I try and answer every question I receive on dog training. I may often come across as a little on the blunt side, (some may call it brash). That is because I consider myself an advocate for dogs and not dog handlers. I am an advocate for common sense dog training and not the latest fad that appears on the horizon. Good dog training is not rocket science. It's common sense.

1. Can you tell me how long I should train my dog in obedience when I take him out for training and how to organize the sessions?
   
   
2. Do you like to use a Tug or a ball for a reward in obedience?
   
   
3. Can I add drive to my dog?
   
   
4. I am having a problem getting my dog to sit straight in front of me after he returns with the dumb bell. What can I do?
   
   
5. My 8 month old Mal really slams into me when we are working on recalls. He has knocked me down and hurt me a couple of times. What can I do to slow him down?

Question:

Can you tell me how long I should train my dog in obedience when I take him out for training and how to organize the sessions?

Answer:

There are different opinions on this but I feel that 3 minutes should be the maximum amount of time for most obedience sessions. The average Schutzhund obedience routine is 10 minutes long. This means that the goal of our training program is to end up with a dog that can give full focus and controlled drive for 10 minutes.

Organizing a training session will vary by every dog and it's needs. So there is no set formula.

A good way in general is to divide up a training program, to have three different segments. New training sessions would focus on one segment of training. Every segment should end with a Send Away (because when done properly the Send Away is a fun DRIVE exercise for the dog, but this is a topic of it's own training article).

The segments are:

The Heeling Training
The SIT, Down, and Stay training
The three jump exercises.
The most important thing to remember about organizing your training program is NEVER DO A ROUTINE during training. The problem with routines is the dogs that have been force retrieved will know the retrieves are coming in the routine and will start to slow down in their recall work.

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Basic Dog Obedience $40.00+s&h

Question:

Do you like to use a Tug or a ball for a reward in obedience?

Answer:

There is not an issue of only using one toy for every dog. The correct answer is to figure out what toy motivates your dog the most. There are a couple of ways to determine this:

1- Put the dog in a sit-stay right in front of you, (in the recall position). Take a ball on a string in one hand and a tug in the other. Hold them straight out from your body and see which one the dog looks at. Then slowly transfer the ball and tug to opposite hands and hold them out away from your body again. See which one the dog follows with his eyes.

2- Put the dog in a sit-stay and put the various toys on the ground - spaced about 10 feet apart in front of the dog. Give the dog a release command and see which toy the dog goes to first.

I like a dog that prefers a ball on a cord over a tug or Frisbee.

The key to using toys as rewards for a competition dog is to build the training to the point where the dog never knows when he is going to get the reward. This can only happen if the toy can be hidden from the dog. Balls on a string can be hidden under the arm, in a pocket or under a jacket much easier than a tug. If a trainer wears a string around his neck with a clothes pin attached, he can clip the ball on a string to this clothes pin and hide the ball in his jacket with only an inch or so of the string sticking out. This allows very very quick access to grab the string and flip the ball out.

There are some dogs that are not motivated in prey drive with toys. These dogs will have to be worked with food. There are also dogs that have such high prey drive for a toy that the toy becomes a distraction to the dog. This only happens with inexperienced handlers but it happens. These handlers are also going to have to use food in those exercises where the toy is a distraction and they cannot control their dogs.

Then there are also dogs that are not motivated by toys or food, these dogs should be sold as pets.

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Large Tug $35.00+s&h 23" long x 11 1/2" circ.

Question:

Can I add drive to my dog?

Answer:

Every dog genetically has a certain level of drive. Let's say that the highest drive possible is "Level 10" and the lowest drive is "Level 1." Some dogs genetically can go no higher than "Level 7 or Level 8," each dog is different. Some dogs can be genetically "Level 3" dogs. This means that no matter what we do to a "Level 3" dog he cannot show more than "Level 3" drive (please do not send me email asking how to determine what level your dog is. This cannot be determined through e-mails).

