TRAINING POST

THE STAND

The stand can be relatively easy to teach and it can also be fairly hard to teach, depending on the dog.  I have had dogs that catch on in a few seconds, and I have had dogs that took days and days to figure this one out.  

The stand is a good behavior for your dog to have.  It makes vet and groomer visits go a lot more smoothly.  

Cue:  "STAND"

Sign: I have no sign for this.

My usual method:  I start very close to dog, with treats and clicker.  I put the dog in a sit in front of me, and use the treat to lure him to his feet, by placing treat in front of his nose and moving it backwards away from him, this should result in the dog standing to reach the treat.  As soon as he starts to get up I click.  I repeat the process several times, the  I add the cue word, and slowly get rid of the treat. 

How to Train Your Dog to Stand Without Moving

Dog Time-Teaching Stand Command

Batter Sea-Learn How to Teach a Dog to Stand

Dog Training Excellance- Teach the Stand

TRAINING POST

THE STAY

The stay is relatively easy to train, because you have already worked on Distance and Duration with the sit and the down.  Which is exactly what the stay is.

In a sit stay, you are asking the dog to sit down and stay in place, so working on the duration, or time you expect your dog to remain in the sit, is exactly what you are doing in a stay.  The same applies to a down, or a stand. 

Cue: STAY

Sign:  I use the cop stop sign, my hand raised palm facing dog. 

If you work on the sit and work with duration you have worked the stay, if you work the down with duration you have worked the stay, if you work the stand with duration you have worked the stay.  Same applies to distance. 

You can introduce the cue and signal as you work on any of these three.

TRAINING POST

DOWN

Down is number three on my list of basics.  Watch me is Number 2 and has been previously posted.

The down, Like sit there are different types of downs.  For this post we will deal with the plain down, the one where you tell your dog "DOWN", and he lies down where he is at.

My method:

Treats and clicker in hand.  I will position the dog in a sit in front of me.  Using the treat as a lure, I will lure the dogs nose down, producing a lying down position.  Repeat several times.  Click as soon as the dog is in the position you want him, and treat immediately.  

I will then proceed to use the Cue, luring him into position, once he has the cue under his belt, I then work in the sign.

Cue:  "DOWN"  I have heard "PLATZ" used for down, but I use that for a different kind of down as opposed to the common down.  

Sign:  I point my index finger at the ground.

Again, as in sit, we work towards duration, longer downs, and Distance, father away downs.  Also as in any training we start in a small non distracting place and work our way outside to the big wide world.

If your dog struggles with down, its ok, take your time, sooner or later he will get it.

Below are links to various methods of teaching the DOWN.

AKC- Teach a Dog to Lay Down

Victoria Stillwell- Teach a Dog to Down

Be Chewy-How to Teach a Dog to Lie Down

Fido Savy-The Down Command

 

 A FEW REMINDERS

I started this blog to help others with training issues and to spread news about my favorite animal the DOG.

You are all welcome to make comments at the end of a post, keep them clean, and within the sphere of the post please. 

I would also like to invite any and all to follow the blog, there is a follow button at the top of the page, just click and it follow the instructions.  By following you will not miss a post.  

If you wish to have a certain item discussed and researched please do not hesitate in commenting and letting me know.  I will do my best to find information for you.

Domino and Dandy and I just want to write and help.  I may be blunt sometimes, but that is how I am, I do not go round and round the bush to make anyone happy.  If you don't agree, that is fine, if you think you have a better method, that again is also fine, please share in the comments.  Remember the motto, ALL DOGS ARE NOT THE SAME.  Your method might work for others, why not share it and maybe help someone who is struggling. 

Also, I include a lot of links to various places that have training information.  I try not to use the same places over much, as there is a huge amount of information out on the Web.  By using various links, I am trying to give you varying opinions and different methods.  I encourage you to click a few links, you may just be surprised at the information you will learn.

Thank you.  Shawnee

 Emergency Prep Kits for your Dog.

With the world as it is today, everyone is prepping.  Don't get me wrong, preparation is a good thing.  But let us not forget our four footed family members while doing it.

Just as in human prepping you should have a 72 hour kit, ready and available for your dog.  Items in it should include but not be  limited to, Identification, vaccination records, health records, food, leashes.  There are numerous other items that should be included.  Below are some very helpful links to get you started.

Humane Society Emergency Preparedness

CDC's Pet DIsaster Kit Checklist

There are many places that sell Kits, its your choice to buy or prepare one yourself.  You never know when disaster may strike you and your family.  So never say never, and prepare a kit for your pet, just in case, it might save its life, and it might help reunite you in the end.

