Basic Obedience - Week 3
Settle
This command is useful for situations in which your pup might get excited.
To teach this command, let your pup get excited and then tell it to settle and as soon as it calms down some give it a treat and tell it good settle. Practice this every chance you can get - reward any time your pup is calm. This helps teach the pup that being relaxed is a good thing. Some cue words that people have used for this are: settle, calm, chill, chillax, relax.
To teach this command, let your pup get excited and then tell it to settle and as soon as it calms down some give it a treat and tell it good settle. Practice this every chance you can get - reward any time your pup is calm. This helps teach the pup that being relaxed is a good thing. Some cue words that people have used for this are: settle, calm, chill, chillax, relax.
Leash Walking
We have 3 preferred methods for teaching a loose leash walk. Please try all three and see what works best for you. It often is a mix of the different methods. For the purpose of this class we are simply looking for a loose leash, meaning the dog can be slightly in front of you, behind you or beside you. It is up to you want you would like but ideally we just do not want the dog to be pulling. Some tips that also help are do not be afraid to talk to your dogs, it helps keep the attention on you and makes you fun and interesting. Also don’t be afraid to use your “leave it” and “focus” cues to help during your walk.
Method 1 - Luring the dog - using treats lure the dog beside you and reward while walking. It is important to hold your treats in the hand on the side you would like your dog to avoid your dog crossing in front of you for the reward. Some dogs will become very bouncy to get the reward. You either need to hold the reward lower so they do not have to jump to get it or try rewarding after walking a couple of steps.
Method 2 - Stop walking when you dog pulls. Wait for you dog to focus on you and come back beside you before continuing to walk. This teaches the dog they do not get to control the walk and that they do not get to go where they would like.
Method 3 - When your dog pulls switch the direction you are walking in. This helps to keep the dog paying attention to you and wondering what direction you will go next.
Method 1 - Luring the dog - using treats lure the dog beside you and reward while walking. It is important to hold your treats in the hand on the side you would like your dog to avoid your dog crossing in front of you for the reward. Some dogs will become very bouncy to get the reward. You either need to hold the reward lower so they do not have to jump to get it or try rewarding after walking a couple of steps.
Method 2 - Stop walking when you dog pulls. Wait for you dog to focus on you and come back beside you before continuing to walk. This teaches the dog they do not get to control the walk and that they do not get to go where they would like.
Method 3 - When your dog pulls switch the direction you are walking in. This helps to keep the dog paying attention to you and wondering what direction you will go next.
Auto Sit
We are big believers in teaching a dog an “auto sit”. Auto sit’s are nice because it teaches the dog if you stop during a walk they should stop. This can be potentially life savings for example at a corner of a busy street.
To teach this start walking and stop every few feet, when you stop ask for a sit and then reward the sit. Repeat this a few times.
To teach this start walking and stop every few feet, when you stop ask for a sit and then reward the sit. Repeat this a few times.
