Measurement Guide

When your dog arrives
at your side, stroke its
shoulder until it gives you
a swallow response. Your
dog has learned what you
want and now it is time
to condition the response
with repetition.
A POSITIONAL
COMMAND: HEEL
“Heel” is a positional
command that instructs
your dog to assume a
position beside your leg
whether you are walking,
standing, running or riding
a horse. People seek professional help in teaching their
dog to heel properly more than for any other command.
These folks always explain that their puppy is a great
dog but it will not walk on its leash. This means the dog
feels like it is alpha and should lead its owner where it
pleases. Every dog will learn proper heel position on its
first day of training with proper leash usage. Place the
leash in its proper position behind your dog’s ears and
begin walking forward. If your dog attempts to lead you
by moving ahead, simply change direction. The leash
will tighten around its neck and it will follow your new
direction. It is imperative that no leash pressure be
present when your dog’s head is beside your knee. It
will learn this position is safe and causes no discomfort
through repetition. Add the verbal command “Heel”
after the dog assumes the correct position and repeat
“Heel” each time its head is beside your knee.
We have discussed how to correct your dog if it
attempts to lead you, but what should you do if it
tries to lag behind or flop around like a fish instead of
following your lead? Keep moving forward and allow
the leash to do its job. The important point is for you
not to stop moving. If you stop walking to check on
your dog or coax it forward, the leash will relax and its
pressure will stop. Your dog must learn that the only
way the pressure around its neck will disappear is by
assuming the correct “Heel” position. With repetition,
this position will become a comfort zone.
ANOTHER
POSITIONAL
COMMAND: SIT
The next command to
teach is “Sit.” With this
command, you tell your
dog to sit and remain
seated until it receives
another command. The
leash applies pressure
to the underside of the
dog’s neck when you
are training it to sit. You
are now working on a
different pressure point.
Pull straight up on the
lead with your right hand
and push down on your dog’s butt with your left hand
until its bottom hits the ground. Add a verbal “Sit” and
release the pressure on the leash. Pressure from the
leash can be omitted when your dog is consistently
sitting on verbal commands. Later you will get into
corrections and the steps you should follow to make
things clear for your dog. Repeat the “Sit” drill until
your dog is happily driving nails with its rear.
Have you ever seen a dog sit sideways? It flops down
and comes to rest on one hip. This is a common
occurrence for lazy dogs and needs to be corrected.
Pull up on the leash until your dog sits in a proper
fashion. It may become necessary to step forward if
your dog will not align itself properly at first. Fight
for the proper sit position now and you won’t have to
address this in the future when you are asking it to sit
in the face of overwhelming distractions.
Now your dog has learned to come to you, walk
comfortably beside you and sit on command. It must
concentrate and use its brain as it learns these skills.
Pay close attention to your dog’s focus, making sure
that the training sessions are not too long. Even
though your dog’s brain is a sponge at this point, it can
become oversaturated and unable to receive any more
constructive information.
A FOLLOW-UP TO “SIT”: STAY
When you give your dog the sit command, you’ve told
it to sit and remain seated until it receives another
command. Many obedience programs no longer use
the “Stay” command, believing it is redundant and
TRAINING
YOUR DOG
11-12
I am willing to bet that
most people use an
e-collar to reinforce the
recall or “Here” command
more than any other
obedience command.
As a result, they often
work on that command
more than the others.
But keep in mind that if
you spend a lot of time
on a single command, and
then you try to command
something else, your
dog may respond with
the action it is most
comfortable with.
An example of this would
be an upland hunting dog
that will not get out and
hunt in front of its owner
because it has been
drilled so much on “Here”
that its owner’s side has
become the safe place
to be.
You need a balanced,
well-rounded obedience
program. Even a dog that
knows its commands may
become confused if you
spend too much time
drilling on one action.
A TRAINING TIP FROM TOM DOKKEN / THE IMPORTANCE OF “BALANCED” OBEDIENCE TRAINING
400-1131.indd 14-15 9/14/09 11:09:19 AM