Sit, Stand & Down

You need to train your dog to slow down as they approach you, especially if you have a big dog.  Eventually, it’s a good idea to train them to sit after their recalls.

The easiest way to get a dog to do something is to show them, the easiest way to show them is with a lure and the easiest lure to use is a food treat.

Little dogs can be more difficult to lure, there’s simply less room for error.  When sitting, try to bring the treat up and back over the pup’s head, without going so high that they try to jump up.

By using a lure to illicit the correct response, you are already training them to respond to the movement of your hand.  That makes it easy to train them to respond to a hand signal that can then be used at a distance.

A quick sit is the best way to control your dog.  There’s nothing like a little competition between siblings to encourage practice and improvement.

If you want your pup to enjoy training, you’ll have to motivate them.  It’s no good expecting your pup to comply simply because you’re the boss.

With lure-reward training you should never get frustrated.  If you’re pup doesn’t want to train, they don’t get a reward.  If you stop feeding them from a food bowl, they’ll want to train soon enough!

Before you can add a sit to your recall, you have to make sure that their sit is rock-solid.  Otherwise you run the risk of punishing a good recall because of a bad sit.

Sit, Stand & Down.  Mix them up so that you’re dog can’t anticipate which position you’re going to ask for next.

In order to teach your dog to “Stay” you must also teach them “Go Play” or “Free.”  If you tell them to stay indefinitely they’ll learn that the duration of a stay is up to them.