Training Your Dog
Dog training involves Lots of patience and determination. Don't
start and then give up. For most people, joining a obedience or
training group may be easier, however for those of you wanting to
take the plunge on your own then following is some helpful ideas.
Methods vary somewhat when training Pups, Full grown, bad habits. We
will cover in short all these subjects.
Puppy
Training
Pups are very playful and like children they do not know right
from wrong. The earlier training starts the better, of course they
must be old enough to understand.
Start off with simple commands. Sit, stay,
lie down, yummies is what I use. As a pup they usually don't
listen easily, so persistence is needed till they start to respond,
then its a big cuddle and good dog each time they listen. You can
also give them a little treat each time they listen, but I never
did. To make them sit you kneel in front of them and use the
command Sit. Of course they wont at first so you gently push down on
their rear near the tail so they take a sitting position. The first
few times as soon as you let go they will be up again wagging their
little tails so you keep repeating this process until the objective
has been reached. Don't try teaching more than one command at a
time.
When the Training sessions are over I usually say
OFF YOU GO and they run round so
exited. Get them used to responding to a command before starting on
another command. This could take from a week to two. OFF YOU GO they
will come to understand that they are free to do what they want
(like end of school bell). Now we have the
pup sitting its time to move on to Lie Down.
Back to the kneel in front and give the sit
command, once sitting, give the Lie Down
Command and while you say this pull their front paws forward so they
are lying down. Remember Pups bones are easily broken so you must be
very gentle. Repeat this process with the usual rewards until
the objective has been reached . Eventually you will find you
can say lie down without having to first say Sit.
Stay is the hardest one to teach. As soon as you start to walk
away they will follow, so this will take you the longest. I usually
teach this one in a park so I got space for distance. Before
teaching Stay I will get them used to walking with me at heel. As I
always had two I Had one on either side and using the lead and
collar I first got them to walk with me so each ones head is at each
foot. I left just enough lead so they could not go past me or ahead.
Then I would walk at different speeds telling them
With Me if
they tried pulling ahead. When turning I would say
Left Or Right
just before I turned, then With Me
after I turned as they would tend to fall back with my sudden change
of direction. As I say with me I gently
jerk the leads till they are in line with my feet and pace.
Frequently I will say READY...(short
pause) STOP and stop dead. Then
COME and start walking again. As this
process continues I leave more and more lead slack and note their
reaction. I also sometimes throw in a SIT
after a READY..... STOP.
Once they got the idea I practice this with them till they are
fluent. You can tell when they got it as they watch my feet and
await my commands for pace and direction. Now I take off the leads
and go through the same , changing walking speed and directions and
if any fall back or tend to go ahead I say
With Me and tap them gently till they are in pace. As always
at the end of a session its Off You Go
and they have a freedom run around. Sessions are not very long, just
long enough for them to do it right. Ok all this has taken a few
weeks of constant training at least three times a week. Now we
are ready for Stay.
Stay is as I said the hardest one, especially as I expect them to
stay even if they cannot see me. Back at the park and a quick
session of Heel then I tell them sit.
once sitting I tell them STAY and
facing them I walk backwards and each time they start to follow I
quickly walk back towards them pointing my finger saying
SIT STAY and IF NEEDED put them back
into sitting position by pushing on their rears. Eventually when
they get this bit right I get them to SIT STAY
and walk around them starting very close and with each round I
start to increase the distance. The critters will turn their heads
round and watch you as you walk around them. If they start to move
remind them STAY with a pointing
finger and harsh voice tone.
Finally you will find that you can walk around them at increasing
distance and they will stay, but if they lose site of you they
will come looking. I hid behind a bush and as soon as they started
to come I would run towards them shouting STAY with a pointing
finger and stern voice tone. Then I would walk them back and repeat
the process till eventually they would stay, even when they couldn't
see me. then I would call them by COME. and they would come running
at full speed. Then its OFF YOU GO.
YUMMIES is the easiest quickest one they will learn, each time
you dish up their food or have a treat for them its come get
yummies. However they got to sit before they get it and no jumping
up for food.
Biting and chewing
Biting and chewing hoses, cords is very normal for a Pup.
Teething time is the worst. At least up to the first year you got to
put out of reach anything chewable and of value or danger.
Especially when left alone. Be guaranteed there will be something
you haven't thought of they will find and destroy. Amazing how they
chew through mains cord and never get electrocuted. So beware. They
will pass through this stage. Digging can take up to two years. The
only success I had with digging stopping was using Cyan red hot
pepper at all possible spots. Digging though seems more a boredom
when alone thing and when very hot a cool space to lay in.
Biting is not a big problem as all you do is scream out OUCH
(sometimes you'll mean it ha ha) and they will let go. Some pups
though will not let go easily or will continue biting too hard. This
is when you also Add a Stern NO (after OUCH) and tap them gently
with the finger just above the nose while you say NO biting hard. If you play
fingers (where they hold on to your fingers round their fangs and
get pulled) then they soon learn how hard to hold on and when to let
go. I used gentle and
ouch. If you got small kids though,
don't teach them fangs. You will also find that where you persist NO
Biting they will soon stop, but in that case they also wont play
fangs, even if you try or want them to.
Pups need and adore attention and play. Spend as much time as you
can with them. Take them with you every where you can. Watch out for
your hand break, mine got chewed.
Toileting
While a pup and occasionally when older, dogs will poo and wee
inside the house. As they get older they will go outside to toilet.
Older dogs will only have accidents if they need to go and can't get
out, if they scared of the dark, if they old and cant hang on, in
their sleep.
To train a Pup you got to be quick, but be prepared its going to
happen a few times no matter how vigilant you are. As soon as they
start to toilet grab hold of them with a stern verbal NO
OUTSIDE and
take them outside. Don't let them back until they finished their
business. Some dogs, beleive it or not seem shy, so if you find that
they wont toilet while you with them outside and you know they want
to then leave them on their own. Before retiring for the night I
call out poopies and off they go outside. this is something they
will pick up by habit and without particular instruction. Sometimes
they get lazy so they will also need a OUT, NOW.
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