Edie MacKenzie On Dogs

Posts Tagged ‘Training Video’

Dog Training 101

As you become more familiar with dog training you’ll discover there are two extremes of personalities in dogs – the introvert and the extrovert.

However, there are many degrees in between those two extremes as there are dogs in this planet.

Regardless of where your dog’s personality lies on that scale, once you have given the dog training command to heel you must start walking and continue walking. Encourage your dog to accompany you if necessary. Correct his heedless rush with absolute right-about turns if necessary.

But, you should never, ever give in during your dog training if your dog decides to not follow your command and just “sit this one out”.

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Click Here Now – -and watch Chet’s Free Dog Training Video.

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Dogs learn by associating their actions with a pleasing or displeasing result. Therefore, the dog who tries to take advantage of the new shortened leash by surging and keeping a strain on it comes to a sudden discovery that you still have the situation very much under control. As soon as he can cause the leash to tighten, he will take his eyes off you, only to feel the sudden jolt of your right-about turn.

By using the reserve slack in your hand properly, your dog will realize that the leash is no different than the long line, except that he must pay even closer attention since the six-foot leash gives him less time to react than the fifteen-foot long-line. He’ll realize how much more pleasing it is to walk at your side so that he can see which way and when you’re going to change direction. Your left hand giving him a pat on the head when he’s in the correct heel position is also more pleasing than the sudden jolt that he gets when not in the proper position.

On the other hand, your introvert dog, one that stands as if he had feet glued to the cement, suddenly feels the slightly displeasing effect of the short, sharp jerks of the leash. Hearing your enthusiastic tone of voice and seeing your left hand pat your leg invitingly will do wonders to make your pet choose the more promising alternative. The moment he does, he will discover the warm, affectionate praise and pat on the head to be far more enjoyable than the series of sharp jolts he experienced as a result of his initial reluctance to walk with you.

You may have to spend each of your fifteen-minute training sessions for the next four days in this simple leash introduction so the introvert-type will walk without any reluctance or fear and to stop the extrovert’s heedless rushes by your unannounced change of direction.

Don’t Be Afraid To Use Too Much Pull

Let me describe a scene of what an extrovert dog may do when prompted with a distraction. Picture a dog tied to a tree on a twenty-five foot rope lying in loose coils on the ground. He is sleeping comfortably under the tree when a cat walks by past the dog at a distance of about twenty-seven feet.

The dog wakes up, spots the cat and rushes recklessly to pounce on the poor cat. The dog will be stopped two foot short and very abruptly too. After regaining his composure, he will still strain and tug to try and get the cat. But, unless he’s a total fool, he will not make that reckless rush a second time – not while still tied to a tree. But does he blame the tree? Of course not.

You are not as firm as a tree, so don’t be worried about hurting your pet. Your objective during the dog training should be clear. Your dog should walk at your left side, neither lagging behind nor surging ahead.

Always remember that the leash should be slack. Eventually, you’ll be heeling your dog without the leash and you will realize the importance of that slack.

If your dog is used to feeling a tight leash restraining him in the heeling position when dog training, he’ll be long gone when you walk him without the leash later on.

Dog Training 101

Once you have reached the level in training your dog where he is not fooled by distractions or temptation, you are then ready to proceed to the next level of dog training – how to heel correctly.

If your dog cannot walk comfortably at your side, there is no way you’re going to teach him anything about being obedient. He must learn to heel properly and focus his full attention to you.

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Click Here Now – -and watch Chet’s Free Dog Training Video.

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You will be using a six-foot leather training leash for this phase. During this stage of training, you will teach your dog to walk beside you like a gentleman. He will learn to automatically sit at your side when you stop.

A Dog Training Must – No Punishment Needed

The right attitude cannot be achieved if your dog is mistreated or abused. To restrain or choke the dog on a short, tight leash, to hit him in the chest, or to smack his face with the end of the leash while trying to teach him to heel will result, among other things, in a completely negative attitude in the animal.

Your Starting Position When Dog Training

To begin, you will notice that your leash has a loop in one end. Place your right thumb through that loop. With your left hand, grab the leash at the middle section and place it in your right hand. Notice that the dog is on your left side, but that the leash is held in your right hand. This will seem a little awkward at first, but your left hand will be doing other things.

Do not form the habit of trying to restrain your dog at your side by holding him up close with the left hand on that leash. Remember, you want to train your dog, not restrain him. Forget about everything that you were told or read about restraining a dog tugging at your side in the hope that he will get the idea that this is where you want him to walk. That idea will never occur to him.

There is an important characteristic of an untrained dog on a leash that will become obvious to you during this stage of training. This dog wants to feel a tight leash! If there’s a slack in the leash, he has no way of calculating its exact length. On a tight leash, he can lunge and pull and go through all kinds of twists and turns, because he has the security of feeling where the other end of the leash is.

Therefore, it is very important from a dog training perspective that you don’t give in to your dog’s wishes by walking him on a tight leash.

When it comes to obedience dog training, there should be no “half-way action” accepted. In other words, it’s all or nothing from your dog. And a crooked sit must be considered as something less than your dog giving  his full potential.

