Dog Training Basic Obedience Lesson 2

Dog Training Basic Obedience Lesson 2

Canine Training Academy Basic Obedience Course Lesson Two
June 6, 2019 Guy Uncategorized

Basic Obedience: Lesson Two



In this lesson we will aim to get your dog to ‘come’ and ‘drop’. A lesson should take a maximum of 45 minutes.





Come

‘Come’ is the most inviting command. You are never to call your dog to reprimand it, tie it up or do anything negative because dogs associate different commands with different actions. If you reprimand your dog after it comes to you, it will always think that this is an option and may not want to come back to be reprimanded. If you call your dog and reprimand it, use different words, but not the word ‘come’. ‘Here puppy’, ‘let’s go’, anything but the word ‘come’.

By now, your dog is heeling, sitting and staying. So the next stage is to return to your regular training area.



How to get your dog to come to you?

On the sidewalk where you train your dog, take it approximately 40 metres away and command your dog to “sit” and “stay”. Then walk backwards, facing the dog, about 3 to 4 metres until reaching the desired distance. Wait approximately 1 to 5 minutes and then bend down with open arms, calling it enthusiastically by saying “come, good boy, good boy, come”. When your dog reaches you, stand up and reward it by patting it, using a high pitched voice say “good boy, well done, aren’t you clever, good boy”. Repeat the process five times, every time increasing the distance from the dog, and maintaining this for a longer period of time.

After it has completed your five repetitions, break from this and practice the other command. If your dog runs off, instead of coming to you, do not chase it but wait for it to return.



If not, go and retrieve your dog, but do not reprimand it but put it in isolation for at least 12 hours. In some interesting cases, if a dog is defiant, I will not feed it either for the time that it is in isolation.

The next day take the dog out and start with heel and sit. Do that for one length of the course and then introduce the stay command.

Important tip: Achieve a successful stay for a minimum of three minutes and after that introduce the ‘come’ command.

If you make it fun for it to come to you, then your dog will respond accordingly and be responsive to the ‘come’ command. Make a big fuss over it and then quit the training for that day again.

I cannot emphasise more how important the command ‘come’ is and how important it is that your dog obeys this command all the time.

In advanced basic obedience we go into this a bit further, but remember enthusiasm and praise is what the dog needs.



Drop

By this stage your dog is heeling, sitting, staying and coming – maybe not all 100% of the time, but that’s fine.

Now is the time for introducing the word ‘drop’ to your dog. Dogs feel the most vulnerable in the ‘drop’ position as they cannot protect themselves or run away quickly if necessary. So we have to make them feel very comfortable in that position.

The way we do this is by using food as a reward for drop. This is very soothing for dogs and is as a massive reward. I prefer to use cheese for this exercise. However, as I mentioned earlier, any snack will do just as long as it is in small pieces to chew.

At the end of the training area, command your dog to sit and stay. If your dog is on your left hand side, using your right hand, with a piece of cheese placed firmly inside your palm, put it in front of your dog’s muzzle.

Slowly bring your hand down to the ground as the dog drops with you. Reward your dog with your voice when the dog’s chest hits the pavement, open your hand and let the dog eat the cheese.



Repeat this process four times, then break and start again and repeat another four times. Now is the time to take a break from this practice and focus on ‘come’.



Remember: For the best results, break up the training session into different segments to keep your dog interested in the training.

Now you can do heel, sit, drop and stay.

Importantly, most of what amounts to 45 minutes of training will be sufficient to achieve the basic obedience level within three lessons and within a one week period. The more you practice with the dog, the better your partnership will be. I recommend 20 to 40 minutes practice a day during quality time with a dog.

Important tip: Finish every training session with a play time. This tip means your dog has something to look forward to at the end of each session.



Be wary of comparing dogs of different breeds

Don’t compare with other dogs, especially of differing breeds. It’s more fun for some dogs and some simply learn more quickly than others. If you are interested in finding out how intelligent your dog is, there is a good book regarding the ‘thinking dog’ in the Reader’s Digest Book of Dogs. You should know what to expect from training your pet and you should know what your dog was bred to do. That way you can harness its natural abilities and make your lives easier.

For example, if your dog is ranked among the top 10 dog breeds, you can expect your dog to listen to your voice 97% of the time and follow commands 94% of the time. However, if your dog is ranked 60 on the list, you can only expect him to obey commands under 60% of the time. So in fact, this helps you to understand what to expect from your dog – understanding its skills and limitations is of invaluable help.



Road sense/boundary awareness

Road Sense means that your dog understands that it is not allowed to go on the road, except when you say “cross”. You want the dog to think that every time it goes on the road without the command, it will be burned. Your dog will quickly learn!

To start, take your dog and show it the barrier and place your leg in front of the dog, i.e. between the dog and the road (the kerb).

Check the dog three times and on each occasion say the word, “NO” with a harsh sounding voice.

Next, turn it around to face the footpath side of the kerb, but praise your dog in an exaggerated manner. Proceed by walking your dog alongside the kerb for a small distance, about 2 metres down the footpath.

Turn facing your dog, then by walking backwards on the kerb if your dog shows some resistance, then immediately reward it.

If it continues walking toward the kerb check it by pulling on the lead downward saying the word “NO” strongly.

Do not encourage your dog in any way other than pulling using only a minor amount of force. You should be able to feel a considerable amount of resistance from the dog, indicating it’s unwillingness to step from the kerb.

Remember: Keep practising this until the dog is resisting 100% of the time.

It takes around two weeks for dogs to break a habit, so if you can keep your dog off the road and keep practising this exercise, it will learn quickly.



Cross

The road will become neutral, only for the time it takes to cross. Give the dog a couple of minutes to relax, and then repeat.



How to get the dog to cross the road:

Walk the dog in the heel position then have it sit by the kerb with your hand closest to it pointing (using your index finger) and by giving the dog a command cross, just walk on to road. Cross as fast as you can. On successfully reaching the other side reward your dog. Repeat until you are confident that your dog is both resisting the kerb and crossing it.





Road Safety Awareness Tests

Continue these tests until you are confident that your dog will obey at the road side and on the roadway, should the occasion arise.

If you need to cross with your dog for any reason, please cross from a driveway to another driveway because right now........


READ MORE ABOUT:
Dog Training

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *