Training & Handling - Obedience

Obedience training your dog or puppy is one of the most rewarding and also the most challenging activities that you and your dog will undertake. Obedience training requires both dog and owner to work together, to understand each other, and also to strengthen the relationship and rapport between the owner and the dog. Watching a well behaved dog working with its owner and actually seeing the communication between the dog and owner is really amazing. A dog that is obedient and well mannered is always welcome and invited back and is a source of pride for the owner. Obedience training is well worth the effort and time that it takes and will only make your relationship with your dog stronger and more loving.

One of the biggest keys to obedience training is to develop trust between yourself and the dog. This means keeping training consistent and appropriate for the dog as well as including playtime, rewards, and lots of praise during the training process. When training your dog it is always important to allow the dog to be able to predict that there will be positives after the training. This means taking a few minutes at the end of the training session to throw the ball, go for a long walk, or to have a few treats. Ensuring that you follow the training session with a positive is a promise that you should always keep to your dog, no matter how short the training session may be.

If you are taking your dog to an obedience class many of the basic commands will be covered, and if you are working with a trainer it is very important to keep your training consistent. Be sure to use the same verbal commands every time you work with your dog or puppy. If there are other people working with the dog, ensure that everyone is using the same verbal commands, as well as the same cues or hand signs. Most dogs can quickly learn hand signs and cues, which can be a great addition to any training or obedience repertoire.

One of the first commands that owners want to teach their puppy or dog is how to come. This is really an easy command to teach most dogs, although having your dog respond consistently and under all circumstances is not as easy as it may seem. Even very young puppies can quickly learn to come with just a few treats and lots of praise and attention for good responses.

The first step in any type of command is to make sure that the puppy always looks towards you when you say the dog or puppies name. This means that it is important to start commands with the dog's name, whenever possible. To get started simply say the puppy or dog's name when you first enter the room or area and give the command to come. For example, when first walking into the room say "Fido, Come". The dog or puppy will naturally run towards you, even though they may not know the reason that they are doing so. As soon as they get to you be sure to have a small treat and spend time petting and praising the puppy or dog.

Within a few short days you will find that your puppy or dog is responding immediately when you call, even when it is not the first time that you walk in the room. Initially be sure to reward with both praise and a treat, gradually fading out the actual treat but continuing on with lots of verbal praise, petting, and some play time with the ball or chew toy.

Once your dog or puppy is responding well in quiet areas it is time to start working with them in the park, in public places, as well as when the dog is distracted. First start with the training while the dog is on the leash, as a gentle tug on the lead can remind the dog that he or she needs to attend to you, rather than looking around. As soon as the dog starts to look your way immediately release any tension, as you do not actually want to pull on the dog's collar to get him or her to respond.

Teaching your dog or puppy to sit is one of the easier commands because you can use the dog's natural tendencies to make training simple. If you have ever observed a puppy exploring the world around them you will notice that when they look up they will almost always end up in a sit position as they automatically lower their haunches when their head tilts back. As the trainer you can use this information to get your dog or puppy to sit without pushing on their hips or using your hands to get them in the sit position.

First, call the dog or puppy over to you using their name as described in the previous section. Have a small treat in the palm of your hand, out of sight of the dog. When the dog is located in front of you looking up, simply slide the treat into your fingers, and hold it momentarily just above their nose. As soon as the dog scents the treat, slide it back along an imaginary line running up the centre of their muzzle to a spot between their ears on the crown of the head. Do this motion slowly so the dog or puppy can track the movement. As they tilt their head up and back to follow the treat their hind end will start to lower towards the floor. When this motion occurs immediately say "Fido sit". As soon as the haunches are on the floor, even for a second, give the treat and praise the dog. Remember that you are rewarding closer approximations to the desired action, not necessarily expecting the dog or puppy to get it absolutely perfect the first time. Dogs want to please their owners to get praise and attention, and so he or she will quickly learn what will get them attention.

