Rachel’s Dog Training

It is important that your dog can walk on a leash. Even if you never take your dog walking. But before you start training him on the leash he needs to learn the Basic Dog Training. He needs to know how to walk on a leash incase you take him to the vet or a friends house and you need to be able to control him.

1. Hook the leash onto your dog’s collar, and with your dog standing on the left side of your body, start walking.
2. Your dog will most likely want to walk ahead of you. To stop him from doing this, is not to tug on the leash every time he does so, becasue if you do this he won’t learn that pulling ahead is bad, he will just not like going on walks. But the answer is to just stop walking until he comes back to. If you do this and he does come back to where you are standing, reward him and continue walking. Or you could just randomly change direction if he starts pulling. If you change direction alot your dog will naturally walk next to you wondering where you are going to go next.
3. Either way your dog will learn to walk next to you on the leash. When he does, reward him.

Walking your dog on the leash can be fun for both you and your dog. You and him can go for day trips to the beach, and to parks if your dog can walk on the leash properly, and happily.

Good Luck with your training,

Rachel and the Dogs

P.S. To get my free training course, visit The Dog Training Academy

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These are the some of the hardest tricks either to teach, or for your dog to learn. Most of these tricks are progressed on from Secondary Dog Training so it is important that your dog can perform these tricks before learning the advanced. Advanced tricks include wave, play dead, weave walking, beg and more. Before you teach your dog these tricks, it is important that he can perform the secondary and basic tricks on command.

Wave

Wave can take alot of time to teach. If your dog understands the non-verbal command for shake (simply putting your hand out to take his paw) it makes teaching this trick a little less confusing for your dog.

1. Either command ‘Shake’ or put your hand out to your dog, but don’t grab it. Let your dog’s paw reach out and go back to the ground. This is the ‘Wave’ motion. Reward after he has done so.
2. Repeat doing this twice in a row before reward the next time, and then three times in a row a few times after that. Try to get your dog to wave at least four times in a row on a single command.
3. After you have done this four or five times, start adding in the command ‘Wave’ as you finish the motion. Always reward after you have given the command.

This trick may take a while to teach, but eventually your dog will be able to wave goodbye to guests on command.

Beg

Once you have taught your dog to beg, he can say please for his food. You will need to get your dog in a sitting position for this trick.

1. Hold some tricks in your finger tips, so your dog can see them, and put them above his head making him look up. Jiggle your hand in an encouraging way to try to make him take his front paws off the ground. If he does so, reward.
2. If he is reluctant to take his paws off the ground, you will have to help him, by asking for his paw, and if he can shake both paws ask  for both, otherwise pick up his other paw and put him in a beg position. After holding him there for a few seconds, command ‘Beg’ and reward before letting him go.
3. Keep doing this until your dog needs less incouragment to go up on his hind legs, and gradully stop doing the hand signals. This trick may take longer to teach but continue on with the exercise, and your dog will get it eventually.

Play Dead

This trick is just an extension from rollover. Warm up with a few ‘rollovers’ before doing this trick.

1. With either treats or a favourite toy, hold it above them and slowly make your dog rollover, but stop him by putting your hand on his belly and commanding ‘Wait’, once he is laying on his back.
2. Keep him in this position for a few seconds, then command ‘Dead Dog’ or ‘Play Dead’ and reward.
3. Continue with this until you can do it from a standing positon, and make your dog stay in this position for about 5 seconds after he is completely still. This is a very entertaining party trick, that can be part of a small act with other tricks.

Weave Walking

This trick is a progression from ‘Through the Legs’. Your dog will walk through the gap between your legs as you walk, several times. Before you begin, hold some treats in your hand and practice the ‘Through the Legs’ trick.

1. Put one foot infront of the other with a wide enough gap that your dog can walk through.
2. Command ‘Through’ or ‘Under’ and lead your dog through your legs. This may be a little confusing for your dog because he will be used to going through your legs from the front or back, or he might get it straight away. You may need to encourage him.
3. Once he has done so, reward. Now with him standing on the other side of your body, put your other leg foreword and using the same process lead him through the gap. Reward.
4. For this trick, you can either use the same command as you use for ‘Through the Legs’ or you could use the command ‘Weave’. Although if you have taught, or are teaching your dog ‘Wave’ then they may get the commands confused. You could also use the opposite command to what you use for ‘Through the Legs’, for example if you use ‘Through’, use ‘Under’ for ‘Weave Walking’ instead.

