A training sequence can be very useful to keep your dog sharp and responsive to you when out and about. At class we have covered many different exercises which need to be ustilised and practised daily to be successful in our training. In doors (different rooms), in the garden (different areas), on the drive, where ever we go, when convenient practise one, some or all of the exercises you have been shown at class. Don't miss an opportunity to feed success with your dog.

EG:

• SIT
• DOWN
• STAND
• HEEL/CLOSE
• RECALL
• SIT STAY
• DOWN STAY
• CENTRE
• BACK UP
• YES AND NO MARKERS.

Repeat Sit Down Stand in a block of three leading with a different position on each block. So you then practice sit to stand to down, stand to down to sit and down to stand to sit. Remembering to be consistant with your hand signals and vocal comands. After block of three has been completed break the exercise and praise. If you struggle with your dog changing position on any of these make a mental note and let me know at class so I can help you.

The Heel or Close command. Walk 3 paces keeping your dogs head close to your thigh with your treat. Stop and release treat. Continue 2 paces into a right hand turn, 2 paces into a right hand turn and so on until you make a square. At the end of the square reward and then walk 2 paces into a left hand turn, and again until you make a square. Reward and release. Continue this twice more from the beginning. As your dog's heel work improves the 2 step squares can become larger by adding more steps in between each turn.

Recall. This can be done in many different ways, places and positions. Building recall length slowly in the beginning to achieve your confidence in your dogs response and the dog's confidence in the exercise itself. At home call the dog from one room to another for example, remember for a recall to be reliable it has to be practised in as many different situations as possible building distance in every situations and circumstance, using a happy inviting tone and worthy reward at the end of the exercise. You are imprinting a reaction to a word so it makes sense to start of slowly to build the correct reaction from the dog. 

Sit and Down Stay Positions. Again for these exercises to become full proof the dogs must feel relaxed in each postion and the length of time they are expected to stay in the postion must be built slowly. Your distance from the dog starts as close as possible, time and distance lengthening with practice. Stand close to the dog, while the dog is in a Sit position count 3 seconds and reward, 1 step away count 3 seconds and reward, always return to the dog to reward keeping them in the stay position, sit or down. Repeat these exercises in blocks of three in different places and atmostpheres to achieve trust and confidence in your dog.

Centre. Teaching your dog to present itself between your legs at class is just for fun. So present the reward to your dog from between your legs at the front allowing him/her to walk through, you can ask the dog to sit by raising the treat before passing all the way or to get them to run through throw the treat forward for them to run after. Great fun game for both you and your dog, also teach them to run through from the front. 

Back up. Using a static object, such as chairs for example, each side of the dog to make a channel about 2 feet wide. Stand in front of your dog and walk towards them when they start to reverse reward them and again with this exercise the reversing distance has to be built. The channel is to stop the dog reversing left or right and to keep them in a straight line. 

Yes and No Marker queues

Practice some or all of the above exercises daily wherever you are with your dog.

When training a dog to achieve a desired response by us, we must make it clear from the start by taking small steps with them to eventually meet the goal. By repeating these steps until each one is proven and then putting them all together is what will then enable the dog to consistently give the desired response to each command.

If you repeatedly rush the learning process and skip stages because you are keen to see the end game you will allow errors to creep in which for the dog will then become the learned response to your command.

Always teach the dog allowing them to become relaxed in the position first and have a good association with it. For example when teaching the down stay make sure you have a solid down first by repeating the action and rewarding by dropping food between their feet while the dog is in a relaxed mind set. Repeat the words DOWN and STAY while the dog is in the position. Moving away from the dog should be done in small steps PROVING each step by repeating it until the dog remains relaxed no matter how far away you move. This must not be rushed. If you repeatedly make a mistake your dog will do the same and the process then takes much longer.

We covered this exercise at class on Sunday and so I hope that our down stays have made good progress for us all to see next week.

