Basic Obedience - Week 1
Marker Training
Marker training is a super important training technique. In scientific terms it is called operant conditioning. In simple terms it is a way to give us a clear way to communicate with our dogs. A marker is a word or sound that is paired with a reward. If you have heard of clicker training (like they use with Dolphins) you have heard of Marker Training. You can use a clicker, make a noise or have a cue word such as yes or good. When properly trained the dog will learn that when they hear this marker it means they have done something correct or good and that a reward is coming. Having a Marker that your dog understands allows you to have better timing when telling them they have done something correct and allows you to fade your food rewards as you continue your training.
Charging your Marker
In order to “charge” our marker and teach the dog it means good things are coming we will need a handful of treats and we will simply “mark” and treat so that we can pair the stimulus (marker cue or sound) with the reward (treat). Wander around the room or sit in a chair and simply mark (say your cue or click) and then give a treat. Do this for 3-5 mins a couple of time for a day or two. You should begin to see your dog get excited when they hear their marker as they know a reward is coming.
Charging your Marker
In order to “charge” our marker and teach the dog it means good things are coming we will need a handful of treats and we will simply “mark” and treat so that we can pair the stimulus (marker cue or sound) with the reward (treat). Wander around the room or sit in a chair and simply mark (say your cue or click) and then give a treat. Do this for 3-5 mins a couple of time for a day or two. You should begin to see your dog get excited when they hear their marker as they know a reward is coming.
Verbal & Hand Signals
We believe it is important to teach both verbal and hand signals for the main base commands. The reason for this being that in the future your dog may lose one or more of their sense and if you can communicate them in more than one way you likely will still have a way to ask them to do something.
Dogs often are very quick to learn hand signals as this is how they are used to communicating with other animals.
Dogs often are very quick to learn hand signals as this is how they are used to communicating with other animals.
Sit
This is an essential command for all dogs to have and often the first command taught when you bring a new dog home.
To teach this command we use a treat as a lure. With your dog in front of you, show them the treat in your hand and slowly move it upwards from their nose. Naturally their bums should go down to the floor.
To teach this command we use a treat as a lure. With your dog in front of you, show them the treat in your hand and slowly move it upwards from their nose. Naturally their bums should go down to the floor.
Recall
Recall is one of the most important commands you will teach your dog. We are big believers in making recall fun and something your dog WANTS to do. This means make it a party/jackpot when your dog comes EVERY time (this can be exuberant praise, pets or treats).
To teach a recall we start by walking backwards calling the dog to come with us and rewarding the dog for coming. We can break this down into baby steps and start by teaching this as a “let’s go” type cue getting the dog to come WITH US as we back up vs just recall to us when we are stationary. We will mark as soon as the dog begins to come towards/with us. This is done with the dog on leash so that you can provide light leash pressure to ensure the dog comes with you. Once the dog gets better at "let's go" and coming with us we can start waiting until the dog gets distraction or interested in something in the environment (back up at this time while the dog is looking away) and then say our recall cue, and praise the dog when they start coming towards us (praise but do not mark this behaviour, wait to mark with your marker until the dogs comes to a stop in front of us). Some recall cues we have heard people use are: here or come.
We recommend playing “Recall Yo-Yo” with your dog as a fun game to reinforce recall. With your dog between you and a friend/family member take turns calling them and then rewarding when he comes. Remember to only reward the dog if you were the person to call them. Begin practicing your recall by calling your dog to you while they have a leash on (so that you can gently reel them in if they do not come).
To teach a recall we start by walking backwards calling the dog to come with us and rewarding the dog for coming. We can break this down into baby steps and start by teaching this as a “let’s go” type cue getting the dog to come WITH US as we back up vs just recall to us when we are stationary. We will mark as soon as the dog begins to come towards/with us. This is done with the dog on leash so that you can provide light leash pressure to ensure the dog comes with you. Once the dog gets better at "let's go" and coming with us we can start waiting until the dog gets distraction or interested in something in the environment (back up at this time while the dog is looking away) and then say our recall cue, and praise the dog when they start coming towards us (praise but do not mark this behaviour, wait to mark with your marker until the dogs comes to a stop in front of us). Some recall cues we have heard people use are: here or come.
We recommend playing “Recall Yo-Yo” with your dog as a fun game to reinforce recall. With your dog between you and a friend/family member take turns calling them and then rewarding when he comes. Remember to only reward the dog if you were the person to call them. Begin practicing your recall by calling your dog to you while they have a leash on (so that you can gently reel them in if they do not come).
Stay
We believe stay is best taught slowly and with baby steps. When taught this way it allows to build a solid foundation for later work with this command.
To teach this command we start by placing the dog in a Sit and telling them to stay. Depending on how well they know the sit command count 3-10 seconds. If the dog does not leave the sit tell them “good dog, good stay” and reward. (Catch them before they break the sit if you can to keep it positive.) Do this until the dog can easily sit in the stop for 5-10 seconds. Once the dog can reliably hold the sit stay, you can add in one step (step one step back, count to 3, step back to the dog and reward). If you find one step is too much for the dog, do a half step (move one foot back, and then come back to the dog, basically a rocking motion). Slowly continue to build up your stay following these baby steps - only add additional steps once you can reliably (7 out of 10 tries) get the dog to stay at the previous number of steps.
To teach this command we start by placing the dog in a Sit and telling them to stay. Depending on how well they know the sit command count 3-10 seconds. If the dog does not leave the sit tell them “good dog, good stay” and reward. (Catch them before they break the sit if you can to keep it positive.) Do this until the dog can easily sit in the stop for 5-10 seconds. Once the dog can reliably hold the sit stay, you can add in one step (step one step back, count to 3, step back to the dog and reward). If you find one step is too much for the dog, do a half step (move one foot back, and then come back to the dog, basically a rocking motion). Slowly continue to build up your stay following these baby steps - only add additional steps once you can reliably (7 out of 10 tries) get the dog to stay at the previous number of steps.