Whichever command you use, begin to use it after you have done the first exercise about four times. The trick ‘Weave Walking’ would usually consist of four ‘Weaves’ however it doesn’t matter how many you do. Gradually stop doing the hand signal and only work using the verbal command.

Half Turn

This can be a progression from ‘Spin’ although it is only a half revolution.

1. First, stand with your dog infront of you and hold some treats to his snout. Then slowly move them behind him encouraging him to follow. When he has done the half revolution, reward.
2. Repeat this a few times so that he vaguely knows what you want him to do. Now add in the command ‘Turn’ or ‘Half’ after your dog has completed the half turn. Reward.

Progress this trick and slowly take the hand movement away. Try to only do this trick using a verbal command. It may take a while for your dog to work out that you don’t want him to do a full revolution.

Back Through the Legs

This trick is a progression from ‘Walking Backwards’. With your dog standing infront of you facing the same way you are, he walks bacwards between your open legs. However this trick is harder to teach because it is unnatural for your dog to be facing away from you, and it is important that he does.

1. Start by holding some treats to your dogs snout with him standing in front of you facing the same way you are.
2. Then spread your legs apart and gently push into his snout forcing him to walk backwards. Make him walk backs until his is completely on the other side of your body. Reward.
3. Continue this process several times and then add in the command ‘Back’. Using the same command for this as ‘Walking Backwards’ won’t confuse your dog as much as changing it will. It is still walking backwards exept in a different direction.
4. Gradually take away the hand movement and only use the verbal command. Eventually your dog will get used to the motion. This can be a fun trick to perform with your dog and is entertaining to watch. Something that will amaze anyone.

Fun Idea - You can put ‘Walking Backwords’, ‘Half Turn’ and ‘Back Through the Legs’ together and make an entertaining performance with heel work to music. You can include tricks such as ‘Spin’, ‘Weave Walking’ and ‘Rollover’ as well. Use your imagination!

Figure Eight

This trick is also a progression form ‘Through the Legs’. Your dog weaves around and through your legs in a figure-8 motion.

1. With your dog standing at your side, lead him through your legs from the front to the back.
2. Then lead him to the other side of your body.
3. Next, lead him through your open legs from to front to the back.
4. Now repeat this step several times before adding in the commands ‘Left’ and ‘Right’ for the leg that he is going around. Gradually stop using the hand movement and only work using the verbal command.

This is also a great trick to do in a heelwork performance.

Good luck with your training!

Rachel and the Dogs

P.S. To get my free training course, visit The Dog Training Academy

Technorati Tags: advanced dog training, dog training beg, dog training wave, dog training weave

Here are some fun tricks that you and your dog can use to entertain party guests. They are quick and easy to teach, and can be put together into a small performance. Before your dog can learn any of these tricks he must first learn the Basic Dog Obedience.

Shake

Shake is a relatively easy trick to teach. Your dog will give you his paw on command as if shaking hands with you. Your dog needs to be in a sitting position for this trick.

Start by picking your dog’s paw up off the ground, shaking it, and reward. Continue to do this until your dog understands that this is what you want him to do. Then, start adding the command ‘Shake’ when you pick up his paw.

Continue until your dog can perform this trick on cue with both verbal and non-verbal commands.

Rollover

This is a very entertaining party trick to teach your dog. First, get your dog in a down/drop position. Then, using either food or a favourite toy, move it behind his back, guiding him to roll toward it. Once he has done so, reward. Continue to do this until he understands, then, add in the command ‘Rollover’ or just ‘Over’ as you do the motion.

Once your dog understands the command, try doing this trick standing, without the hand signal. If this doesn’t work, lean closer to your dog and add the hand signal, but be more vage with it. Don’t use the toy or food, just losely move your hand in an arc over the dogs head as if showing him where to roll.