When teaching our dogs an exercise we normally start with minimal distractions and sometimes consider this enough and that our dog's response is reliable to the vocal command in the future. This is somewhat true, if you live in a completely predictable enviroment. So it's a really good idea to make the exercises more dificult to obey and maintain by adding distractions to your training schedule and doing the exercises in as many different environments as possible. As an example tell your dog to sit and without saying anything bounce or roll a ball across your dog's path. Would your dog maintain the position or get up to follow the ball? To make sure we have a reliable response when working with our dogs it so important to train in as many different situations as possible so that the dog is desensitised to outside distractions and isn't tempted to ignore its handler. Make an effort to do this for your dog to become proven and reliable. The image above is Nelle and Khaly in a down stay while I am throwing bread around for the birds. Be imaginative, it will also teach you to be a resourceful trainer!

When we train our dogs it's important that we consider our timing when using correction and reward. If you are a good team this should come naturally but sometimes when we do not pay attention to the timing it can hinder our progress as a team, as it's a really important component if your dog is to fully understand what you want from them. If you learn how to read your dog you can tell when a mistake will be made and use reward to avoid it but far to many of us don't pay attention to the signs and therefore correction must enter the equation at the time the mistake happens. I teach positive and negative marker queues which, when taught correctly, remove the need for physical correction.

The words must each be used in a uniform sound every time they are spoken. So, for me, when I don't want a behaviour or the dog makes a mistake I would to start with, use a physical correction, if the behaviour warrants it and at the same time use the marker queue NO in a low tone and when the exercise is corrected by the dog or both of us together I use the word YES in a happy high pitch sound which will be instantly followed by some kind of reward, food or ball for example.

I also teach the markers using another exercise, which is by holding a treat in my left hand and holding the hand out flat to the dog, when the dog moves towards the treat I shut my hand and say No. I continue this process until the dog moves back and ignores the treat of it's own accord. Then I will immediately offer them a treat from the other hand and let them take it whilst using the marker queue YES. This way the dog will learn that when you say NO it has a negative outcome and when you say YES it has a positive outcome. The exercises above must be practiced regularly if they are be fully understood by your dog and I have found them very useful in my training. We will be covering this topic in class on Wednesday Evening! Keep up the good work and very well done to all of your for your hard work.

Dog's that are social are respectful of one another's space and state of mind. Sadly, when we bring puppies and/ or dogs into a domestic environment where we do not teach them or others of their kind to be respectful of space full stop, human or canine, they get the illusion that being disrespectful of space is the way to be social. An example of this is when we allow a dog to pull us towards another canine or person for contact, or permit our dogs to jump up at visitors etc. Socialising your dog is important but in the correct manner, so the above examples must be corrected or prevented from happening. Today we see so many dogs that approach other dogs with high energy and a disrespectful state of mind and although sometimes it ends in a friendly encounter, more often than not it causes aggravation to other dog owners and fights between their dogs. My dogs are social and have been taught to pay attention to me for their entertainment and only socialise with other dogs when they approach respectfully but 99% of the time they ignore other dogs because they are engaged with me. The word social for dogs should mean relating to a society and living together in an organised and respectful way and because, for dogs, our environment is far from that, they become unbalanced and a problem for a lot of dog owners.

When at DDS our dogs are learning to be social in a controlled manner and work with us while close to others dogs but to ignore them as a source of engagement. This is something you should all be working at whilst out on your day to day exercising and training with your canine companion. So make use of other dogs that are around you and work your dog or play with your dog keeping their attention on you at all times, correcting them when and if they wander. If you are matching your dog's energy levels and having fun this shouldn't be too much of an issue for you. Never allow your dog to approach another when in a high level energy, discipline and control, it's not imperative that they meet and greet, they don't need to, that's called being social!

When I hear people tell me that they want their dogs to play with other dogs, I question their motive! Canines generally would not play with another unless they are part of their social group and very familiar to them. So when a completely strange dog approaches at a high level energy showing no respect for you or your dog, then your dog snaps at them or cringes in fear, you shouldn't be surprised at your dogs response. Block the other dog from entering your space and protect your friend and claim your space. Ask the other dog owner to call their dog! Most other dog owners will comply, only a few will be brash with their response, you are entitled to your space when walking your dog!