Maxene wrote to me about competition heeling with her dog: ”Competition heeling and how to improve the duration of that wonderful attention and attitude seen in the ring by the experts. I start off with luring with food, move on to rewarding for all steps taken looking at me, then bring in a motivator and fun for all steps taken looking at me. This is all good, but then I lose it when I phase out all food and motivations (and voice) and try for duration for the ring. There must be something I’m Read more [...]
Pip Writes to me: Adam, We live on an acre of property in the country. On three sides of us are open fields and orchard and in front we have a very busy country avenue. Our place in not fenced except for a back yard area where we keep our dogs. We have a seven month old German Shepard, Mollie, and I have been using your book to train her on the long leash. Our “problem” is that I don’t think we’ll ever feel safe having her off leash on this property. She’s pretty good with her “come” command Read more [...]
Elizabeth writes to me: Thank you so much for your thoughtful reply. You helped me realize that I can trust my instincts with Mollie. I really noted your idea of the dog gaining “respect and trust” for the owner. I see that in Mollie as she matures. She is seven and half months old now. Speaking of “collar smart” I guess I still don’t have the concept of how to avoid it. Mollie does well with her collar but since we keep her in our large fenced back yard, she doesn’t usually have it on when Read more [...]
There are two phases to getting your dog to work off leash, reliably: 1. Making your dog think he’s on-leash (that you can correct him consistently for unwanted behavior, like running away or not responding to the come command). and 2. Building a conditioned response to off leash commands, through repetition and proofing. It’s the first phase that most people have trouble understanding. The trick is to let your dog wear only the tab (a one-foot short leash) when you’re close enough Read more [...]
A man named Jim wrote to me with the following questions about his dog. I thought you’d find this interesting. He asks: JIM: My problem is that my dog lags and responds sluggishly to obedience work when not on leash. He is a 4 1/2 year old 155 lb. Newfoundland. He does not have a dominant or Alpha-dog type personality; rather, he has a sensitive personality and is basically very laid back except when he wants to go for a walk or a ride. I have been training him for obedience trials for about Read more [...]
Imagine being able to take your dog to a park or playground… off-leash… and know without the shadow of a doubt that he won’t run away. And that he will listen to every command! Now imagine that you take a tennis ball out of your pocket, and wave it in front of your dog’s field of vision. Your dog goes nuts at the thought of being able to chase his ball… which is his reason for existence!!! But instead of just throwing the ball, you speak the command, “Down!” and your dog immediately drops Read more [...]
The short answer is that every time you take her out in what would be an “off-leash setting,” she needs to wear a 30 foot long line and training collar. EVERY TIME! After a few months, she’ll get conditioned to the long line and forget it’s on. And all the while, you’ll also be conditioning her to come THE FIRST TIME you call her. When you see that she’s coming 100% of the time, around a variety of different settings and distractions, then you can substitue the long line for the 1 foot tab. -Adam Read more [...]
The long line, or better known to horse people as the “lunge line”, is the intermediary step between the six foot training leash and the tab (sometimes referred to as the “handle,” a one foot leash worn by the dog at all times which allows you to always be in a position to administer a correction). The best long lines are made of 1/2 inch nylon webbing, the type you can purchase at a outdoor/camping supply store or from a horse and tack shop. They can be anywhere from 15 feet to 50 feet or more Read more [...]
Many of you know that for the past couple of weeks I’ve been working on a new dog training video series. There will be five new videos, and it will be combined with a number of other products that I currently sell as one big, colossal, super dog training information package. Or you’ll be able to buy the individual components separately. The first of these five new videos has already been completed and I thought I’d share some brief observations that were included in this information-packed-teaching-tool, Read more [...]
I have a 4 month old female pup, AmStaff/Boxer (we think – she was a rescue). She responds well to all training, EXCEPT for walking and heeling. We’ve practiced the loose-leash “turning on a dime” technique described in your book and audio tape at length, but she refuses to cooperate. It’s not a matter of distraction – when I attempt to train her in this style, she pulls back with all her strength. When the loose leash is snapped, she sits, paws braced, or lays down on her back. These responses Read more [...]
Off leash dog training is– at it’s beginning stages– really a mind game that you play with your dog. The first step is to let your dog drag a long line, anytime you’re outside or in a setting where you will want your dog to respond reliably, off leash. Your long line should be long enough that if your dog should decide to run off, you can easily step on the long line and teach him that he needs to come when you call him. We do repetitions by making the dog come, with the long line. There Read more [...]
Our Panda learns quickly, however, she is a bit smarter than we can outwit. She figured out leash lengths so we have mixed that up, but now she knows when she has the pinch collar on she’s working and she will listen. Without it, it’s hit and miss. I’ve tried putting the collar on whenever I’m home and randomly doing things with her to keep her on her toes. But as soon as you go outside — she will test to see if she’s connected to the pinch or regular collar (I tried this also to mix it up). What Read more [...]
There are two phases to getting your dog to work off leash, reliably: 1. Making your dog think he’s on-leash (that you can correct him consistently for unwanted behavior, like running away or not responding to the come command). and 2. Building a conditioned response to off leash commands, through repetition and proofing. It’s the first phase that most people have trouble understanding. The trick is to let your dog wear only the tab (a one-foot short leash) when you’re close enough to him Read more [...]