This trick will progress over time if you keep your dog practicing it, and it will get easier for him to roll. Depending on the dogs size and breed, it will either be easy for him to roll straight away, or take him a while to get used to the motion.

Note: For the following tricks your dog needs to know the tricks above.

Play Dead

This trick is just an extension from rollover. Warm up with a few ‘rollovers’ before doing this trick. Then, with either treats or a favourite toy, hold it above them and slowly make your dog rollover, but stop him by putting your hand in his belly and commanding ‘Wait’, once he is laying on his back. Keep him in this position for a few seconds, then command ‘Dead Dog’ or ‘Play Dead’ and reward.

Continue with this until you can do it from a standing positon, and make your dog stay in this position for about 5 seconds after he is completely still. This is a very entertaining party trick, that can be part of a small act with other tricks.

Beg

Once you have taught your dog to beg, he can say please for his food. You will need to get your dog into a sitting position for this trick. Hold some tricks in your finger tips, so your dog can see them, and put them above his head making him look up. Jiggle your hand in an encouraging way to try to make him take his front paws off the ground. If he does so, reward.

If he is reluctant to take his paws off the ground, you will have to help him, by asking for his paw, and if he can shake both paws ask  for both, otherwise pick up his other paw and put him in a beg position. After holding him there for a few seconds, command ‘Beg’ and reward before letting him go.

keep doing this until your dog needsa less incouragment to go up on his hind legs, and gradully stop doing the hand signals. This trick may take longer to teach but continue on with the exercise, and your dog will get it eventually.

Wave

Wave can take alot of time to teach. If your dog understands the non-verbal command for shake (simply putting your hand out to take his paw) it makes teaching this trick a little less confusing for your dog. Either command ‘Shake’ or put your hand out to your dog, but don’t grab it. Let your dog’s paw reach out and go back to the ground. This is the ‘Wave’ motion. Reward after he has done so.

Repeat doing this twice in a row before reward the next time, and then three times in a row a few times after that. Try to get your dog to wave at least four times in a row on a single command. After you have done this four or five times, start adding in the command ‘Wave’ as you finish the motion. Always reward after you have given the command.

This trick may take a while to teach, but eventually your dog will be able to wave goodbye to guests on command.

There you have it, five tricks you can use to entertain guests.

All the best with your training,

Rachel and the Dogs

Technorati Tags: dog party tricks, fun dog tricks

After your dog has learnt the Basic Dog Obedience, he can learn the secondary training. These tricks include shake, rollover, walk backwards, bow and spin. Each of these tricks are taught using the basic dog training, so your dog must learn them tricks first, after all, he can’t rollover from a stand.

Shake

Shake is a relatively easy trick to teach. Your dog will give you his paw on command as if shaking hands with you. Your dog needs to be in a sitting position for this trick.

1. Start by picking your dog’s paw up off the ground, shaking it, and rewarding him.
2. Continue to do this until your dog understands that this is what you want him to do. Then, start adding the command ‘Shake’ when you pick up his paw.
3. Continue until your dog can perform this trick on cue with both verbal and non-verbal commands.

Rollover

This is a very entertaining party trick to teach your dog. First, get your dog in a down/drop position.

1. Using either food or a favourite toy, move it slowly behind his back, guiding him to roll toward it.
2. Once he has done so, reward. Continue to do this until he understands, then, add in the command ‘Rollover’ or just ‘Over’ as you do the motion.
3. Once your dog understands the command, try doing this trick standing, without the hand signal. If this doesn’t work, lean closer to your dog and add the hand signal, but be more vage with it. Don’t use the toy or food, just losely move your hand in an arc over the dogs head as if showing him where to roll.
4. This trick will progress over time if you keep doing it, and it will get easier for him to roll. Depending on the dogs size and breed, it will either be easy for him to roll straight away, or take him a while to get used to the motion.

Bow

This trick can easily be confused with ‘Down/Drop’. That is why I recommend you use the ‘Drop’ command instead of the ‘Down’ command because the dog can easily get confused with the words. To teach this trick, your dog must be in a standing position.

