teach your dog to come
The Come:
To teach the come on leash you can do it when the dog is occupied with something and then command, "Come!". Right after you give the command, pull the dog toward you and happily praise your dog when the dog is right in front of you. Do this repeatedly until he or she responds to the come command immediately. Then with the long line on your dog you can work on the come from a further distance. Once your dog does this very well, try the come without long line or leash in an enclosed place in case your dog doesn't come. If you do have trouble with the come off leash, then consult me for more advice. Below is my e-mail connection.
teach your dog to heel
With leash and collar on your dog, command, "Heel!", while walking out with the foot closest to your dog. If your dog's head or neck is not level with your leg while walking, jerk your dog into this position. You may have to jerk your dog continuously if the dog constantly forages or lags. The typical side to have the dog heel is on the left side but it is your choice. The right side is not allowed in obedience trials. (If someone knows this is not true, please e-mail me.) So, if you feel you'll want to have the dog compete in odedience trials then I'd heel your dog to the left. (I will soon have a page up discussing the different dog training equipment.)
teach your dog to sit
With leash and collar on your dog, command, "Sit!", while pushing your dog's rump down, pull the leash up or hold the dog's head up. For the stay, put your hand out with palm facing flat toward dog and the command, "Stay!", and then step right in front of him or her. Stay there standing in front of your dog. If he or she moves any time after you say this, command, "No!", and then put him or her right back where he or she was. When your dog stays after half a minute praise him or her vocally, only. Petting may cause him or her to move. Continue to do these steps and he or she will learn both commands. Once your dog is able to stay with you right in front of him or her, then gradually work out further standing in front of him or her until you reach the end of the 6 ft. leash. Once your dog does this well, you can now try long stays. I suggest doing this in your house, fenced backyard, some other confined area or use a long line on your dog in open areas. The possibility of a loose dog is just too great. If he or she goes down, stands or dashes from position, put him or her right back where your dog was in a sit. When you are correcting a dog back into the position you don't say the command because you want the dog learn when you say it the first time you mean it. Therefore, you just put your dog into a sit by pushing your dog's rump down and pulling the leash up. Once your dog stays well with this step, you can try putting him or her into a sit-stay and go do something in the same room or not far in the backyard. When he or she does well with this step, you can try going out of sight. If the dog is able to do the long sit for 5 minutes, then you can work with him or her around more distractions.
teach your dog to stay down
If your dog doesn’t have any biting or dominating problems then you should be fine to go on ahead and do the down-stay. However, the minute the dog growls or does really fight you to put him or her into the down then please stop and go get a Halti head halter. You should also go get a Halti head halter if your dog is already dominating and biting. Now, you are ready to teach the down. It is best to start training with the least distractions. With your dog at heel position, command, "Down!", while you take your right hand with palm down in front of your dog's head and bring your hand down to the ground. Then you grab your dog's furthest leg from you and hold the dog in place as you take your dog down. Or, you could get in front of your dog and take your dog's paws with your hands. When your dog has learned this after four days, you should only grab the leash a foot away from the snap if you command your dog 'down' and he or she does not go into a down. You may have to do this several times if the dog is stubborn about obeying your command to down. Once your dog obeys the down command ever time you tell the dog to do it, then you can start teaching the stay command. With your hand out with palm facing flat toward dog, command, "Stay!", and then step right in front of him or her, using your foot furthest from your dog. Stay there standing in front of your dog. If your dog moves any time after you say this, command, "No!", and then put him or her right back where he or she was. When your dog stays after half a minute, praise him or her vocally, only. Petting may cause him or her to move. Continue to do these steps and he or she will learn both commands. Once your dog is able to stay with you right in front of him, then gradually work out further standing in front of him or her until you reach the end of the 6 ft. leash. Once your dog does this well, you can now try long stays. I suggest doing this in your house, fenced backyard, some other confined area or use a long line on your dog in open areas. The possibility of a loose dog is just too great. When you are correcting a dog back into the position you don't say the command because you want the dog to learn that when you say it the first time you mean it. So you just jerk your dog into a down and use the down hand signal. Once your dog stays well with this step, you can try putting him or her into a down-stay and go do something in the same room or not far in the backyard. When he or she does this step well, try going out of sight. If the dog is able to do the long down for 5 or 10 minutes, then you can work with him or her around more distractions.
