Obedience Training - Part Two

In teaching the “Down" phase, place the dog directly before you, say the word and accompany it with a downward motion of the right hand. Then step on the leash so that the dog is pulled downward to a lying position. 

When he knows what is wanted, step a few feet from him and repeat at that distance. He may want to come to you, but keep him at the distance until he knows the order means he is to lie down where he is put. When he knows, try the operation without the foot pressure but with the hand motion and the vocal command. 

You can read: Obedience Training - Part One

The "Down" also may be taught with the same hand pressure as used in the "Sit," only carried a step farther. When he is sitting, say, "Down" and pull his front legs out from under him with the right hand while maintaining the pressure with the left.

When he has learned the sit and down positions, he may go on to "Stay.” With the dog in either of the other positions, give the order, "Stay," correcting the dog if he tries to get up. Step on the leash as you say the word, from near the dog at first, then gradually backing away until you do not use the lead at all although it may still be attached. Obedience competitors are required to remain at "Stay" for extended periods while the handlers are completely out of sight. They are scored on their compliance.

There will be times when you will want the dog to leave the room. A stern "Go!” with the arm extended and pointed toward the door is the most natural means of conveying your meaning. If that doesn't get across, a simple pulley arrangement attached to the dog's collar that will draw the dog away from you as you give the order may turn the trick.

In the education of the dog it is important that the same short word always be used for the same order. Don't say simply, “Come!” one day and "Come to me, Fido," another. A dog will get to  recognise several words in time, but short, terse words, always meaning the same thing, will sink into his brain quicker than sentences or long words. Come, Sit, Heel, Down, Good Dog, are examples. The dog will respond to word commands, but only when the words have come to have a definite meaning through constant repetition.

If you exercise common sense and regularity in your training, you will have a well-behaved dog and one of which you can be proud without resorting to tricks of any kind. The dog will not be ready for competition in obedience trials, but if you are like the majority of pet owners you will be satisfied and will have no particular desire to go farther. All the average owner wants is a dog that is mannerly and under control. The degrees of control are accentuated at the trials, where most exercises are based upon practical value in everyday life.
In the last few years training schools for dogs have sprung up all over the country. Some are commercial ventures on rather an ambitious scale, with carefully worked out courses taught by paid specialists. The classes consist of ten to a dozen dogs. Others are club projects that operate one evening a week. The objective is the same to produce orderly dogs by teaching the owners. They are not interested in producing trick or performing dogs.

If a training school is handy to your neighbourhood, it would be a good idea to pay it a visit. You can join up or not as you see fit, but the visit cannot help but enhance your knowledge. The same is true of a competitive obedience trial, which may be held either in connection with a dog show or as a separate event called a speciality. Go take a look and you will see what can be expected of a trained dog, with the degrees of expertness ranging from novice to the most advanced. You probably will learn something there, too, since dog people invariably love to talk with considerable enthusiasm about their dogs.

The early training is the foundation upon which the owner can build a companion dog, a show dog or a worker, the worker being one that helps man in his manifold sporting and commercial operations. The commercial help a dog can give has been dimmed during this century by machines, but he still has his place as a herder of sheep and cattle, as a guide to the blind, as a soldier and as an important factor in police work. For the sportsman he is usually essential on birds.

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