Measurement Guide

that might catch your dog’s eye. It seems like every
dog will have one or two things in their life that they
cannot resist. If you can identify these and successfully
have your dog perform drills in the presence of these
distractions then you are doing your job. Some things
you can use for distractions include people, other dogs,
birds, cats, children, vehicles, newspapers and bicycles.
The list is endless.
Upon initial introduction, these distractions can become
overwhelming. How do you communicate to your dog
that it must remain attentive and under control at all
times? You condition this into your dog by desensitizing
it to these things. Find any object your dog is attracted
to and walk it near this object on leash. Command “Sit”
in front of the object and back away until you reach the
end of the leash. If your dog attempts to go toward the
distraction, tell it “No”-“Here” and use leash pressure
when necessary. As your dog comes toward you finish
the drill with “Heel”-“Sit” and a shoulder stroke.
Gradually move closer to the distraction and repeat the
drill until your dog is almost touching the bait. Don’t
expect your dog to accept this in one session.
Be patient and allow it to accept this when it is ready.
If you have done your homework and prepared for this
with good drill work on conditioned responses, it will
not take very long.
The command “No” now takes on far greater power.
Your dog has learned that when you say “No” it can
no longer pursue an object. Coming to you provides
security and the comfort of a shoulder stroke. This
comfort zone you developed while your dog learned
“Heel” has now become far more comfortable.
You have covered a lot of obedience so far and it
must never be forgotten or overlooked. This training
will go on for the duration of the dog’s life, if only in
small doses. The best hunt test and field trial dogs
still get a dose of obedience each day at most kennels.
Anytime your dog demonstrates that it is becoming
loose in responses to your commands, do a little extra
obedience. In short order, you reestablish the alpha role
with a method that your dog is comfortable accepting.
All of your work to this point has been with a leash. How
do you get your dog to be just as obedient off leash?
Off-leash obedience cannot begin until your dog is 100
percent in its performance of the drills on leash. When
this occurs, drop the leash from your hand and work on
drills while your dog drags the leash. If necessary, you
can quickly pick up the leash and reestablish control.
This is where many people get in too big of a hurry.
They feel like the dog knows what to do and therefore it
should be reliable whether it is on the leash or not. Your
dog’s view is that the leash means control and without
the leash it is on its own. So, let your dog drag the leash
around for a week or two until it is bulletproof on its
skills.
Your next step will be to take the leash off your dog and
hold it in your hand. It is no longer on the dog, but it is
in view. Spend as much time as necessary repeating
drills until your dog is once again foolproof without
the leash. Who cares if this takes an extra month of
training? Never forget that no one is keeping score and
you can only proceed when your dog is ready.
The final step prior to starting to use the e-collar
is to place the leash in your back pocket. Now it is
absent from your dog’s view, which means reliance on
conditioned responses, verbal correction and positive
reward. Your dog is capable of squarely facing severe
distractions in unfamiliar areas while still giving you
control. Your dog is now a good citizen and a pleasure
to live with. You have come a long way in training your
dog but you still have some goals to reach.
19-20
PRESENTING
NEW
TRAINING
CHALLENGES
Bolting, or running away,
needs to be addressed
quickly. Keep a leash
on your dog if it shows
any signs of bolting
so you can control its
actions and prevent the
flight mechanism from
being rewarded. If your
dog develops a bolting
mentality, it is feeling far
too much pressure and
you need to re-evaluate
your training program
or your dog. It would be
extremely surprising if
the problem is with your
dog. Bolting usually arises
from a trainer attempting
to go too far, too fast,
too soon. Slow down the
training process when a
bolt occurs and look at
what may have caused
your dog to run off.
If you can identify the
cause, eliminate it from
your training program.
Biting is the next form
of defiance and is the
most worrisome. While
there are a few dogs that
are truly mean and look
to bite people, this is
extremely rare. A dog will
not bite unless it feels like
there’s nowhere to turn
except by making you go
away. (cont. page 22)
WATCH FOR DISPLACEMENT BEHAVIOR
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