Training

Things to teach your dog - To save its life or To save your sanity

  • Urgent Come (a car coming) - Always jackpot this command. Never use this command to contain or to punish your dog.
  • Potty on command - Useful for quick potty breaks on the road to the next trial.
  • Drop it (it might be poison) or Take it (this is yours to eat or play with).
  • Go To __ - Where you want it when you are doing normal tasks.
  • No Biting Ever (on people) - This is hard to teach before they are done teething. However, if a dog bites it may be put down.
  • Sit, bow, or down - An alternative to jumping on people.
  • Stay - this is probably the hardest command for a high drive dog.

“No” isn’t helpful to your dog. It is better to use a command that has a constructive meaning, e.g. “back” = “step back 2 steps and wait.” Then you can reward them for this.

Other helpful / fun tasks and commands

  • handler attentionHere - Come, but not urgent.
  • Look - Look at me I have a job for you.
  • Table - Lie down on table for grooming.
  • Go - Continue or point where.
  • Oops - Nope that’s not what I meant.
  • Find - Your “fling”, my keys.
  • Kennel up - Get in your crate.
  • Car - “in the car.”
  • Bring - Your “fling”, my keys.
  • On - the couch.
  • Off - the couch.

Bo having great handler attention.

How to teach your dog

Start after you have had one solid week with only playing, feeding, and doing what the dog wants. Build the bond first. Just say your dogs name to her each time you are going to offer her something you think she might like. Each time “Lady” does something you like say “YES” and give her a treat, a hug, a pet.

If you have a puppy: Wait until Fido is intensely interested in something and you sit where you can see him and talk to the wall. In the middle of your fascinating discussion with the wall, say his name. If Fido’s head turns a little each time you say his name that means your puppy understands that a word can mean you are
trying to communicate with him. Until Fido recognizes his name it is not time to start training.

Lots of training suggestions

Rewards

  • Notice what they like to do and find a useful way to handle it. Then the activity can be used as a reward.
  • Give them what they want as a reward for doing a task. Keep them in a “reward rich” training environment.
  • Vary the reward - don’t let them know what you will give them. A pat, a hug, a tug of war, a digging session, a favorite food, a bone, all at once for a jackpot of some wonderful new breakthrough.
  • Treats can be anything, even a smile. Each dog may have a special “jackpot” reward in addition to games with toys and treats.
  • Examples
    1. Mia regards digging and swimming as a reward. If she has a really good training session (I am grinning all the time.) then she gets to go out front and swim in the koi pond or come to a place where I need it to be dug up and dig.
    2. Vie regards tug-of-war with her fling as a reward. She will struggle to learn and do everything she thinks I want for a good game of tug.
    3. Nicky regards getting to smell things as a reward. If he pays attention to me I let him go and take a good snuff in the bushes near by, following until he ‘finds’ something he can dig up.
    4. All of them love to the word hear “YES” and know that I’m pleased if I have a big grin.
  • A reward can also be getting rid of something they don’t like.
    1. Let the puppy out of the crate when she is sitting quietly.
    2. Let the puppy go outside only when he stands quietly to get his leash. Mia became so good at this! All I have to do is open the gap on the leash and she sits and puts her head through and waits for me to move the clip into position.
    3. Wait for all the dogs to be seated before opening the door to come in for dinner.
  • Split tasks into tiny steps. For example - teaching a dog to “stand for exam” in obedience can be 9 tiny steps or more:
    1. looking at you
    2. then standing while looking at you
    3. then standing with head erect while looking at you
    4. then standing with head and tail erect while looking at you
    5. then letting you touch while he is standing properly
    6. then letting you touch a part he generally protects (top of head, feet, or teeth) while standing properly
    7. then letting a stranger move toward him while standing properly
    8. then letting the stranger touch him while standing properly
    9. then letting the stranger touch a part he generally protects while standing properly.
    10. Then doing each of the steps above without a leash.

Dogs teach dogs

Mia thought the agility tunnel was a fun place to hunt for treats, dig against fabric, and liked to shake the tunnel, until another dog showed her how much fun it is to race through it.

If your boy puppy over 5 months sees an older male raise his leg and mark, he will imitate the behavior.

Scent dogs learn from each other. Allowing a puppy to follow a truffle dog creates a new truffle dog.