Position Changes and Stays

Punishment is an important part of training, but don’t overdo it.  An instructive reprimand will let your dog know that they’re getting it wrong, and  also let’s them know how they can fix it.

Dogs are programmed to read out body signals.  If you want them to truly learn verbal commands, you must be careful to avoid giving any visible signals at the same time.  Give the hand signal immediately afterwards if your dog doesn’t respond.

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.

With all dog training, the key is practice and persistence. Practice often and in different settings, and if you give a command, persist until they follow it.

We don’t want a dog that only listens when we hold its collar, so now we ask the dog to sit before we touch it.  We  still take the collar after they’ve sat, so that when we reward, we continue to reinforce their love of collar grabs.

Once the dog enjoys having their collar grabbed, introduce a sit command.  Don’t let them go back to playing until they’ve sat for you.

By varying the duration of positions you can begin working on their stays.  This also provides great practice for  getting their attention back after an extended down or stay.

It’s easy to teach your dog to “Roll Over” with lure-reward training.

A dog’s brain is very context-dependent.  You have to teach them Sit From Down as well as Sit From Stand.  In the dog’s mind, they’re entirely different.  Use at least three positions to keep them listening.