1. Hold the food in your fingertips, and slowly bring it down until your dog is in a bow position. If he doesn’t go into a bow position, gently push on his shoulders. As soon as he goes into a bow position, reward. If he lay’s down do not reward him, just try again.
2. Continue doing this until your dog knows what he is supposed to do.
3. Now add in the command ‘Wait’ as your dog goes into the bow position. Then command ‘Bow’ before releasing and rewarding your dog.
4. Continue this and gradually move further away as you give the command and eventually your dog will be able to bow from any distance.

Walk Backwards

This trick is a fun trick to teach as, your dog can walk backwards, and forewards, backwards and forewards, on your command. You will need your dog in a standing position for this trick.

1. First, grab handful of treats, and hide them in your hand (treats are best for this trick). Next, gently push into your dogs snout, making him walk backwards.
2. This time, add the command ’Back’ right from the first backwards step. Repeat the command several times as your dog walks backwards. Reward.
3. As you progress, push your dog further and further back, walking with him, then reward after you have stopped pushing and said the command. Continue to say back as you walk with your dog, but only about three times, with pauses.
4. You will have to continue this for quite a while, unless your dog is a fast learner like my dog Sasha is, but eventually your dog will understand the command, and be able to walk backwards away from you, whilst your are standing in the one place.

Spin

This trick may make your dog dizzy, so don’t over do it! You will need to get your dog in a standing position for this trick.

1. Hold some treats in your hand, so your dog knows they’re there, but keep them hidden. Then, hold them near your dogs snout and slowly move your hand around in a circle. If your dog doesn’t follow your hand, use some encouragement, like shaking your hand or saying ‘Come’ as you move your hand in a circle.
2. Once your dog has done one revolution stop and reward.
3. After a you have done this a few times, start giving the command ‘Spin’ after your dog has done one revolution, before rewarding.
4. Once your dog understands the command, gradually stop doing the hand signals. Eventually your dog will be able to do a full revolution on command, with or without hand signals.

Through the Legs

This trick is fairly easy to teach, as the dog just has to walk through your legs once they are spread apart, either from behind or infront.

From Behind

1. Tell him to ‘Sit’ and then ‘Wait’. Stand a few feet infront of him and folding the food between your legs say ‘Come’. Your dog may be reluctant to go through your legs, and he may need a bit of incouragment. An easy way to encourage him is to hold the treats at his nose and slowly lead him through your legs. Reward.
2. Once your dog understands what you are teaching him, use the command ‘Through’ or ‘Under’. Try to stop using the hand signal and only using the verbal command.

From Infront

1. To teach him to walk through from the front, do this in reverse. Stand infront of your dog and hold the food behind you so that your dog can see it through your spread legs. Command ‘Come’ and reward. If he is reluctant encourage him the same way as in the reverse of this trick.
2. Once your dog understands what you are teaching him, use the command ‘Through’ or ‘Under’. Try to stop using the hand signal and only using the verbal command.

These tricks are Secondary Dog Training. Once you have taught these tricks, have a bit of fun with them, and try doing them in sequence, and put on a show for guests. But just remember to praise your dog, and have fun. Or try these Party Tricks which involve a bit of Secondary and Advanced dog training, as well as a small part of agility. They are fun tricks to teach and will entertain any guests.

All the best with your training,

Rachel and the Dogs

P.S. To get my free training course, visit The Dog Training Academy

Technorati Tags: dog training rollover, dog training shake, secondary dog training

There are more than just one type of dog training. In fact, there are several. Depending on what stage your dog is at, depends on what you should train him.

The first is the most important lesson that every dog should be taught. It is Basic Dog Training, a lesson which covers the most important commands of Sit, Lay Down, Wait and Come. Before you train your dog anything else, they must learn the basic training.

After you teach your dog the Basic Training, you should teach him Leash Lessons. Even if you don’t take your dog walking, he should still be taught this incase you are taking him anywhere he might need to be on a leash. For example if you take him to the vet, you need to be able to control him and if he can’t walk on a leash, it will make it harder for you and him.