Repeat the sit process numerous times during the day instead of numerous repetitive times in the same session. Some dogs simply don't do well with constant repetition and will actually become less compliant if over-trained. Breeds such as Cairn Terriers, Welsh Corgis, Border Collies, Australian Cattle Dogs and Weimaraners need lots of variety and challenge.

Some animal behaviouralists also indicate that the sit command can be taught simply be waiting until the dog naturally starts to sit and then giving him or her the command, followed by praise, treats and play time.

Hand signals can also be used to get dogs to respond to commands. To use hand signals simply pair the verbal command with a hand signal, following with rewards and praise. Usually the command for sit is a hand held in the universal sign for stop, arm slightly extended with an open palm facing out. When the dog is consistently responding to the verbal and hand signal paired together, try giving just the hand signal after calling the dog's name. The key to using hand signals is that the dog must clearly understand that they must respond, so calling their name gives them the cue.

Whistles, used like hand signals, can be paired with a verbal command or an already established hand signal. Teaching a dog to come to a whistle is usually the first step, and that is done just the same as teaching them to come with a verbal command. Pastoral and working dogs as well as many of the hounds and gundogs are all trained to respond to hand signals and whistles as they are often are required to follow directions from the handler from a great distance.

Teaching your dog to wait is important for safety reasons as well as to keep your dog well mannered. Dogs that are walked in traffic areas, across streets, or even taken in vehicles should all be taught the wait command. Wait can also be used when you are feeding to keep the dog from jumping at the bowl as you are placing it on the floor.

Basically the dog needs to learn that wait means pause until given another command, not sit and stay for a long period of time. One of the easiest ways to get this concept across is to use a doorway, especially if there is a screen door where the dog will be able to see what you are doing, rather than becoming distressed that they are being left behind.

Walk your dog to the door and give them the sit command. Once the dog is sitting, say "Fido wait", and open the door. If the puppy or dog stays sitting, close the door and reward them with a small treat and some attention. If the dog stands up or tries to go through ahead of you, close the door and issue the sit command. When the dog is sitting, give them praise, issue the wait command and open the door again. Keep repeating this until you can open the door and the dog stays seated. If you are concerned that the dog may bolt out the door you may want to keep the dog on a lead for this exercise.

After the dog sits consistently on the wait command when you open the door, the next progression is for you to walk through with the dog remaining seated. Keep repeating the process, simply stepping back, closing the door and repeating until you can step through and the dog stays seated. Step back and praise and give a treat.

The next step is to teach the release command, which may be "Free" or "Okay", and then encourage them to come through the door. Use this consistently, never allowing the dog to go through a doorway or outside without first waiting and letting you go first. The same process can occur for getting in and out of a vehicle, for waiting in a seated position for food, or for waiting before crossing a road.

Teaching the "leave" command is basically designed to be able to instruct a dog to leave an object or item alone and to attend to you instead. This is not any easy task, especially if you are trying to get the dog to leave a bone or favourite toy. The key to teaching the leave command is to ensure that the dog gets more of a reward for leaving the desired item than they do by keeping the item.

One way to accomplish this is to start by placing a low interest item on the floor, something that your dog or puppy is not highly interested in. If you drop it on the floor the dog or puppy will usually naturally be curious and come over and sniff at the item. As soon as they sniff, say "Fido leave" and as soon as the dog looks up at you, give them a treat, saying, "Fido take" with regards to the treat. This command both teaches the dog to leave one item, plus to eat out of your hand on command, rather than whenever they wish.

Once the dog is comfortable with this, try using a more favoured toy. Repeat the processes, ensuring the dog gets lot of praise and attention, plus a treat, for leaving the item and paying attention to your command.

The leave command can then be used in a variety of settings. Never punish the dog by shaking its head or trying to pull the object out of the dog's mouth. Rather, wait until you can get the dogs attention, issue the leave command, and show them the treat. This should realign the dog to following your command.

To teach the lie down command the dog should be fluent in responding to the sit command. Again, the lie down command is most easily taught by using the dog's physiology and natural body movements. A dog's neck is not as long as the distance from his shoulders to the floor, so a dog that is interested in something on the ground will naturally slide his or her body to the floor from the sitting position.

