privelages like making him sit and ask to come on the bed/couch and wait for you to give him permission before he comes up. When jake has a brain fart i say in a loud voice "NO! Off! and point off of the bed/couch" when he gets off i make sure to praise him with a "good boy good off," because he listened to my off comand. Praise is as important as correction for re-enforcement. this is easy to forget when he is being bad and pissing you off.

3. Make him sit at doorways and stay there untill you have gone through them.  Then tell him "okay" or whatever release word you want to use. A good way to start this is to initially use treats as re-enforcement for the sit-stay. gradually ween him of the treats and give them occasionaly. You must be consistent in enforcing this or he will think he can get away with not listening (be consistent and firm in all training).

4. When you are telling your dog to do sits, downs, stay, come; make sure to say the command only ONCE in a authoratative tone. If he does not do what you are asking, firmly and gently move him into the desired position and as soon as you have done this make sure to give lots of praise and give him a treat. This will let your dog know that when you tell him to do something, you mean it and if he does it he will be rewarded. "Come" is the hardest command to work on but is the most important.  A reliable come can save your dogs life if he gets away in a bad location. You need to be able to enforce the command after you give it so my advice is to purchase a long-line. you can find them in all sorts of lenghts at Petco (I think 30ish is the best), attach it to his collar (not a slidey choke collar as they can cause trachial collapse if they hit the end of the line too hard) and let him run around. Tell him come and if he does not respond give him a quick (but not too hard) tug on his collar to get his attention then shorten up the line and make him come back to you. as soon as he is looking at you and walking your direction, give him lots of praise in a high happy tone of voice. If he looks away or walks away, give him a tug on the collar again (hopefully you've gotten the line short enough, fast enough), then praise when he walks to you again. When you finally get him right next to you, still praising, get your hand on his collar and give him a treat. Most importantly, do not use the "come" command of-leash until your dog comes everytime you say the command; if he doesn't respond and you can't correct him then he will "forget" and you will have to work twice as hard to train him again (this is very frustrating).

All in all i have found with my dog that being consistent, firm and making sure to praise a lot are the best ways to create a good working relationship with him.  Every dog I have ever known has been reluctant to listen to training when first starting, but after a bit of consistant work they look forward to learning new things and working on old ones.  Dogs like having a job to do. Give it a whirl, I think you will be amazed at how fast he will start listening to you and remember, training never ends, it just changes some.

hope that helps,
-John

Quoted: You need a 2x4 to get a lab's attention. Maybe for a 1/2 lab too. I used to train labs for retreiving

Never needed a 2x4 to get any of my dog's attention, including my Labs.

You need to know how to train dogs, period. If you know what you're doing, threats, punishment, yelling are seldom necessary. Dogs yearn to please the alpha, once they understand their role, they're easy to train. Some dogs reach that point faster than others, but as I said, I've never beaten or had to get pissed at a dog to get it to behave.

When I trained my dog I would just give him a command and put my empty hand clutched like a fist. He thought something was in it and he did it.

Sounds like good advice Jls, I'll try some of that.  I really only brought her in for the winter since it was
so cold from time to time.  If all else fails ill just kick her arse back outside as its warming up now ;)