The next is Secondary Dog Training. This is tricks such as shake, that you can use to entertain guests when they come to lunch, or just to give your dog extra stimulation. Along with this, you should teach your dog some games to play with you such as fetch. This can be used as a reward instead of always giving him food.

Agility training comes in about here. This is teaching jumps, obstacle causes and to follow your lead or commands in an order. Agility is easier for smaller dogs, but bigger dog can also learn the agility tricks.

The last is Advanced Dog Training. These tricks can only be taught once the other lessons (apart from agility) are perfected. These tricks progress other tricks that have already been taught, or introduce a harder skill that takes alot of patience in order to teach.

Just remember to have patience teaching your dog, and don’t rush the tricks. If you rush the tricks then your dog can’t learn them as well, and you will have to go back to them again anyway.

Good luck with your training!

Rachel and the Dogs

P.S. To get my free training course, visit The Dog Training Academy

Technorati Tags: different types of dog training, dog training types

A dog training collar can often be a good idea if your German shepherd tends to bark more than you would like. 

Some owners find that their dogs can bark a lot, often at the worst times, like at three o’clock in the morning when you have a big day ahead of you.

A simple barking collar is probably your best choice if this is your situation.

Your neighbours will thank you as well…

A dog training collar is simple and easy to use, whether its an electronic training collar to stop her straying too far from your property or a simple bark collar.

We bought an electronic bark control collar for Chloe, put it on after reading the instructions, and it worked like a treat.

There are of course many other types of dog training collars available. 

They range from the basic barking dog collar to hunting and sporting collars and everything in between. There are also Electronic dog collars which incorporate a containment device that acts like an invisible fence, keeping your dog safe and within the boundaries of your property.

Some people have asked me if using a dog training or bark collar is safe and humane.

The small electric shock that Chloe receives when she barks is quite harmless, it just serves to tell her ‘NO’, that’s not the behaviour we want. 

I have seen tests that show that a dog training collar set on a low level gives a similar sensation to when you rub your feet on a nylon carpet and give yourself a static electricity shock when you touch something else in the room. Not painful, but it gives you a slight jolt and tingles a little.

Chloe still has an occasional bark, which is fine (she is a dog, after all), but now she doesn’t stand at the fence going nuts as the garbage man empties the bin at the bottom of the driveway

Definitely a worthwhile investment if your dog wants to bark at everything she sees or keeps you awake at night.

We hope you find just the right dog training collar here to suit your needs,

Kind regards,

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Puppy training should start from the very first day you bring your new puppy home. What you decide to teach her in these first few important months of her life will shape the rest of her life, so it is important that you don’t neglect these early steps in her training.

The first thing your new puppy should learn is crate training. What’s a crate? Puppy crates are merely another name for a travel cage made of plastic or wire, that you use to transport your puppy with you in the car or anywhere else when travelling. They are an ideal first home and sleeping area for her to use when she is living inside your home.

Puppies have a natural tendency to want to curl up in a nice, small, quiet place…somewhere they feel comfortable. A crate is the perfect place for her to use as a safe place to hide and sleep.

Confining her to her crate will help develop bladder and bowel control, because she will want to try to keep her bed clean and not soil the area where she lives. She will rather wander off somewhere else to go to the toilet if she can, so every few hours you must let her out to do this or you will have accidents that your are better off avoiding

Her crate will also be a good place for her to hide if she is sick or tired, and you should encourage her to use it whenever you can so she feels safe and comfortable inside.

Introducing Your Puppy To Her Crate

At first, she will need some encouragement to venture inside her new crate, so leave the door open and toss a food treat inside, letting her enter and exit as she likes.

As you do this, tell her “Into bed” or something else that you feel comfortable with. Encourage her to look around inside her crate and let her walk in and out as often as she likes so that she gets comfortable with it.

After a couple of days of offering treats in her crate, move on to placing her meals inside so that she has to enter to eat. This will make her enjoy being un her crate, because she will associate it with nice things, like food and shelter.

