Teaching the "heel" command - step by step
The "heel" for competition means that the puppy or dog walks next to you on your left with his shoulders in line with your knees and he should be focussed on you. But most dog owners just want their dogs to walk next to them with a loose leash or even without a leash. Nobody wants a dog pulling them around the block. That is definitely not very enjoyable. Yet that is the case most of the time, especially with large strong dogs.
So how can you teach your new puppy to walk next to you and not pulling on the leash.
Here are a few points to remember:
You will start your training in a low distraction area in your house or garden.
You should change direction very often. That will ensure that your puppy will be more focussed on you.
You do NOT allow your puppy or large dog to pull you – NEVER! You should either stand still or you change direction, but you do not move in the direction the dog is pulling.
With that in mind, you start again with the clicker in one hand. You can hold the clicker and the leash in your right hand and treats in your left hand. You just start walking and with a exited voice encouraging your puppy to walk with you. The exact moment your puppy is in the heel position, you click and give him a treat. You do that everytime he is in the correct position.
Your puppy with most probably jump up to try to get to the treat. Just ignore that and just click and treat when he is in the heel position and not when he is jumping. He will soon realise where he should be to get that treat. The moment he walks in front of you, change direction. Do not say anything. When he comes into the heel position you can say "heel", click and treat. The moment he starts sniffing, again you change direction and repeat the obove process.
You will follow the exact procedure when you walk out the front gate. Just remember there are lots of distractions, smells, other dogs behind fences, people, traffic and so on. So keep training sessions very short and start out in a quiet street where there are not many dogs and traffic. Take it slowly and do not expect too much too soon.
Written by MS du toit
http://www.dogtrainingtipsforfree.com
http://training-fido.blogspot.com
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Puppy Training Tips - Why You Should Train Them From the Beginning! This is Must Know Information!
There's hardly a better feeling in the world then bringing home a brand new puppy to introduce into the family. The great feeling of a little one running around and just looking so cute and adorable is generally short lived however once the dog gets settled in and starts TRULY acting like a puppy.
Most people are under the assumption that you have to take your dog to training classes in order to get them to act like a good dog. The simple truth is that anyone can train their own dog and it's really no that difficult. Regardless of whether you are dealing with a newborn puppy or an older dog the techniques are pretty similar throughout the home based programs.
The secret to getting your puppy to behave is to start enforcing some boundaries quickly upon them while they are getting used to your home.
Many people get into the mindset that the dog is a human part of their family. What you should try to remember is that your dog isn't human, and they have natural born instincts that must be broken from the beginning of your lives together otherwise they will feel that it's okay to do these things as they grow older.
Whether it's barking uncontrollably, urinating on your carpet, showing aggressiveness towards you or other people in your family, or just not wanting to follow any commands you give them, getting them to stop these behaviors is going to be much easier if you do it at a young age.
Remember, you don't have to be the dog whisperer to get your dog to mind.
Are you having a hard time getting your dog to mind? Learn how easy it is to have them trained and not causing havoc by Clicking Here
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Marc_Sumner
Most people are under the assumption that you have to take your dog to training classes in order to get them to act like a good dog. The simple truth is that anyone can train their own dog and it's really no that difficult. Regardless of whether you are dealing with a newborn puppy or an older dog the techniques are pretty similar throughout the home based programs.
The secret to getting your puppy to behave is to start enforcing some boundaries quickly upon them while they are getting used to your home.
Many people get into the mindset that the dog is a human part of their family. What you should try to remember is that your dog isn't human, and they have natural born instincts that must be broken from the beginning of your lives together otherwise they will feel that it's okay to do these things as they grow older.
Whether it's barking uncontrollably, urinating on your carpet, showing aggressiveness towards you or other people in your family, or just not wanting to follow any commands you give them, getting them to stop these behaviors is going to be much easier if you do it at a young age.
Remember, you don't have to be the dog whisperer to get your dog to mind.
