We understand that your priorities are probably to teach your dog to walk nicely on the lead, come when called in the park, be sociable and under control when meeting people, and to settle down at home. These are the priorities in this course.
Course Outline
Week One
Getting your dog’s attention
Rewarding eye contact
Using your dog’s name
Using “watch”
What to do in a group class
Understanding your dog’s and other dogs’ need for space
Rewarding calmness
The importance of rewarding eye contact in class
Three stages of teaching your dog to sit
Go into the sit position
Remain sitting for longer
Don’t get up until released
Teaching your dog to lie down
The importance of “The Release”
Week Two
The Long Down
Go into a down position
Extend the length of time your dog will lie down for
Don’t get up until released – how to release your dog from lying down
How to use The Long Down at home or out and about
Impulse control
Teach your dog to leave food until given permission to eat
Introducing a controlled tug game using “get it” and “off”
Using a tug game as a reward
An introduction to coming when called
The Simple Come and Sit
“Gotcha!”
Week Three
How to “meet and greet” people in a variety of social situations
Sit to say hello
How to greet and pat a dog – and how not to
Introduction to walking on a loose lead
How to hold the lead – different ways for different circumstances
Three different levels of control
close and attentive
relaxed but controlled
most relaxed
The desirable position for your dog to be walking
Rewarding your dog for being in the correct position
Going anticlockwise around a chair
Moving from chair to chair
Important tip: teach your dog to walk on lead before going for a walk – why dogs get massively rewarded for pulling on lead – how to avoid this common pitfall – use of the left circle technique.
Week Four
Further development of walking on a loose lead
Walking around the circles of chairs
When to reward
Use of food, praise, play with a toy and release to have a sniff – all are rewards
How to “meet and greet” another dog
Brief interaction with other dogs in a group
Release your dog when he or she is settled.
When and how to interrupt your dog
Sit your dog to interrupt play
Teach your dog to sit at a distance
Week Five
Further development of coming when called
Getting your dog’s attention from a distance
When to use your dog’s name
When to introduce the cue to “come”
The importance of reward and release
Further development of walking on a loose lead
No longer relying on the chairs
Using the left circle or U-turn
When to reward
When to release
Combining walking on a loose lead with “meeting and greeting” – sit to say hello
Week Six
Teaching your dog to wait as a default behaviour
Going through a doorway with you
Coming in through the door
Getting out of the car
Practicing settling down, walking on lead and coming when called with distractions.
Using the “Three Rotations” group exercise