Basic Obedience Week 1

Tips

The most successful trainers are very very quick to give praise and treats once the dog does the task correctly. The lag of time it takes to tell the dog they are right will delay the dog understanding what they did right.

Get a good treat bag and utilize while starting your training. Always have a treat in hand to reward – fumbling to get a treat after the success of the task completely negates the dog’s ability to know what he did right. A treat bag should be positioned on your right side or around the back. The bag should be open and treats should be easily accessible.

Utilizing treats as a lure and then a reward is a good option when you are first starting to train a dog/puppy. This is a positive method. Eventually, after the dog learns (moves the information from their short term to their long-term memory) and you can reduce when and how often you give a treats.

If you notice that the dog is “shutting down” or loosing interest or you are getting frustrated, do something the dog knows how to do, give a reward and then stop training. Avoid training when you are upset, frustrated or tired. The training experience should be a good one and you should always end on success.


Good Feeds

Duration: 3 – 4 repetitions and do it 3 times a day and start each training session with good feeds.

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See Link to give additional details. Good Feeds

Loose Leash
Standing without your dog pulling on the leash.

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Hold the leash in both hands at the center of your body. If your dog goes away from you the leash will get tight. Simply guide the dog towards you and then go back to original position with slack in the leash. If the dog stays close to you without pulling on the leash – praise and treat. If the dog goes right back out to the end of the leash, bring the dog back towards you.


Controlled Walk
Walking with a loose leash

Duration: Walk for 10 – 15 seconds and then stand still for 5 seconds – repeat 3 – 5 times

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Hold the leash in both hands at the center of your body. Pick a spot about 15 to 20 feet away. Give your dog the word that will tell him you are going for a walk and you want him to stay with you (lets go, walk with me, etc.) At this point, do not use the word heel.

Take off at a quick pace toward your destination. If the dog walks along with you praise mildly (do not chatter constantly – clear information is needed)

If the dog rushes ahead or away from you, allow the leash to become tight; turn and go quickly in the opposite direction with no command. Praise mildly when the dog is with you.

If the dog lags behind you encourage him with praise (or lure with food), but do not slow down or stop and wait for him. When he catches up again praise him.

Continue in this manner until you reach your destination. Stop and give your dog a lot of praise and maybe a treat.

Continue with this exercise until the dog shows that he is beginning to understand that you do no want the leash to be tight.

You must be sure that you do not compensate for his lagging or forging in order to keep the dog from continuing to make the same mistakes.

Free!
Training exercise is done

Duration: End every training exercise with the free command.

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When you are ready to release your dog from any exercise use the word “Free” or “All Done”. Never use the release word from across the room; your dog should be close to you when given the free command. This word will tell your dog that he is no longer working and may relax, play, etc. It is important your dog knows that life is not all work and no play. At the end of a practice session, you should play with your dog for a few minutes. This helps release any tension that may have developed. This will also help make your dog look forward to his practice sessions.

Wait
Stay in that area until I tell you to move

Duration: Practice everytime you go in and outside a door.

Use the command Wait when you are letting your dog out a door, out of their crate, or whenever you want them to not follow beside or ahead of you. Do not use Stay. Say means do not move at all.  Wait simply means to not follow or hold on a mintue – it is not a formal exercise like stay.

Practice Wait when you let your dog outside. Tell them wait and hold them with the leash and slowly open the door. If they try to charge out the door, simply pop back and remind them wait. Stay calm and do not yell the command, just repeat. Start over and repeat until you can open the door and your do is not forging ahead. When you are ready to let them go out the door – give them a command such as “Okay” or “lets go” and have them follow you through the door – that releases them from the wait command.

Sit/Stand/Down
Teaching your dog all three positions with a treat lure

Duration: 3 repetitions of all three parts at least 2 –3 times each day.

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Part 1 – Sit

• Take a treat (lure) and put it right in front of your dogs nose.
• Let him smell and lick on the treat, but do not let him have it.
• Slowly lift the treat up and move just along the top of their head behind them as you say, “Sit”. (Movement of their head backward will require them to sit to maintain contact with the treat)
• Allow the dog to lick and smell the treat as you are moving him into position.
• Do not lift the treat up high – they will follow and will attempt to jump up to get the treat.
• Your command should be clam and of a normal tone.
• Treat and praise “Good Sit” when they are right. – Respond quickly once they sit you praise and treat.

Part 2 – Stand

• Take a treat (lure) and put it right at your dogs nose.
• Let them smell and lick on the treat, but do not him have it.
• Slowly move the treat forward and level with their shoulders and say “Stand”.
• Do not move the treat to far forward to avoid the dog taking a lot of steps.
• Allow the dog to lick and smell the treat as you are moving him into position.
• Do not lift it up high – they will follow and will attempt to jump up to get the treat.
• Do not hold it too low – you will encourage them to go down.
• Your command should be calm and of a normal tone.
• Treat and praise “Good Stand” when they are right. – Respond quickly once they stand you praise and treat.

Part 3 – Down

• Take a treat (lure) and put it right at your dogs nose.
• Let him smell and lick on the treat, but do not let him have it.
• Slowly lower the treat down between your dogs front legs and move slightly back towards their chest as you say, “Down”.
• Allow the dog to lick and smell the treat as you are moving him into position.
• Your command should be calm and of a normal tone.
• Treat and praise, “Good Down” when they are right. – Respond quickly once they stand you praise and treat.

Practice this exercise by going through all of the exercise parts, but treat after each part is done correctly. Make sure you praise your dog when they do something right.

Fun Exercise

Push-ups:

• Take a treat (lure) and put it right at your dogs nose.
• Have dog sit.
• Verbal praise “Good sit” when he sits.
• Have the dog “down”
• Treat “Good Down” when he goes down.
• Take another treat and lure the dog to a sit from the down position.
• Verbal praise “Good sit” when he sits.
• Have the dog “down”
• Verbal praise “Good Down” when he goes down.
• Vary when the praise is given and when the treat is given.
• As he learns the up and down, speed up the exercise bit by bit.
• Keep doing for 5 – 10 repetitions.

FREE YOUR DOG and then play!

Look for:
Position of handlers hands - up at chest level. This allows the dog to look up at the treat hand and then look at the handlers face.

Dog looks away - but is rewarded when he looks up at the handler.

Notice the dog adjusting to get closer, and looking up becomes more quickly. He is starting to really enjoy!

Note: treats should only be quick tastes - Phantom for some reason was being a bit dramatic and was chewing like he had huge hunks of food. Keep bites small and easy. This isnt feeding time, this is training time - only tastes.

Look for:
Encouraging the dog with pats of the leg.

A quick pace, sometimes even a quick run to get him to speed up to catch up. (A dog naturally walks faster than we do, so this helps get the dog when they are first learning)

Reeling the dog in with the leash but not dragging the dog.

If the dog forges...turn the other direction, thus making him behind you, then you just bring him back up to the correct position.

Treat and praise when the dog gets where he should be.

When Exercise is completed you say "Free" and give priase.

Look for:
Handler using the treat and placing right at the dogs nose/mouth. Give small tastes.

Do not give the dog the treat until he is in the correct position.

Once in the postion praise "Good sit!", "Good stand", "Good down" and treat.

Notice the postion of the handlers body - this is also helping the dog learn the correct positions. As she moves the dog to a stand she moves her body... as she puts into the down, she moves down as well.

Once the dog moves this training from his short term memory to his long term memory, she will stop using her body and reduce treats.