Measurement Guide

UNDERSTANDING CORRECTION
We have spoken very little about correcting your
dog for making a mistake up until this time. No dog is
perfect and many mistakes are going to occur while
training. In reality you want your dog to make mistakes
so you can clearly show the difference between right
and wrong. It is important that you have a correction
method that your dog understands and comfortably
accepts. Here is the correction system you should use
from Day One. The same correction system will be used
for the rest of your dog’s life whether you are using a
leash or e-collar to correct improper responses.
1. Give your dog a command. If it obeys, use a positive
reward. If it fails to obey, proceed to Step 2.
2. Stop your dog’s incorrect action with the command
“No.” Repeat the command after you get the
incorrect actions stopped. If your dog obeys,
use a positive reward. If it fails to obey, proceed to
Step 3.
3. Stop your dog’s incorrect action with the command
“No” and use the physical pressure of your
leash until the correct response occurs.
Immediately release the pressure when your dog
obeys, repeat the command and praise with a
positive reward.
If you are consistent in this correction process, the
verbal correction of “No” will become much more
powerful. Your dog will learn through daily usage that
if it does not follow your lead after the command “No,”
there will be some form of physical pressure (leash or
electronic). Your dog does not like being corrected any
more than you do. Correction will be a part of its life
and it will accept this correction as long as you give it
in a comfortable and systematic fashion. This means
you must be consistent and you cannot hurt your dog
by hitting, kicking, overstimulating when you become
frustrated.
Once your dog has learned the “Here”-“Heel”-“Sit” drill
and understands the system of correction described
before, anyone can pick up your leash and your dog will
know that person is alpha. Each person in the household
should take a turn doing obedience work with your dog.
Not only does that make life comfortable for the entire
family, it makes the world clear in your dog’s eyes. It
will assume the beta position with all of your family and
not mind it one bit.
PRESENTING NEW TRAINING CHALLENGES
Most people confine their training to just a few areas,
but this teaches a dog a bad concept: Obedience is
required only in those areas. For this reason, you should
rotate your training areas to anyplace that you and your
dog will be going. The front yard, garage, great room,
backyard, kitchen, bedroom and deck must all be used
as training areas around the home. As your dog’s ability
to obey grows, you will be taking it to areas away from
home and it must also be obedient in those places.
Training should also occur at random times during the
day. If you have the opportunity to be around your dog
throughout the day, never miss an opportunity to train.
When you decide to go on a walk, take your dog along
on your leash and do some drill work along the way.
After the mailman has filled your box with catalogs,
have your dog walk with you on leash to the mailbox.
Practice some “Here”-“Heel”-“Sit” skills along the way.
At suppertime, see how long your dog will sit in another
room while you enjoy your meal. Take a few extra
minutes on your trip to the grocery store so that you
and your dog can sit outside while people walk by you.
Think of the opportunities you have during your daily
routine that could include your dog. Use these times to
improve obedience and expand your dog’s horizons.
In taking your dog to these new areas for training, you
are presenting it with many new distractions. These
challenges to conditioned responses are the final phase
in the training process. You began with a learning
process where you demonstrated what actions went
along with certain commands. When your dog showed
you that it had learned these commands, you proceeded
to a conditioning phase with lots of repetition. Now it
is time to see how well conditioned these responses
truly are. You do this by bringing in any distractions
UNDERSTANDING
CORRECTION
17-18
Earlier I mentioned
displacement behavior –
the things your dog will
do to avoid giving up its
alpha position. Yawning,
scratching, sniffing, head
shaking and licking are
all ways in which your
dog will attempt to delay
performing a command.
Your dog may only try
one or two of these
tricks but most dogs will
display at least three of
these responses while
training. Be prepared
to correct your dog by
way of the correction
process if it should
exhibit any displacement
behavior. Avoid losing
your temper by staying
focused and having a plan
when your dog tries one
of these tricks. It will
quickly recognize that
you understand what it
is saying and that you
are prepared to meet the
challenge.
Displacement behavior
can be very subtle and
is often overlooked by
trainers. If allowed to
continue, displacement
behavior will soon lead
to defiance, and that may
not be quite so easy to
correct. (cont. page 20)
WATCH FOR DISPLACEMENT BEHAVIOR
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