Once your puppy is happy to be inside her little retreat, revert to feeding her outside, and offer occasional treats only inside her crate. As you do, continue to say to her each time “Into bed” so that she learns to understand that this means “Go into your crate”.

Now you should be able to start locking her in for short periods of time to get her used to the idea of being confined. If she carries on, barks and struggles, do not let her out! Just try to calm her by saying “No, be quiet” or leave her alone in the room until she settles down again.

Once she is quiet, let her out and pat her enthusiastically. If you let her out before she calms down, you will be teaching her that all she has to do to be released is to carry on like a lunatic and she will be set free.

Is this what you want? No I thought not.

So, only release her from her crate when she is calm and happy and you will have a much easier time controlling her tantrums and will make life much more pleasant for everyone in your household.

The best place for her crate when she is little is in your bedroom near your bed. If she knows you are near she will feel safe at night, plus if she has to get up and relieve herself, you will hear her scratching at her crate door trying to get out.

She will not want to soil her home, so she will do everything in her power to let you know that she needs to go outside. If she has an accident, then it’s probably your fault, not hers…

House Training Your Puppy

The best way to teach your puppy that you want her to relieve herself outside the house si to take her out there, wait until she does what you want her to do, and then make a fuss over her when she does it. She simply has no idea of the difference between the inside of your home and the outside unless you teach her.

One of the worst things you can do is to let her relieve herself on a newspaper inside when you first bring her home. By doing this, you are encouraging her to do this inside your warm, cosy home rather than outside where she should be doing it. Don’t fall into this trap or you will have a hard time re-educating her once she has established a routine.

When you are waiting with her outside, try to encourage her to relieve herself and when she does, praise her and tell her she is a good dog. Then take her inside again.

Don’t get frustrated and come inside prematurely, because you will probably find that she will go on the living room floor as soon as you turn your back. Be patient, and after only a couple of weeks, she will have the idea of where she has to go and your problems in this area will be over.

One last thing. It is not a good idea to punish your puppy for relieving herself in the wrong place (by your standards, anyway) by scolding her or rubbing her noise in her mess. This will teach her that relieving herself is wrong, not that the place she did it is wrong.

She may start sneaking off and doing it in places like under your bed or in the washing basket while you are not looking…as annoying as it is, try to remain calm and simply follow the routine of taking her outside, waiting for her to relieve herself, praising her and then bringing her back inside.

German shepherds are very intelligent and your puppy will learn what you are teaching her quickly. Have patience and you will have a win in a very short period of time.

Try not to let your puppy roam freely around the entire house - she may find something too interesting to miss somewhere and forget to go outside, resulting in you finding unpleasant packages in places you’d rather not find them…

Close doors around your home so that she stays where you can see her, and she will usually let you know \when she wants to go outside.

House Rules

Puppy training should include helping her understand the house rules of your home. It’s one thing to have her sitting on your lap on the couch when she’s 8 weeks old, but quite another when she is 18 months old and weighs 50 pounds.

You have to lay down the law right from the start and train her in what not to do when inside your home. This included things like scolding her for chewing on things that don’t belong to her, when she jumps up on visitors, stay off the lounge chairs and not to pull the washing off the clothes line…

You have to be very specific when you are teaching her what si right and wrong. For example, if she picks up one of your children’s toys, take it off her saying, “No, this is not your toy”, and give her one her own, saying “This is your toy”.

In this way she will learn what she can and can’t play with. You have to remember, she will learn by repetition, so by re-enforcing these messages and showing her what she can and can’t do, she will quickly understand what is acceptable behaviour.

Puppy training can be time consuming in the early stages, but persisting with it will indeed be a worthwhile use of your time.

Your new German shepherd puppy will give you years of pleasure if she knows the boundaries and understands what constitutes acceptable behaviour.

We hope that this introduction to puppy training has helped you understand the basics of what is involved.

All the best,

Rachel and the Dogs

P.S. To get my free training course, visit The Dog Training Academy

Technorati Tags: early puppy training, house training puppy

All dogs should be taught the basic four lessons in obedience. My SDWC exercise system (Sit, Down, Wait, Come) is an exercise where the dog can learn all four tricks and perform them one after another. These tricks will enable you to teach more advanced tricks which include these as a starting point.