 

GUEST ARTICLE

DNA TESTING AND OTHER TESTING-  BY  HEATHER AHRENS OF BELLAHARA AUSSIES.

I understand the usefulness of all the testing we have available to use nowadays to make informed decisions within our programs.

What I don't understand is how/why folks don't seem to understand that without DNA verification on all Aussies.  NO AMOUNT OF TESTING done on the parent's MATTERS if parentage is NOT VERIFIED!

I can't tell you the number of folks I've visited with that have no clue what DNA verification is.  The simplest way I know to explain it is by comparing it to paternity and maternity testing.

The Australian Shepherd Club of America (ASCA) is the only registry in the USA, that requires all aussies MUST HAVE THEIR PARENTAGE VERIFIED VIA DNA, prior to any of their offspring being registered!!  ASCA has required this for decades, so there is no reason to doubt that every Australian Shepherd listed on a Certified ASCA pedigree is in fact the exact bloodlines that dog is from.

Yes, I'm aware that the AKC does require verification of parentage via DNA of any male that has sired 3 litters in a calendar year and/or after he has sired 8 litters in his life.  However that is in my opinion pointless especially considering what AKC's policy is IF it is discovered that a males parentage verification is incorrect, but that is a whole nother topic for another post.

Please understand I am ot insinuating anything about folks who opt to utilize any other registry besides ASCA.  I even know some that do and they choose to voluntarily verify parentage via DNA on their dogs, my kudos to them.

Rather I am simply attempting to educate folks.  All living beings on Earth, have two basic instincts: survival and reproduction.  Any of us that have been at this awhile know oh to well when a female is in heat, its amazing the things dogs will do to get the second one done.

I just pray folks will come to understand the importance and please consider adding parentage verification via DNA to the top of the long list of must haves when placing their in search ofs.

For if they really want all those "i's" dotted and "t's" crossed they must start with the basics by verifying that the parents with all their genetic, health, and color testing are in fact the parents.

PS.  As for the "what breed is my dog tests"...Well if you have parentage verification via DNA, going back several generations, I'd consider those tests a total waste of money.

                                Heather Ahrens

                                BellaHara Aussies

TRAINING POST

SIT

The SIT.  Probably one of the easiest things you will ever teach your dog, and also probably one of very first things you will teach, next to house breaking, and crate training.  The sit, all humans know what it means, but dogs are another thing.  This is why we must teach them.  You can't get a new puppy and expect him to automatically know what you mean when you tell him to "SIT."

How I teach "SIT"

I grab a handful of treats and a clicker.  I use the clicker quite often in training basics, and other things. Here is the best of the best in Clicker Training for both you and your dog.

Karen Pryor Clicker Training

A handful of treats, a clicker, and your dog.  Start with the dog standing in front of you, a treat in your hand.  Hold the treat close to dog's nose, slightly above it, raise the treat slowly, your dog's butt will lower to the floor.  The exact second your dog's butt hits the floor, click and give him the treat.  Repeat the process at least 5 times.  Now when you raise your hand, use the CUE word "SIT", again when the dogs butt hits the floor click and trick.  Repeat the process, slowly fading out the use of the treat as a lure.  Once the dog sits on the CUE word, then bring in the hand sign.  Use the Cue word and hand sign together several times, so the dog understands they mean the same thing.  After awhile you can fade the CUE word.  Once the dog sits automatically on both,  just the Cue Word or the Hand Sign, your ready to move on.

Moving on, we will take the dog to another room, and repeat the process all over again, usually this won't take much time, but again all dogs are different, so be prepared.  Once the dog has mastered the sit inside the house, move it out into the yard.  (Please keep your dog on leash if you do not have a fenced yard, it is a good idea to keep him on leash even in the yard to keep him focused on what your teaching.)  

Continue in this manner, moving around the yard, then  moving beyond the yard out into the big wide world.  

Teaching duration:  this means you will ask the dog for longer sits, before clicking and treating, move slowly with this, working your way up to having the dog sit for a minute before clicking and treating. Again move slowly.  Do not rush this.  Some dogs will take more time than others.

Teaching distance:  This means you will ask the dog to sit at a bigger distance from you.  Start close to the dog, then move back a few steps, if the dog gets up to follow you, repeat the closer step.  Continue on this way, until you can ask the dog to sit at a distance of 5 feet, 10 feet, ect.   Again move slowly, let the dog decide what he can and will do.

Here are a few links to others training methods.

AKC-How to Teach a Dog to SIt

Wiki Pets- 4 Ways to Teach Your Dog to Sit

Purina-How to Teach a Dog to Sit

RSPCA- Learn How to Train Your Dog to Sit

I hope you enjoyed this post.  Teaching SIT is fun, as well as useful.