Why train your dog?
There are a number of reasons why you might want to train your dog. Maybe you’d just like him to know the basic commands, or you’re having trouble getting him to come back to you when called or walking on the lead. Maybe you want to build your relationship with your dog up in order to compete with him in obedience shows. Training can also help with aggression, excessive barking and other behavioural problems.
Regular and frequent training is vital for creating and maintaining the essential
master-dog relationship that establishes you as the pack leader and is crucial for dog obedience at any level.
Leader of the Pack
For any dog to be obedient he must first accept that you are in control. Discard any political ideals you may have and accept that your dog thinks differently to you and I. He is instinctively a pack animal and expects to either to be subservient or to be the master. It is never a case of taking turns with a canine.
The issue thus becomes how you assume a higher ranking in the pack than your dog. Dogs, and indeed wolves, establish ranking several times a day and always when a dog returns home to the pack after say a hunt. For example, the dominant (alpha) male may put his head over the back of the shoulders of another or even bite his nose when you return from the shops. Naturally, these methods are somewhat impractical for us, but there are many other ways of asserting your dominance. Some dogs are naturally submissive and your very existence will be enough for them to accept you are alpha. Conversely very dominant dogs will be constantly looking for a chink in your armour and any excuse to give you a vote of no confidence. Likewise some people are naturally dominant or appear so to dogs. You may need to consciously assert your dominance more than, say, your partner or the dog training class instructor. Try some or all of the following: - Always go through a door or narrow opening first. Make him wait and physically restrain him if he tries to barge past.
- Play with your dog and be the one who initiates playtime. Maybe keep a special toy on a shelf that he can only play with when you decide you want to play. Put it back on the shelf when you’ve had enough. Stop before he gets bored and calls the game off himself.
- Frequently reinforce the basic training commands (sit, down, stay). This can be in daily routines, like sitting before he has his dinner and for you to put his lead on. Maybe make him lie down on command whilst out for a walk. Always give a command to release him eg “OK”. If you use Good Boy, you won’t be able to use this to tell him he is doing well when executing longer commands, eg a stay.
- Do not allow your dog to sleep with you. You may want to increase this rule to forbidding him to enter your bedroom or even go upstairs.
- Have your meal before he does. Do not allow him to beg at the table. Give him the scraps only once you have finished.
- Ignore your dog at times. Do not pet him every time he comes up to you. You may need to increase this to never petting him when he approaches, only when you call him to you.
Coming when called (Recall)
For a dog, coming when called (formally known as a Recall) is easiest when he close to you, facing you, and there are no distractions. It becomes increasingly difficult when the distances are greater, he is facing away from you and there is another dog or maybe even something seriously fun, like a rabbit to chase. To get your dog to come to you when called under all conditions you first need him to clearly understand what is expected of him and be eager to come to you under the easiest conditions. Do not attempt to recall him if you suspect he won’t do it and you have no way of reinforcing your command; this will only establish in his mind that he can ignore you and get away with it. Give him every chance of success and he will learn quicker. So start in ideal conditions, repeating until he is doing it well and, more importantly, enthusiastically. Train him little and often and never long enough so that he gets bored. Then start to introduce distance and distractions. If your dog is already ignoring your command to come, he knows there are times when you cannot reinforce your command: you have to work that bit harder in establishing a reliable recall under ideal conditions and build up the distractions more slowly.
At NDDTS we have 2 methods we teach for the recall, though there are others.
Method A
Get your dog to sit and step around in front of him, facing him. Call his name and give the command COME. At the same time, take three or four paces backwards, encouraging him to follow. You may need to give him a small check on the lead to show him what you want. Give him a tit-bit when he comes or play with him for a bit.
Call him in a happy encouraging tone.
Praise him as soon as he comes towards you.
Do not lean over the dog; it makes some dogs back off.
Never scold a dog for coming under any circumstances.
Cut back on tit-bits as your dog understands what is expected of him.
Method B
Walk forward with your dog, to heel if he can do it. Call his name and give the command COME. At the same time, take a few paces backward with, if necessary, a small check on the lead at the same time to show the dog what you’re asking of him. Give him a tit-bit when he comes or play with him for a bit.
This method encourages your dog to come when facing away from you.
Walking to Heel
Walking to heel can mean two things. It can be having your dog glued to your left leg mirroring your every move, his gaze locked on yours. This “working” heel looks impressive and wins points in obedience shows but is not a lot of fun for him when he’s out for his walkies. Most dog owners will want their dog to walk on a lead alongside them in a relaxed manner and most importantly, without pulling. The two are distinct and we recommend you use different commands for them. We also teach them differently:
The crucial point for a successful “working” heel is getting your dog’s undivided attention. A treat or favourite toy work well. You might start by associating a command with the act of him looking up at your face, eg WATCH. Hold the treat/toy to your face; when he looks you in the eye, give the command and reward him with the treat or toy. Do this regularly, in any position, whether he is sitting by your left leg or lying by the sofa. Once he is proficient at this, try sitting him by your left leg on the lead and giving the command WATCH. When you have his attention, step forward with your left leg first. Give the command, normally CLOSE, and encourage him to walk forward with you for a few paces. As soon as he does it correctly, reward him and praise him lavishly.
Walking “nicely” on the lead is more about conditioning him not to get ahead of you and pull on the lead. Generally he can look where he wants and sniff around a bit. It’s best to teach your dog walking on the lead when he’s not too excited and you don’t have an obvious destination. Setting off for his walk is not a good time. Let your dog get the tickle out of his toes first or do it somewhere he does not associate with walkies, like indoors or at training class.
With treats or a favourite toy secreted in your pocket, put him on his lead and encourage him to stand to your left. Walk off with the lead loose, giving the command, eg HEEL or WALK ON. If he pulls ahead, you can do one of the following: - stop immediately, tighten the lead without yanking and give your negative command with authority eg LEAVE! or NO! Avoid using the HEEL/WALK ON command when he pulls or he will associate it with doing the wrong thing. Reposition him and start again.
- Walk in the opposite direction
- Use the tidbit/toy to lure him back
As soon as he walks alongside without pulling, give him lots of praise and a treat or a game with a favourite toy.
Aggression or Nervousness
Your dog may act aggressively towards another dog or strangers. This may indicate that your dog feels the need to assert its dominance or it may be nervous aggression.
We would recommend that you take your dog along to one of our evenings so we can observe this behaviour. This will allow us to make some recommendation.
Re-homed (Rescue) Dogs
If you have recently rehomed a dog, he may have come with some bad habits or you may just want to start your new relationship off on a good footing. Our basic training class provides a sociable environment for your dog to meet with other dogs in controlled conditions, learn/revise commands and for you to meet with other dog owners and our instructors. |