Stay, Come & Follow

Start by keeping your dog in different positions for very short stays.  Build the duration of the stays slowly, a few seconds at a time.

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.

If you want your dog to follow you have to walk away from it.  If your puppy slows down, you should speed up and get more energetic.  Puppies love to chase!

With two people it’s easy to practice lots of recalls but it takes three people to truly teach the dog “Go to.”  Otherwise they’re just learning to run back and forth.

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.

Giving calm, clear hand lures can be hard for children that aren’t much taller than their wriggly puppies, but with a little supervision they can make excellent trainers.

Getting your puppy to follow you in a room full of other puppies is no easy task.  It’s the perfect time to practice maintaining your puppy’s focus.

Once your dog has learned a command, you want to start phasing out the use of food as a reward.  Praise & pet them when they do something right, but only give them a treat when they perform exceptionally well.

If you want your dog to come whenever you call, you have to practice in distracting environments.  But if they don’t come, and you have to go get them, they don’t deserve a reward.

If your dog’s recall is bending, make them correct it by moving farther in the opposite direction.  Always make the dog follow you.