Effective Training

Personal involvement

Personal involvement

When making your first efforts to teach your dog to lie down without being touched, stand close to him as you did when teaching him or sit or lie down under compulsion. Don’t try to get him to obey your command from a distance until he has reached the stage when he will lie down when told without fail when you are standing by him. Having got so far, practise the exercise at odd times whenever your dog is with you, but never forget to reward him when he does as he is told by showing him that his compliance pleases you. 

As training proceeds keep him in the down position for longer periods before letting him get up. A dog which lives in the house in close association with his owner or family will be a much more pleasant companion after he has learnt to sit or lie down on command. If, for example, he seems to becoming over excited or starts jumping up against children or visitors, he may be quietened at once by being given the command SIT.

Any dog which has been allowed to form the habit of jumping up boisterously to greet its owner or friends may be made to behave more decorously immediately it has been trained to respond to the word SIT or DOWN. When he has been taught to be clean in the house to come when called by name, to refrain from biting and tearing household articles to work properly on a lead and to sit or lie down if told to do so a young puppy may be considered to have absorbed as much education as can reasonably be expected. 

The more advanced types of training which are dealt with in future chapters should be left until the dog is from nine to twelve months old. At first it may be necessary to keep the lead short and fairly tight when bringing a dog to neel, but as progress is made reduce the tautness only applying pressure when he attempts to leave his position, saying HEEL sharply at the same time. 

You aim is to accustom him to walk to heel on a loose lead and training should be given with this in mind. A timid or very sensitive dog may at first tend to hand back after being brought to neel. If this occurs do not make the mistake of dragging him up to you. Instead, stop and try to attract him by words of encouragement, fussing and praising him when he comes to you. Try to keep him near you by caressing him and speaking to him in a soothing tone thereby Imparting a feeling of confidence and banishing any fear or apprehension he may associate with the restraint you are placing on him. 

With a dog of this kind progress may at first appear to be very slow, but it is most important that he should not be hurried or cowed, otherwise, even when he has learnt to walk to heel as required he may always do so unwillingly and look miserable when in that position. As he already been explained early lessons in walking to heel on a lead should be given in quiet surroundings where neither frequent. Traffic nor passing pedestrians or dogs are likely to interfere with the peoples’ concentration.

Later, however, he should be practiced in busier places should the dog be tempted by something to a jerk of the lead, given the command HEEL and spoken to sharply with the object of attraction his attention away from the distraction and reconcentrating it on you. Immediately, he responds fondle him and encourage him, verbally and by patting your thigh to follow you closely as before.

This training should be continued daily until the dog can be relied on to walk in the desired position wherever he may be and to ignore diversions of all kinds. It will be some time before this training is perfected, but be patient and persistent until your dog is thoroughly reliable in walking to heel while on the lead, it is folly to attempt to train him to react to your command while he is running loose. When the time comes to teach the next phase of the exercise, it is best to begin with the dog walking to heel on the lead in the way to which he is accustomed.

Quietly remove the lead and continue to walk forward as before. Speaking encouragingly to hold the dog’s attention and keep him from going off. Should be run forward or hold back attract him by patting the thigh and saying HEEL. If he returns to position praise him well, but if he goes off call him by name and giving the command HERE. Fuss him immediately he comes to you, the point to your foot and command HEEL. If he has been well trained to walk steadily to heel on the lead there should be very little difficulty in getting him to remain at heel when the lead is removed but if be behaves badly when free put him back on the lead and give him further practice on walking to heel on a really slack head.

When he seems to be really proficient in this, try him again without the lead. When he is under good command let him run freely for a time, then attract his attention by calling him by name. Pat your thigh and command HEEL. Reward him well when he comes, then keep him at heels for a few minutes. Whenever he fails to obey your command while running loose put him on the lead and get him walking to heel as before.

Do not fail to praise him when he comes to your call, even though he may not go to heel at once. Walking to heel off the lead will be learnt in time by any dog, providing he is first trained to be completely reliable on the lead and that nothing is ever done to interfere with his association of pleasure with coming to you in any circumstances. When your dog is walking to heel off the lead you may use the word FREE to indicate that he is now released from the command to walk close by your side or behind you.