With the dog in a sitting position, get down in front of the dog in a squat position. With a treat, place your hand over the treat on the floor in an inverted cup position. The dog should be able to scent the treat or show it to him or her to pique interest. Place the hand with the treat on the floor directly under the dog's head, and slide it to you, away from the dog. The dog will naturally follow the hand with its front feet and body, ending in the prone position. As soon as the dog starts to move the front feet forwards say "Fido lie down", and as soon as the rib cages touches the floor give the treat and lots of praise and attention. Don't worry about how long the dog or puppy stays down, that will come later.

If the puppy or dog jumps up out of the sit position before it starts to lie down you are placing your hand either too far forward or too far towards the dog. Imagine a straight line down from the tip of the dog's nose as the starting point. You may also be moving your hand too quickly, remember this is not a game of chase but rather a way to encourage a natural body movement.

Never grab the dog's front legs and pull out, or try to push on the dog or puppies shoulders to get them to lie down. Not only is this potentially injurious to the dog but it may also be perceived as a game by the dog, rather than as a training session.

A cute trick to teach your dog is how to shake paws and greet people. Shake paw is taught after the sit behaviour is mastered and is consistently followed. There are a couple of different methods and both work equally well depending on your dog. Have the dog come to you and sit facing you. Method one has the owner reach down and gently lift the paw off the ground, holding it and saying "Fido shake paw", the dog is immediately given a treat. Repeat this several times then hold your hand close to the paw, repeating the command. The dog will usually raise their paw to your hand resulting in a treat and lots of praise and attention.

Another method has the owner hold a piece of highly scented treat in their hand. Soft dog treats or a small piece of cheese is great for this as it has a stronger odour than dried treats. Have your dog sit and hold your hand at about the dog's knee level to start. The hand is held firmly closed on the treat. The dog will naturally sniff at your hand, and maybe even give a lick, but will eventually raise a paw to try to open your hand. As soon as the paw touches your hand give the "Fido shake paw" command and give them the treat. Repeat this until the dog lifts its paw a short way to touch your hand then slowly raise your hand to the height that is appropriate for the size of your dog.

Some dogs can even be taught right and left paws using the same technique. Teach by saying, "Fido, shake right" and position the food close to the right side of the body. Once he or she is competent with the right, change the location of the food and use the command "Fido, shake left". Before you know it you will amaze your friends with your dogs ability to know right and left.

Since dogs and puppies can often become too dependant on treats and edible rewards it is always a good idea to start using toys, balls and training devices such as clickers to act as rewards instead of food.

Many toys such as tennis balls, small Kong type rubber chews, and other favourite toys can be used exactly the same as a food reward. To use a toy or ball simply have the dog complete the command, and then take out the toy or ball as say "Fido well done" or "Fido play time". Throw the ball or bounce it for the dog, or just allow the dog to play with the chew toy. Keep this brief, maybe one or two minutes, then give the leave command, pick up the toy, and carry on with the training. As the dog becomes more consistent and masters the commands it is possible to start rewarding more randomly, rather than each time. Verbal praise and a good bit of attention are still important to let the dog know that you think he or she is doing a great job.

Clickers are small plastic devices that simply make a clicking sound. Amazingly enough this noise, when paired with a treat, will actually act as a reward for the dog. Clickers are very small, easy to carry, and it is much quicker to click than to say "Good Dog", so the reward is almost instantaneous for the dog. Many trainers are "clicker trainers" and it is common to see people with clickers in the park and when you are out on a stroll.

Regardless of the types of toys and rewards you choose to use with your dog the key is to always praise for the correct behaviour and work with your dog, rather than against him or her. Puppies and older dog will need lots of patience and practice in their new commands, as well as constant repetition. Try to constantly change training routines to prevent the dog from becoming bored of the process. Observe your dog and learn its mannerisms and behaviours, and use these natural tendencies to make training easier and more natural.