CONTROLLED WALKING
Copyright © 2001

One of the most important things for your dog to learn is to walk on a
leash without pulling. This makes walking the dog much more enjoyable for both you and the dog. If the dog is pulling walking is unpleasant and he gets walked far less often -- this makes him pull all the more because he needs the exercise even more. A vicious cycle.

Never wrap the leash around your hand, you can get dragged in front of a car. Instead, put your thumb through the loop of the lead and close your hand around it. Use both hands together when you jerk the leash.

With a six foot leash on the dog, start walking in a straight line towards
a point about twenty feet away saying nothing when you start. Whenever the dog is at your side, reach down and pet him while praising him. Otherwise say nothing. If he heads off in another direction back away from him, at the same time jerking the leash sharply towards you and praising the dog. When you reach the point you were aiming for stop for a slow count of twenty, then head off at right angles for another twenty feet again saying nothing to the dog when you start moving. Continue this twice more until you have made one square about twenty feet on each side. (This has to be done away from trees and bushes that might tangle the leash.) This square should be repeated four times for one set. Do three sets a day, for a total of twelve squares a day. By the end of the week the dog should be walking without pulling. The reason for saying nothing to the dog when you start is so the dog learns to watch you. If you say something he won't have to pay attention.

Never permit the dog to pull on the leash. The only exception to this
rule of walking the dog in the square is if the dog starts to relieve
himself. In this case, let him finish. The only thing more important than
walking without pulling is housebreaking. The best way to avoid this
problem is to take the dog to his "relief spot" before training him. Once
the dog is watching you whenever you walk, and you can no longer catch him being distracted, start inventing distractions. Walk towards an open gate, or another dog, or a child. As soon as the dog takes his eyes off you, back away from him, jerking and praising, until you can no longer catch him looking away from you. At this point, teaching him to heel will be relatively easy, once he learns to sit.

If you have no place to do squares, do straight lines. Instead of going
off at a right angle after twenty feet just turn around and head in another direction. The square is not magic, you just have to keep changing directions until the dog understands that he has to pay attention to you at all times.

If you have only sidewalk, then walk on the sidewalk. You may walk three feet, turn around, repeat, for half an hour. Your neighbors will think you're  crazy. But your dog will learn in a few days not to pull on
the leash.

Remember that the dog is never permitted to pull on the leash. Ever.  For the rest of his life.

LEADERSHIP TRAINING
Copyright © 2001 Vivian Bregman 

Dogs are pack animals with a highly developed sense of social
structure.  One reason they make such wonderful companions is be-cause they
instinctively accept their human family as their pack.  However, dogs are
also born with the instinct to try to become the pack leader, and if you
and your family do not assume a leadership position over the dog, he is
likely to try to take over and rule you, his pack, by himself. The
following non-physical and non-punitive method is highly successful in
teaching your dog that you, the human, are the leader and he is the
subordinate.  It is especially important if your dog has very strong
instincts to try to dominate his humans.

A dog who clearly understands that you and your family are his pack
leaders will learn more quickly, bond more closely, and feel more secure
with his people than will the dog that is continually chal-lenging for
leadership.
1.  Your dog must earn all attention and petting from you and your family
by obeying a command first.  Don't pet, praise or give treats for no
reason, and never if the dog demands them.  He must do something for you
and EARN these good things by obeying a command such as SIT or DOWN. If your dog pesters for attention have him obey a command first, then
pet and praise him briefly and sincerely for obeying. If pestering
persists, ignore the dog and walk away. If you wish to pet your dog, call him to you, and then you can pet and
praise him for obeying the command to COME.  You may also pet and praise
your dog when he is performing a desired behavior on his own, such a
chewing one of his toys, or eliminating in his toilet area.

2.  Increase your dog's dependence on you as his leader by having him work
for you to have his needs fulfilled.
Have your dog obey a command before he gets any of the good things in
life.  This includes all food, water, treats, leash on and off, door opened
to go out and come in, etc.  The dog must "earn" all his desires by obeying
commands.  Ask yourself," What did my dog do to earn this?"

3.  Act like a pack leader.  Don't detour around the dog but insist that
he get out of your way.  Precede him in and out doors and up and down
stairs; don't let him dash to be first ahead of you. If he is allowed on
your furniture, occasionally tell him to get off. If he is a dominant dog
that is challenging you for leadership, don't let him on your furniture.
Ask yourself, "Is my dog telling me what to do?  Or am I telling him?"
Having him obey a command for all attention and rewards puts you in the
leadership position.  For example, if your  dog comes up to you and nudges
you for affection, and you pet him, he has just told you "Pet me" and you
have done it.  You obeyed him.  Dogs understand this very well.  Turn the
situation around by having him obey a command for you before you will pet
him!  If he has to obey a command for every good thing in his life, he will
be practicing his obedience commands many times a day, and will learn them
very quickly.

