Sit, Stand & Down

Training a dog is as easy as 1, 2, 3: 1) Request 2) Response & 3) Reward.  The difficulty comes from figuring out how to illicit the response and then being ready to reward very promptly.

This beagle knows that the word “Stand” means something, but it’s not sure what.  To lure a stand, you may have to lower your hand a little to prevent them from sitting.

If you lure your dog onto their side to settle down, it will be harder for them to get up quickly.

When you lure a stand you should lower your hand a little bit to prevent your dog from sitting.

Smaller dogs can be harder to lure.  It may take longer to get going, and you’ll probably want to start by rewarding even small steps in the right direction.

If you want your dog to be interested in training, you have to be enthusiastic and energetic.  Children are usually very good at this, except when you put them on the spot.

Always continue to up the ante for rewards.  The more your pup does for each food treat, the better.

The first step of a recall is the hardest, so practice that first step over and over again, with a string of single step recalls.

Fine tuning your recalls and sits takes practice.  With a big dog you’ll want to extend your hand out to the dog to stop them before they come barreling into you.  Use big exaggerated hand signals to show your dog what you want.

Luring a down can take a little while, especially from a stand.  Be persistent and it will pay off eventually.