What is often seen is a dog that is not working up to his genetic potential. In other words we could have a dog with a genetic potential for "Level 8" drive only working at "Level 3" drive. This can happen because the dog’s drive may not have ever been properly worked - so the drive is in effect sleeping in the dog. A "Level 8" dog that was never worked with a ball as a puppy could show no drive for a ball because it does not recognize the ball as a prey item. This dog can be worked with to bring the drive level up to it's genetic potential. The key is to identify the items that the dog likes and then work with these items in training to increase the drive. Through play, frustration and training the drive will increase in a dog like this.

Another situation can be that a dog has been worked by a handler who does not understand the principles of motivational training (see my article on this subject) and compulsion. If a trainer is what I call a "YANK AND CRANK" force trainer it is going to be very difficult to bring a "Level 8" dog up to it genetic potential.

Conversely, no amount of work is going to bring a "Level 3" dog up to a "Level 8" drive level. You cannot put something into a dog that is not genetically there. The perfect example of this is seen every day in show (confirmation) dogs. The reason we never see German show dogs do well in sport work is that their genetic potential is Level 3 - 4 or 5. The American show dogs have "Level 1" and maybe "Level 2," never any more than this. This is why you cannot make a show dog into a police dog. It simply will not work.

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Drives of Protection Training eBook

Question:

I am having a problem getting my dog to sit straight in front of me after he returns with the dumb bell. What can I do?

Answer:

I assume that this question is dealing with the learning phase of training and not the proofing or conflict phase of training.

There are many solutions to this problem, but the very first thing to look at (and the only one I will address in this answer) is to see what way a dog turns when it goes to pick up the dumb bell. This is done during normal play with a dog. When I stand with my dog and throw a ball in front of me I will always watch to see if the dog runs and turns to the right or the left. Most dogs will turn the same direction 9 times out of 10. It's almost like being right or left handed.

When I know which way the dog will turn I can then toss the dumb bell to the left or right so when the dog turns it is coming back to me on a straight line. This makes it much easier to get a straight sit in front of the handler. Once the handler can determine exactly where to toss the dumb bell to get a straight line, the other problems often correct themselves.

This work is not to be confused with the use of "conflict training" at the end of the retrieve work. This is where the handler will toss the dumb bell way to the side (90 degrees to the direction he is standing) and expect the dog to return to the front with it. There are a complete set of tricks to use in this part of training to get a straight sit.

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Set of Schuthund Dumbbells $35.00+s&h

Question:

Hi,

I have several of your tapes - they are excellent and I have learned a lot through watching them. I would recommend them to anyone.

My question is on the recall. I have read your training articles on the recall and no one has quite the same problem as I have with my 8 month old male 27 kg Malinois.

My problem is when I call him or even if he just sees me in the distance he will come at 100 miles per hour as fast - as he can and then doesn't stop in time and slams himself into me.

The obvious answer is of course to obedience train the dog, which I did. Then if I saw him coming in too fast I would run backwards, saying “sit,” then he has the time to slow down and will sit in front. Unfortunately for me sometimes I would not see him coming until it was too late and he has knocked me right off my feet and hurt me quite badly a couple of times.

I am hoping you can suggest a way I could correct a young dog and really get the point across to him that I don't want to be used as a target or knocked down, but a correction or method that would not dampen the dog’s drives or make the dog slow or hesitant coming in when called.

Here's to hoping my question doesn't end up in the dumb or dumber section!

Thank you for your help.
Amanda Russell

Answer:

This is not a dumb or dumber question.

I think you need to have two different recall commands. One is only used on the training field and encompasses the formal sit in front of you. The second is a recall to just get the dog to come near you so you can grab him and hook him up. Use two different words for each command.

The formal recall is not something that you will use a lot right now. Keep the distances short and focus training on the dog coming square in front of you and working on the finish. Teach the dog to focus on a sit, to look into your face, and then toss the ball. Part of the time when he does the recall he gets the ball before the swing – then sometimes he gets the ball after the swing – so he does not anticipate the command.

As training distances on the formal recall increase to 50 yards – this can take 4 to 6 months, you can get verbal with him in corrections when he smashes into you. You have to be a little careful but I think you can let him know that this is not acceptable.

The second command allows you to turn and walk away from him as he bears down on you. This will force him to circle and you can get a hand on him.

I hope this helps.

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Orbee-Tuff Ball