We teach young puppies to "Stand" for examination by teaching them to count to five: ONE (left front leg), TWO (right front leg), THREE (right rear leg), FOUR (left rear leg) and FIVE (tail up). It's "ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR, AND TAIL MAKES FIVE!!". As the puppy gets better, you stretch out the count, as they will wait longer and longer for the FIVE. If the puppy doesn't hold the foot where you place it through the count, you start over again.. and again.. and again... until it holds for the count of five. You have to be pretty fast with it in the beginning. After successfully reaching the count of five, release the puppy and very enthusiastically praise the puppy.
The method of five is a positive training method for both you and your dog. It helps teach both of them to focus and gives them a definitive path to follow to success.
Teaching the dog to bait to you - have yourself sit on the floor with the dog and play a game of "Watch". Again, we start this with very young puppies. The idea is that the puppy learns to watch your hands. You are to have something in your hand - a tidbit of a treat or toy and say "Watch", "Watch Me" or "Can you Watch?" for example, and when the puppy focuses on the hand with the treat, give the treat to the puppy and enthusiastically praise it. If it's a toy, play tug of war with the puppy for a few seconds and let the puppy win, enthusiastically praising it. Change what's in the hand each time.
Teaching the dog to move at its proper gait - start out with the dog on a fairly short lead - no more than 4'. Get the dog's attention with eye contact and say "Walk with me" and start off for a few steps. If the dog is walking with you, praise it with "GOOD puppy!". If it charges out ahead of you, stop dead in your tracks and say"Easy!". Then, "Walk with me", etc. When you stop and get the dog's attention again, it realizes this is a partnership event and it gets the idea.
That there is no greater pleasure than a strong bond of communication between you and the dog you are showing. Teaching dogs and watching them bloom with the unique bond they form with you is a singular satisfaction. That being said, keep the training sessions short - no more than 5 minutes per session, as both you and the dog will become bored and "over trained". Once the session becomes uninteresting to either party, you lose ground. Two sessions a day is ideal, separated by several hours is ideal, no more than 3 sessions a day. Always end a training session when the puppy has done the exercise correctly.
We reserve negative training for very serious offenses, such as biting - that's about the only time we use a very strong NO!!
Best of luck to you and your family,
Judi Hartell, P.H.A.
Patsy B. Wade, P.H.A.
Infinity Kennels
datadawg@austin.rr.com
512/892-1761
512/413-2273