Are you having a hard time getting your dog to mind? Learn how easy it is to have them trained and not causing havoc by Clicking Here
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Marc_Sumner
The "Sit" Command - Step by Step
The "sit" command is usually the very first command a dog owner will teach his new puppy. Many people expect their dogs to sit before they can have their food. And the dogs learn very quickly that if they do not sit, they will not get their food immediately. That is why meal times are very good training opportunities.
Let’s say you have a new puppy and you have not done any training of any sort with any dog before. Now you want to teach the puppy to sit on command. Where do you start?
Make sure you have a clicker. (For more information about the clicker, http://www.dogtrainingtipsforfree.com/Clicker%20Training.html). Make sure you have lots of small yummy treats. It can be very tiny pieces of meat, chicken or sausage or cheese. It should not be something that the puppy would have to chow on for minutes. Take your puppy with you to a quiet room with very little distractions in. At this stage, put the puppy on lead. He will learn to associate that with training sessions.
Now you can start by charging up the clicker. That only means click and treat a few times, so that the puppy can start to associate the sound of the click with the receiving of a treat. After a few clicks the puppy will look at the clicking hand to see when the next click is going to be. When that happens, take a treat in the other hand, hold it in front of his nose (don’t let him grab it!), move your hand backwards and up, luring your puppy into the sit position. Do not say a word, do not say "sit".The moment his bum hits the ground, click and give the treat. Repeat 15 – 20 times. Have a short break and repeat that exercise again about 10 times.
By now your puppy will almost certainly go into the sit position all by himself. Repeat the above exercise 20 times but now you say the command "sit" as you lure him into position. Click and treat everytime he sits. You can now test him by just giving the verbal command and not luring him into position. Just give the command once. If he does go into the sit, click and treat and make a big fuss. If he does not, do not get frustrated. Take a break and play with your puppy and then repeat the luring exercise again 20 or more times. Test him again. Repeat untill he understands the command.
Repeat the sit exercise many times a day. You can now start to add distractions and you can start to let you puppy sit in different positions in relation to yourself, infront of you and on your left and your right. Congratulations, you have, in only a few short sessions, taught your new puppy to sit on command.
Written by MS du Toit, owner of http://www.dogtrainingtipsforfree.com and http://training-fido.blogspot.com
Let’s say you have a new puppy and you have not done any training of any sort with any dog before. Now you want to teach the puppy to sit on command. Where do you start?
Make sure you have a clicker. (For more information about the clicker, http://www.dogtrainingtipsforfree.com/Clicker%20Training.html). Make sure you have lots of small yummy treats. It can be very tiny pieces of meat, chicken or sausage or cheese. It should not be something that the puppy would have to chow on for minutes. Take your puppy with you to a quiet room with very little distractions in. At this stage, put the puppy on lead. He will learn to associate that with training sessions.
Now you can start by charging up the clicker. That only means click and treat a few times, so that the puppy can start to associate the sound of the click with the receiving of a treat. After a few clicks the puppy will look at the clicking hand to see when the next click is going to be. When that happens, take a treat in the other hand, hold it in front of his nose (don’t let him grab it!), move your hand backwards and up, luring your puppy into the sit position. Do not say a word, do not say "sit".The moment his bum hits the ground, click and give the treat. Repeat 15 – 20 times. Have a short break and repeat that exercise again about 10 times.
By now your puppy will almost certainly go into the sit position all by himself. Repeat the above exercise 20 times but now you say the command "sit" as you lure him into position. Click and treat everytime he sits. You can now test him by just giving the verbal command and not luring him into position. Just give the command once. If he does go into the sit, click and treat and make a big fuss. If he does not, do not get frustrated. Take a break and play with your puppy and then repeat the luring exercise again 20 or more times. Test him again. Repeat untill he understands the command.
Repeat the sit exercise many times a day. You can now start to add distractions and you can start to let you puppy sit in different positions in relation to yourself, infront of you and on your left and your right. Congratulations, you have, in only a few short sessions, taught your new puppy to sit on command.
Written by MS du Toit, owner of http://www.dogtrainingtipsforfree.com and http://training-fido.blogspot.com
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