OBEDIENCE WITH ELLEN

 Ever have a dog that is behaving and suddenly -- you can tell he is about to misbehave? You could be on a loose lead walk, and the dog suddenly sees another dog. His/Her ears go forward, his hackles may go up. . . or it could be some other cue that you know --- because it is your dog and you know your dog.  You are working heeling at the Training Building and someone opens the door to walk it -- your dog drops his/her head to look away. You are working arounds with a cone or back end awareness with a rubber bowl, and instead of working on the exercise, the dog starts biting the object for play (this has happened with me). EVERYONE should know the Back Away! GET STARTED: Walk Forward with the Dog, exaggerating your body language. (SILENTLY) -Pause, Stop Your Stride, Shift weight BACKWARDS, and then just step back, with the leash and treat in both hands at your stomach. Get your dog to sit front. Mark and Pay. Just do a couple of these at a time to practice. But do them every d...

Students tell me they forget to cover certain exercises or skill sets. And they sometimes come to a trial, thinking their dog "knows" an exercise - so they don't need to practice it.  They frequently train an exercise versus training the skills broken down. They don't have time to train every day. And they are losing the dog's focus. The best way to train -- is in an organized way. Keep sessions short. And train the way you trial. Be sure you are NOT training the same thing every day in the most predictable way!! First - Make a list of everything you need to cover over the course of this month's training. Every skill every game. Here is an example: EXERCISES Decide how many days is a reasonable amount for YOU to work your dog. Novice dog owners - consider working 3-4 days a week for 10-15 minutes each session. Planning is key. Does it even seem possible that you can cover every single exercise every week? Absolutely. But you have to be smart about it. And you ...

This can be used for  ANY stay position SIT STAND  DOWN  

CHAPTER 4  OPEN Section 7. Command Discrimination.  The principal features of this exercise are the dog’s correct response to the handler’s first commands and/or signals and that the dog stays until the handler returns to heel position.  The orders are:  “Leave your dog”  and “Back to your dog.”  The judge must use signals for directing the handler to command and/or signal the dog to change position except for the first position and that order is: “Stand your dog” { always the command in Open A}   or  “Down your dog.” 

 Want to increase a dog's drive during an impulse control exercise?? Mark and Pay with a Send Back. This video demonstrates it with Drop On Recall, but it can also be used with almost any exercise as a reward.