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This has taken five years to sink into my conciousness: the most important part of dog training
is to have my dog's attention. If my dog is running around, sniffing the ground, I can't teach
him to sit or come or heel. I first must teach him to pay attention. I want my dog to look at
my face when he pays attention to me. Simply speaking to my Yorkie will have this effect. Some
dogs will be encouraged to look at their trainer if the trainer communicates excitement. For my
Chow I hold a piece of food in my hand, say "Ready", and move
the food toward my eyes. When he looks at me, I give him the food. Never stop working on this command.
Give this command at random when you have your dog outdoors.
What words should you use for your commands? Most trainers recommend one-word commands. I
like the standard commands because they ARE standard. If I should have an auto accident
and my dog is in the car with me, the EMT and/or police officer will be familiar with the
standard commands for controlling my dog. Some people think that their dog does not obey
because the owner is using the wrong command. But the actual word really does not matter -
as Chris Norton says, "You could use 'peanut butter.'"
Your dog should obey on the first command. Give the command once and then enforce
it. DO NOT GIVE THE COMMAND IF YOU ARE NOT IN A POSITION TO ENFORCE IT.
I have watched people give the "sit" command three times and then the
dog sits. I have watched other people give the command ten times and
then the dog sits. Dogs can count! Note that "be" is not the same as
"bebe," "moo" is not the same as "mumu," etc. So "sitsit" is not the
same command as "sit." For example, my mother's dog responded to
"comecomecome" but not to "come."
If you are training with food, the dog gets the treat ONLY if she obeys on the first
command. If you are using collar corrections, the dog is corrected only AFTER she
has had an opportunity to obey. The correct sequence here is 1) ONE command, 2) verbal
correction (a sharp "No!" or "Hey!"), 3) the collar correction. Some trainers will
give the verbal correction simultaneously with the collar correction. Their point is
that the dog should obey promptly and should not be given a second chance. With either
method the dog is learning to associate the verbal correction with the physical correction.
I wish that I might have a dollar for every time that I have seen dog owners give a collar
correction first and then give the command second. This trains the dog that when my owner
jerks me, he is going to say somthing. What you want to train is that when you say something,
your dog must obey.
(See my first two examples in the section on biting.)
A dog is encouraged to "sit" by pulling up on the leash and pushing down
on his rear. Pulling up raises his head and almost compels him to sit.
With food: hold the treat in front of his face and bring
the treat up (and back a bit). Thus we
reinforce the upward movement of the head with the leash and the food in
the hand. --> "Hand moving up" is the hand signal for "sit."
"Down" by grabbing the leash CLOSE to the collar (or grab the collar itself)
and pulling down to the floor (and forward a bit). With food:
hold the treat in front of the dog's face and
bring the treat down. -->
"Hand moving down" is the hand signal for "down."
"Stand" by pulling the leash STRAIGHT forward just a few inches and then
stop with palm toward the dog. With food: hold the
treat in front of the dog's face and
bring the treat forward. This works because
the dog moves his body forward as he stands from a down or sit.
Alternatively, take a step forward and the dog will stand as he moves forward
at your side in the heel postition.
Of course you can see by now that the hand signal for "stay" is your hand in
front of the dogs face, your palm toward the dog. No treat is given here.
The anticipation of a food treat is a great distraction to the dog.
Stay beside him and hold him in place if necessary. When he learns this,
move one foot away. Gradually increase your distance.
If your dog breaks
from the stay position, it is your fault. You must return to your dog and
release her BEFORE she breaks. This is the only way to have a successful
learning experience. When your dog breaks, that's NOT a training experience.
If your dog can stay for only five seconds, you should perform LOTS
of successful five second stays.
To train my Chow, I brought my hand briskly
toward his nose, stopping one or two inches from his nose. I didn't
threaten to hit him but he did need a FIRM hand signal.
Eventually teach your dog to obey "stay" from a distance. This is good
when the dog is running toward the street. "Stand" (or "stop") can precede the "stay."
Some people make distinctions between "stay" and "wait." Variation 1:
Stay means remain here until I return and wait means I will call you
to come to me. Variation 2: Stay means freeze and wait means remain
in this general area. Most of the trainers in my circle disagree with variation 2. (Myself,
I tend to use the commands interchangably but enforce "stay" more rigorously than "wait."
"Come" is very important. Train your dog with the six foot leash and then use
gradually longer leashes or a rope, etc. Let your dog see
the food in your hand before you say "Come."
Do not tug on the leash, your dog may interpret that as a "collar correction."
Train your dog to heel by holding a piece of food in your left hand.
(Hold the leash in your right hand.) At random intervals give
the food to your dog without stopping.
NEVER CONFUSE "SIT" WITH "DOWN." NEVER SAY "SIT DOWN." The command to
refrain from jumping on people is "OFF" not "DOWN" unless of course you
want the dog to lie down. Then be sure to enforce the "down" command.
This will be hard to do since the dog is excited. "Off" is better.
Tell the dog to sit as you place him in position AND THEN SAY, "GOOD SIT."
Otherwise the dog will not know that he did what you wanted him to do. Once
I watched a professional dog trainer wrestle with a dog for several minutes
to get the dog "down." He finally got the dog down, said nothing, and let
the dog get up. That dog is still wondering what was the purpose of the
whole exercise.
You can teach almost anything by breaking it down into
several simple steps. Food can be used to place the dog in position and
to guide the dog through the motions.
Socialization is very important for a Chow. By all means take him to
SEVERAL dog training classes for the socialization as well as the training.
Find a trainer who is not prejudiced against Chows. Sit in on several
sessions without your dog before you sign up. Here is a link which
gives some pointers on chosing a dog trainer:
Ten Questions Every Dog Owner Should Ask.
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