4.  Allow NO tug-of-war, roughhouse, or teasing games.  Your dog can't
understand that it is OK to contest with you, use his teeth, or jump on you
sometimes, but not at other times. Teach him to play retrieve instead. You,
the leader, decide when to start and stop the retrieve game, and insist
that he bring the ball or toy all the way to you. Insist that he sit before
you throw.

5.  All family members must treat the dog alike. This is difficult, but
very important!

6.  Command train the dog daily.  This should include not only obedience
commands, but also tricks and retrieving, and should be done in many
different locations inside and outside your home.   When the dog gets
either pushy or anxious,  a few minutes of com-mand training will often
calm him down.  Obedience training is an indirect way of establishing your
leadership, and also builds a "vo-cabulary" of communication with your dog.

If you have stopped giving your dog gratuitous attention (see #1 & #2
above) he will be eager to earn your attention and praise during training
sessions.  If he gets unlimited praise, petting and treats just because he
is there or because he demands them, he won't be motivated to try to earn
them during training sessions.

7.  Leave a collar and leash on the dog whenever he is supervised so you
can quickly grab it and gain control. If your dog is a chewer make a cheap
lead out of cotton clothesline and a leash clip and treat the lead with
Bitter Apple.  NEVER leave the leash on when the dog is left alone.

8.  Do not allow the dog to jump up on, or put his paws up on anyone, even
in play.  Jumping up on someone is a dominant position for a dog, and makes
him think he is in control.  Insist that he SIT or DOWN, which are
submissive postures.

9.  Insist that your dog eliminate in one specific area of your yard. Do
not allow him to eliminate up and down the street.  Beyond the courtesy of
keeping your dog's waste off other's property, allowing your dog to
constantly "mark" where other dogs have been tends to make him (and her!)
feel very macho and dominant.

10.  Correct all signs of aggressiveness or fearfulness.  Do not praise
inappropriately by trying to calm or soothe the dog when he acts
aggressively or fearfully - the  dog will interpret the soothing as praise
for the way he is acting.  Correct his actions with a lead snap and the
word NO, and praise him when he becomes calm.

11.  Teach your dog a half-hour down stay, at home and in areas and
situations where he gets excited. (Re-read the chapter on down stays.)   Be
prepared to enforce it.

12.  Always be the winner.  If you give a command, you must see that your
dog obeys.  If you can't make him obey the command, don't give it.

13.  See that your dog gets enough strenuous exercise.  Many problems are
only the result of pent-up energy.  A tired dog doesn't get into trouble -
he just goes to sleep.

SOME BASIC TRUTHS ABOUT DOG TRAINING
Copyright © 2001

1. Your dog is always learning, by observation, trial and error, 24 hours a
day whether you are with him or not.

2. In order for a behavior to be maintained, it has to be rewarded.   This
includes desired and undesired behaviors.  Your task is to figure out what
the rewards are -- and either eliminate them or increase them (depending on
 whether you want the behavior to stop or continue).

3. If you want your dog to follow (obey commands), then you have to lead.
The best type of leadership is by controlling access to resources (not by
physical domination and confrontation, although they may be needed).

4. The cause of most "unruliness" in dogs is the inability to accept
physical restraint: by lead,  line, crate, fence  or human hands.  You must
teach this skill first!

5. It is easier and ultimately more rewarding to focus  on and teach "good"
 behavior, rather than punish "bad" behavior.  If you must punish,  always
teach your dog an alternative "good" action that can be rewarded.

6. You should be the best motivator your dog has --   make your time and
attention valuable by using  a "work to earn" program and playing with your
 dog daily.

7. When you call your dog to "come," whatever happens in the next two
minutes will dictate whether he comes the next time.   The key to a
dependable recall is to get your dog to come  reliably, quickly and
automatically (without thinking)  first, in your home and yard.   Asking
your dog to "make choices" too soon will result in inconsistent  performance.

8. If your dog is not 100% controllable on-lead, don't take him off-lead.

9. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of training -- if a behavior
concerns you, do something about it now!


Everything you need to know about dog training in a few sentences:

• If you want the dog to do it again, reward it.
• If you don't want the dog to do it again, unreward it.
• Reward is something the dog wants.
• Unreward is something the dog doesn't want.