Dog Training

If this is your first attempt at dog training you need to take it slow. You will be learning as much from the dog as he does from you. Mistakes are going to be made. A good idea is to keep a training log. Keep track of every session noting what worked and what did not. This log will prove to be very important as you progress as a trainer.

First thing we are going to do is get the puppy use to a collar and leash. Get a good leather collar that will fit the puppy snug. If you can slip a couple of fingers under, it is about right. Put the collar on and be ready. He is probably going to try and paw it off or bite at it and rub his head on the ground. The collar is not hurting him. This is when you have to be ready with things to take his mind off the collar. Take a walk; I bet he follows. Walk in an area he is not use to. He will find things to investigate and in no time forget the collar. Let him wear the collar a couple of days and get use to it.

Now introduce the leash. Any good lead with a clip will do just make it pretty short. Clip the lead on his collar and let him drag it around for a while. Don’t let the pup out of your site with the lead dragging. We don’t want him to get caught on something and have a bad experience here. Do this everyday for about a week. Let him get well adjusted to having a collar and leash on. As he drags around the leash step on it once in a while and say something to him. No need for commands yet. Let him know you have control of the other end of the lead. Work in taking a hold of the leash and pulling him toward you. Do this in fun again no commands yet. This phase should last a week or two. Remember we are in a process of teaching commands that will last for years. We want to do it right.

Two commands we are going to work on in this article are here and sit/stop. We are working on a companion bird dog. Some trainers who train for what they call a finished dog or show trial dog will disagree with these methods. The here command is the first we will cover. Nothing can be accomplished if we can’t get the dog to come to us. For the purpose of this article we are going to call our dog Spot. Precede every command with the dog’s name. This conditions the dog that when he hears his name a command is going to follow. So the here command would be “Spot here”.

Caution needs to be used here. Never, never punish or introduce a negative action to your dog when he has come to you after this command. Make a note of this in your dog training log in big bold letters. Many dogs have been ruined by this practice. A longer leash about ten feet long is now needed. If Spot is use to being around you, he probably comes to see what is up when you kneel down. You need to use this in teaching this command. Attach the lead and keep hold of it. Let him wander a bit till he is at the end. When he stops he will automatically turn and look the way he is being stopped. Voice the command “Spot here” and kneel down. Chances are he will amble over to see what is up. A lot of praise is in order here. Pat his head scratch his belly and tell him what a good dog he is. Two or three times are all we want to try this. Spot loses interest fast at this age. If when you kneel down and Spot decides he has better things to do voice the command “Spot here” again. Gently coax him over with the lead. No punishing at this time. Just make him come every time you give the command.

With enough praise, he will be glad to see what is up when you say “Spot here”. This should go on until you have him coming to you every time, with no help from the lead. Do not introduce any other command until Spot has this down. Once again no negative when Spot comes to you. If you are going to do something you think he will not enjoy, shorten the lead rope and play a little. Make sure he knows he did well. Walk him around a little till he forgets you told him to come. Then pick him up and kennel him or what ever you had in mind.

Next command is the sit/stop command. There is no need for teaching both. Does the dog not have to be stopped to sit? Teach them together. When Spot stops, make him sit.

It will be one motion in no time. The command here is “Spot stop”. To start this lesson, walk the dog on the leash at your side. Give the command “Spot stop” and pull on the leash to stop him. Then reach over and push his butt down till he is sitting. While you continue to make him sit there praise him. Pat his head and tell him how good he is. When you get up say “Spot go” this is starting the frame work for a future lesson. Again a few times is all that is needed.

Now we need to make spot sit/stop not by our side. Get a lead about thirty feet long and see how he does out toward the end of it. If he will stop here you have a great dog in the making. Chances are he thinks he is beyond your control out that far. Maneuver spot around a pole or small tree and you walk around the other side in the same direction. Get out in front of him and let the rope slide around the pole. You need to be in front by ten feet or so then give the “Spot stop” command tightening the rope. Spot will have no choice but to stop and hopefully sit. He knows you did not stop him because you are way over there, and the rope pulled from behind. If he did not sit go over and push his butt down. Then the praise should be put on thick. Remember “Spot go” as you get up.

This command can take up to a month to accomplish. Just walk around the yard, park - or where ever you are - and look for ready made stop posts. Start giving the command before the rope gets tight to make sure it is not just the rope stopping him. The rope will be there if reinforcement is needed. Remember go to him and praise him when he does well. Spot needs to know when you say stop he will have to stop. If you work on this several times a week in a month Spot should be stopping with no lead rope. This is a little longer time frame than some trainers spend on these two commands.

Spot needs to be doing both without any hitches, with no lead, before he can continue his training. That is it for now. You now have a puppy you can handle and move a head with the rest of his training.

Remember to keep your dog training log up to date after every session. Over the years what you will compile in these pages can prove to be a life saver, or maybe a dog saver.