Obedience Your Dog Should Learn
Does your dog only listen when you have a treat? Do they disappear once they get it? Is your obedience inconsistent? If you answered yes to these then your dog’s obedience can probably use some work. The good things is that all of these things can be cleaned up and dialed in for more reliable obedience.
What’s the point of obedience
Obedience is much more than your dog doing tricks like shake and roll over. Teaching your dog obedience skills like down, here (come), and heel along with cues of good, yes, nope and OK helps create a language that is understood by both you and your dog. This creates clarity in the dog’s day to day view of the world which eliminate stress for them and you.
Update your understanding of obedience
The most common things people teach their dogs are sit, shake and stay. None of these are bad but they generally lack information and some lack real practicality. Usually these things look like this, persons says “sit” then the dog sits and the persons gives a treat then the dog get up and starts to do something else. There is no real meaning other than the obedience being a temporary trick. Obedience commands should have a clear meaning and a clear understanding of the expectation.
Step-by-step training plan
Build “yes” marker - say “yes” take a step back and hold food out for your dog to take from you. Your dog should get excited when they hear the work yes.
Build up a “good” marker - when your dog is in front of you say “good” and give them a treat. Do this multiple times then say “yes.” Do this enough time to where your dog is staying put when you say “good” then moves to you after saying “yes”
Add in obedience - start with once command that you want to build. “Sit” for example, walk back with your hand at the hight of your dogs mouth ( so they follow up) then stop and bring your hands up. Once your dog sits, say “yes” step back so they come out of position and let them take food from your hand. Do this till it is easy and consistent.
Adding in the “good”marker - after lots of reps of luring into a sit and saying yes, you are going to lure the dog into a sit and say “good” and give the dog food (take the food to them). You can do a couple of goods but that may have to be built up because your dog may not be able handle the duration in the sit position. After you pay them, say “yes” and move back so they can take food from your hand.
Name the command - say the command the lure. For example, say “sit” move lure the dog into position and marker with “good” then “yes.” Get lots of reps with this.
Fade the prompts - once you ask for the command, fade how much you move and how much you are luring. You can also slow down your movement. For example, say yes, take one step back and slowly lift your arms up and see if your dog is able to perform the behavior.
Follow through - when you begin to fade things out it is important to always follow through with what you ask for. Also to don’t take “good enough.” If you ask for a sit, get the sit in order pay your dog. If you ask for a down, get the down in order to pay your dog. Your dog is smart and will do just enough to get the reward, so it is up to you to show what pays.
Common mistakes
Some of the most common mistakes are
Trying to go too fast. One session isn’t going to be enough. Think about practicing each step for a couple of days with a couple or a few of session of 5-10 minutes each. Don’t try to reach the finish line. Training is a lifestyle that doesn’t have a clear end goal, things just evolve.
Blaming the dog for not performing. Poor performance comes from poor teaching. Think about what you are doing and how you can clarify what you are asking.
Thats good enough. Be clear about what you ask for don’t take good enough. You are teaching what the standard is so take the time and teach what you want to be seeing.
Real life benefits
Having clear and understandable obedience opens ups pathway to talk to your dog. It opens up what you can do with your dog due to the ability to communicate with them. Through the process of training you build trust, companionship, and a real understanding of your dog that will allow you to do far more with them and feel comfortable about it.
Final thoughts
Obedience should not be an after thought. When you get a dog it should be on your to do list. Don’t rush into it as you can be doing other things like building up play with rules and boundaries which helps you and your dog to get to know each other. Once you are there though, it is time to get some communication on board so you can get out and enjoy the world and what is has to offer.