It is most important when teaching any form of tracking to ensure that a track ends with the dog being successful in coming on what he is searching for. If he fails to find after working our a scent on a trail he may lose interest and enthusiasm for what he may feel is a po9intiess and unrewarding game. When your dog reaches the end of a trail, encourage him to pick up the found object, carry it back to where you started from, sit and hold it until you take if from him. Praise or reward him with a tit-bit when you relieve him of the article. When your dog has learnt this exercise thoroughly on the lead, practise him while loose. At first it is better to follow him as he tracks. So that you may correct or help him should that be required but later put him on the track of something you have hidden unknown to him and leave him to his own devices. Remain at the starting point so that he may bring the object back to you.

Once he has been trained in this way, a dog may be kept in practice by quietly dropping an article carrying your scent a glove. Purse or anything else which has been worn or used constantly-during a walk then. When a suitable distance has been covered, sending him back to find it saying SEEK; letting him smell your hand and pointing to the ground over which you have passed. If training has been satisfactory, the dog should bring back the dropped object at speed and deliver it to you at the sit.

Though the primary purpose of this training is to increase control and understanding between an owner and his dog, it may on occasions be of practical value. Thus, if in the course of a walk or ranable you should accidentally drop leave behind a piece of personal property, it is very useful to be able to send your dog back over your track to find and retrieve the missing article. It should be realised that the older a trail the less scent it will hold and the more difficult it will be for a dog to follow.

Some kinds of ground hold scent much better than others. Atmospheric conditions may be favourable or unfavourable. For example, grass and woodland are better for scent than is dry sand or a pavement, and a dog which fails to make out a trail in dry conditions at midday may follow it quite well in the early morning or evening when the earth is slightly moist.

Then some dogs have a much keener sense of smell than others and, since success in tracking depends to a very large extent on an animal’s natural faculty, it is useless to try to make a dog which has a poor nose learn to follow a trail well or with enthusiasm.

The best time to start training is on a warm day, when getting wet will not be attended by an uncomfortable shock. Find a spot where the ground slopes gently down to the water or, if by the sea, when it is calm and the tide is out. Play with the dog by throwing a stick or other easily carried article which will float, and let him fetch and bring it back to you in the usual way. When he is enjoying the game, throw the object to be retrieved so that it falls at the edge of or just in the water. In his excitement the dog will probably run to go it and in so doing get his feet wet. Repeat this several times, being careful not to make the object fall in a greater depth of water than can be reached by a little shallow paddling.

Practise for a few days, and when your dog shows no hesitation in paddling to fetch the article, gradually increase the distance from the bank or shore. But do not throw so far out that your dog cannot get to it while touching the bottom with his feet. This is important, as the dog’s confidence must be built up before trying to get him to go fearlessly out of his depth.

So far as the ordinary, companion dog is concerned, a savage animal which will growl suspiciously at every stranger who calls at the house or attack an intruder on sight, is very far from being what is wanted. On the contrary, an animal of this kind is almost sure to be not merely a nuisance but a menace both to its owner and to everyone else who comes in contact with him.

Except in special cases, a house dog is required to give warning of the approach or the presence of strangers by barking and to indicate his intention of protecting his owner and his property by assuming a threatening attitude towards a would be assailant. Almost any dog which has formed a close attachment to his owner or home will behave in this way when occasion demands. The fact that a dog is generally inclined to be friendly with visitors or callers does not necessarily imply that he will be of little use as a guard. If you wish to ensure that your dog becomes a good guard and decide to help towards that end by training, the first thing is to make up your mind just how you want him to behave in the presence of strangers.

For example, if you expect him to give warning by barking, do not correct him by shouting QUIET whenever he barks at a strange noise or a knock at the door during the day when you are expecting a caller. By doing so you may be teaching him to refrain from barking at similar noises at any time, whether you are there or not. A better plan is to say ‘All right, old boy’ pat him go to the door with you. Before opening the door get him to sit beside or slightly in front of you. See that he remains sitting in this position while you speak with the caller. Do not allow him to be fondled while in this position. If the visitor is admitted into the house, let him greet the dog with friendly overtures and encourage the dog to accept them. In this way, your dog will always be in a position to protect you from a strange caller with evil intentions, towards whom an attitude of suspicion may be maintained, but w3ill soon understand that a person brought into the house by you is to be treated as a friend. 

A dog which is too boisterous and apt to get out of control when a caller knocks, should be taken to the door on a lead and made to sit before the door is opened. If he tries to get to the caller or barks for no reason give a sharp jerk with the lead and say QUIET. Always have him between you and the caller, keep him sitting and if the visitor is asked in, ask him to speak to or stroke the dog, to establish friendly relation without exciting him unduly.