Obedience

Obedience lesson 1: Drop

Great for relaxing dogs. Start the dog in a sit position. Slowly, with food treat in fingers, bring the hand down from its head toward its feet. Keep your hand on the ground until the elbows fold down. Tip: For square bodied dogs such as Bulldogs, Chows, Samoyeds, etc, make sure the back legs are out on the side not tucked up in a sphinx position.

Obedience lesson 2: Look

Teaches dog how to focus on the owner. Place a small treat in between fingers, then show the dog the treat, let it smell it, then bring your hand up to your forehead and say the work LOOK as the hand is going up. Reward when the dog makes eye contact. Tip: Teach it to LOOK for longer and with more added distractions.

Obedience lesson 3: Off

Teaches the dog to back away, make space between you and the dog, soften the mouthing, refuse food, release objects, prevents resource guarding. With food in hand, show the dog the treat but do not let it have it. When it touches the hand, quickly shut it and say the word OFF. Reopen the hand as soon as it moves back and close again as it touches. Repeat this until the dog remains back while the hand remains open. 

Obedience lesson 4: Off On Paws

This advanced skill is great for real self-control. Place food on feet and say OFF.
Tip: always teach the dog a release word so it knows when it can have it.

Obedience lesson 5: Push up

Great for mental and physical exercises and teaching duration. Practice all the skills by mixing them up with hand signals, voice only or a combination. This also teaches the dog to work quickly.

Obedience lesson 6: Sit

With a small treat between fingers, slowly bring your open hand up over the dog’s head. Reward the dog when the rump hits the ground and all four feet are down. Tip: Do not reward the dog if it jumps up and make sure the hand is not too high up.

Obedience lesson 7: Stand

Obedience lesson 8: Stay

Very important skill. The dog must learn to remain in position. Stand beside or in front of your dog and with an open hand in front of its face, say STAY. Take one step back only, wait a second, then return and reward. Tip: Do not take another step back until the dog can stay in position for at least 10 seconds. Do not have food in your hand for this exercise.

Obedience lesson 9: Stay from drop

Great for when taking the dog with you to a café. Do the same as for a sit/stay except for the position you put the dog in. Before moving back, make sure you can stand upright first, then, slowly, add one step. Once you have 10 seconds, move further back. Tip: When adding more distance, you need to reduce the time you make it wait, i.e. 3 seconds, then 5 seconds, then 10 seconds.

Obedience lesson 10: Stay from stand

Probably the hardest lesson as the dog often just wants to follow you. Start with asking for a stand while you move around on the spot. The dog needs to remain upright. Reward it for staying up, then slowly add distance and time. Tip: Encourage the dog to target your open hand and if it tries to sit, take a small step back to stretch it out.

Obedience lesson 11: Recall from sit

All recalls are important, no matter what position your dog is in. The hand signal for calling your dog is wide open, outstretched arms, shaped like a V. Very visual for the dog. Tip: Always use a high pitched, exciting voice to call your dog and reward it for coming.

Obedience lesson 12: Recall from drop

Same as above except it is lying down. Tip: Never yell at your dog for not returning immediately. Keep the cheerful tone and reward it still for the eventual return, then go and practice more with the added distractions.

Obedience lesson 13: Recall from stand

Same as above except that it is standing up. Tip: For younger dogs, work with long lines (10 metre leads) until you know it can come back no matter what. Always encourage the dog to slow down, and sit once it arrives so it does not knock you over.