In this video I will take you through a step-by-step process of teaching your dog these four important skills. Just click on the play button below to watch this video

You will need food that your dog likes, an open area, and no other distractions. It is also important to make training times fun for your dog, so he will enjoy them, making him more interested in what you are teaching him.

Rewards can vary from food, pats or a through of the toy, but I would recommend food. Something that your dog doesn’t get everyday is the best to use, like cheese, but maybe mix it in with some dry food.

Sit

1. Start by getting your dogs attention by giving him a few treats so he knows you have them. Hold them firm in your hand and lift it above his head out of his reach. This should tilt him backwards in to a sitting position.
2. Command ‘Sit’ and reward. If he doesn’t sit, gently push on his back until he does, then command ‘Sit’ and reward.
3. Repeat until he can do this without the hand movement and when he is not sitting in front of you. For example, use this command when visitors are nearby and practice this trick where there is distractions.

Down/Drop

For this trick, you can either use the command ‘Drop’ or ‘Down’. If you plan to teach your dog to ‘Bow’ then it is best to use the command ‘Drop’ otherwise he may get confused.

1. With your dog sitting, or standing in front of you, hold the treats firm in your hand and lower it to the ground and towards you, so he has to move down and forward. This should force him to go into a ’Down’ position to get the treats from your hands.
2. From a sitting position, he should go into a down, but in a standing position he might go into a ‘Bow’ position. Don’t reward him until he is in a proper down position.
3. You may have to push gently on his back to encourage him to do so. If you reward him for only going half way, he will often ’Cheat’ to get a reward. Command ‘Drop’ or ‘Down’ and reward when he is in a proper ‘Down’ position.

Practice this and he will soon get it. Teach him to go into a ‘Down’ position both sitting and standing, and practice this trick in a place that may have distractions.

Wait

‘Wait’ is a very important part of obedience. Getting your dog to wait allows you to have a bit of peace when wanting to sit alone, or when hanging the washing out. He will sit or lay down somewhere, and won’t move until you release him.

1. Sit or lay your dog down in front of you and fold the food in view but not so he can get to it. Command ‘Wait’ and make your dog be still for only a few seconds, and then reward.
2. You can also use a hand signal. Hold you hand up in a way that you would signify ‘Stop’.
3. Repeat several times so that he understands what you want him to do. Once this is successful, walk a few steps backwards once you have commanded ‘Wait’. This may take longer to teach than other tricks, but it is very important to teach.

Progress this trick so your dog will wait anywhere, any distance and you dog will be one of the most obedient dogs on the block.

Come

‘Come’ is a very easy trick to teach your dog.

1. Show your dog you have food and throw a piece a few metres in front of you so your dog has to go get it. Once he has found it, call his name and he should come back to you, wanting more food. Reward and repeat.
2. This time, command your dog to ‘Wait’ and then take a few steps backwards and call his name. If he doesn’t come, try again or click your fingers. Reward and Repeat.
3. The next time you do this, add in the command ‘Come’ after calling his name. Practice as much as you can, even out in the yard. Command ‘Come’ randomly when playing, but always reward once he has come to you. Always make it rewarding for your dog to come to you so that he will always come when he’s called, knowing that it is fun or rewarding.

Use this command when out on walks aswell, because it will teach him that he has to come to you where ever you are and whenever he is called.

SDWC

Once your dog knows the basic obedience tricks, you can try the SDWC exercise. First command your dog to ‘Sit’, then to lay ‘Down’ or ‘Drop’. Command ‘Wait and take a few steps backwards, and then ‘Come’ after a few seconds. After he has come to you, reward him and repeat.

Dogs love to make their masters happy, so they are always looking for things to do to please them. That is why SDWC is a good exercise to do with your dog, because if he does it right and you praise him, he will enjoy training more.

You may have to reward after every command at first, but aim to do five rounds of SDWC before rewarding him.

All the best with your training,

Rachel and the Dogs

P.S. To get my free dog training course, visit The Dog Training Academy

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