Not only does it look shabby, but it also prevents the dog from accomplishing his full measure of discipline and character. You can prevent your dog from developing the bad habit of crooked sits simply by using your free left hand while heeling.

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Click Here Now – -and watch Chet’s Free Dog Training Video.

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As you prepare to stop during a walk, make sure that your left hand is in a position to place on the dog’s rear in such a way as to prevent him from moving around in front of you after you have come to a complete stop. If your dog succeeds in sitting in a crooked way, hold back the praise until you have straightened his sit. As your left hand drops to his rear, keep your left thumb pointing toward your left leg. This will ensure that you do not accidentally place your dog in a crooked sit.

You do not have to push down heavily on your dog’s rear. You need to simply press lightly to help guide him into the proper sit position. It is more the right hand pulling the leash upward than the amount of pressure on the dog’s rear that will place him easily and quickly in the proper sitting position. Putting heavy pressure on your dog’s rear may stimulate him to resist, which is an unwanted action.

In these learning steps, the less resistance you have, the better off it will be, both for you and your dog. Also keep in mind the importance of a positive attitude.

Recap Of The First 10 Days Of Correct Heel Dog Training

Your first ten days of obedience dog training should consist of proper leash introduction, getting your dog to walk confidently and happy. This is achieved without lagging or straining as he walks at your left side in the response to the command “Heel”. The first ten days of obedience training also consists of the introduction of the command “Sit” in which you place the dog in the sitting position each time you stop.

Once you are confident about placing your dog in the sitting position, which took one full week, you are now ready to bring your dog to a higher level of discipline, intelligence, and response.

You must decide to never place your pet in the sitting position again. You have spent one full week showing him exactly what sit means, and it only takes four days for the average house dog to learn the average thing.

Now, it’s time to show your dog that he must do it for himself and that you will not be leading him by the hand all of the time when dog training.

Any form of puppy training is difficult but toilet training should not end with housebreaking.  If you want to avoid the unpleasant but necessary task of picking up after your pet in the street, it makes sense to train him to go before you leave home. This is not as difficult as it may seem but requires a fair amount of patience in the early stages.

If you have been successfully working puppy training at the housebreaking process, you will, by the time you are able to take your puppy out, have a particular phrase that your puppy will associate with going to the toilet.

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Click Here Now – -and watch Chet’s Free Dog Training Video.

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You should also have a fairly regular routine and will have some idea of when your puppy needs to go.

Try to arrange your first walk to coincide with this time. Go out to the yard as usual, repeating your chosen phrase until your puppy does what is required. Praise enthusiastically when puppy training and then take him out for a walk.

If he does not go to the toilet, take him back inside for a while and try again later.

If you take your dog out for a walk only after he has been to the toilet, he will eventually begin to realize that producing the required deposit results in a walk; this encourages good behavior when puppy training .

Dogs are highly intelligent creatures and many  owners do not give them enough credit when it comes to dog training and how they can read and understand our body language.

Some people have no idea that the body language that we display has a major impact on how well a dog will listen to us and obey our commands. Using the correct form of body language can also quickly stop your dog from displaying an improper behavior.

Let’s use a very common example, such as the overexcited dog who likes to jump on every guest that comes to your door.  We all go through this with our puppy or adult dog at some point in time.  As soon as the guests arrive your dog is overwhelmed with happiness and excitement about who is at the door and whether or not they are going to play with him.

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Click Here Now to watch Chet’s Free Dog Training Video.

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Do they have dog treats? What do they smell like? Do they want to play? How about I just jump all over them and see? This is exactly what your dog is thinking if we were to decipher his emotional behavior.

And meanwhile, you are giving every command possible to get your dog to stop being so excited and jumping on everyone.  You try shouting but it only makes him more excited.  You try giving harsh and loud “Off” commands but it’s not working.  Eventually, you are so stressed with yelling and trying to pull your dog off that it turns into one big chaotic party.

And yes, the term “party” is a great way to explain it because to your dog you are just joining in on the fun and excitement that he is feeling. Can you see now how your body language and the way you are communicating with her voice comes across to your dog? You are only adding to the situation as opposed to changing our dog’s behavior.

Communicate better with your dog by using the following body language tips

In the above example of the overexcited dog who can’t seem to stop jumping all over the house guests, you understand now that your body language and excitability only made your dog feel more enthused about what it is he was doing. Therefore, you must take a different approach to the situation, regardless of what action you are trying to communicate with your dog.  Below are a few basic body language tips that you can use:

1. When you’re angry at your puppy or adult dog, do not chase him around the house.  You may be upset with them, but to your puppy, he thinks you’re playing a game and he will run around forever.

2. When you give your dog a command, display a very bold and upright body position.  Stand up, chest forward, and head back. Your dog will have more respect and a slight bit of intimidation, which can help with training him.

3. If your dog is extremely excited then do not add to the problem by getting feisty.  Instead, move slowly and talk in a soothing tone of voice.  Display the same behavior you wish him to use.

Doing so will calm him down and it will be much easier to change his behavior. during your dog training