Many of my Internet Great Dane list companions have asked me a LOT of obedience questions in the last five years. The MOST frequently asked question, is "How do I MAKE my dog COME when I call him"? The second most common question is "How do I STOP my dog from pulling me when he's on leash"?
The answers are actually VERY simple. NEVER give your dog the option of doing it WRONG in the first place.
CALL YOUR DOG
If you call your
dog with a "come" command, and he's off-lead, busily sniffing some track
or another interesting item, his refusal to come to you enforces (in his
mind) your inability to "make" him obey, and his ability to be "alpha"
or boss.
ENFORCED RECALL
On the other hand,
if you ONLY tell him to "come" when he is on-lead and you can pull him
in to you, he learns that the word "come" is enforceable, and that YOU
always win, therefore you are boss. Consequently, over a period of time,
with enforced recalls on lead (using a Flexi ultimately), he begins to
respond when off-lead in non-distracting situations (meaning there is nothing
around which is more interesting than you!).
HOW TO.......
To approach this,
start in a small room, where he is not going to be distracted, and he cannot
"walk away". Call the dog to you, and praise lavishly once he arrives,
even if you must walk to his location and take his collar to lead him to
WHERE YOU CALLED HIM FROM. Then add a distraction, (could be a person in
the room bouncing a ball or singing...) and perfect the recall at that
stage.
Once the recall is performed consistently in the small room, graduate to a large room, with a SMALL distraction, then a large one. Ultimately, in a confined situation, the dog will come reliably.
USE A FLEXI
This is where the
student graduates to the outdoors, with the dog on a Flexi leash. The same
routine is used, starting with a place of low distraction, and graduating
to higher and stronger distractions. Ultimately, the dog will come reliably
in almost ANY situation. It takes time, but is worth the effort.
To prevent "pulling", I Like to teach my students the "walk on a loose lead" on a Flexi lead. The reasoning for this is twofold. When a dog is walking at the end of a 18-20 foot Flexi, he does not pull because he can sniff and investigate away from the owner without having to pull the owner to whatever it is he is interested in. I also suggest that students use their recalls while on their recreational walks. I ask them to keep liver or cookies on their pockets to encourage the dog to return on a "come" command VOLUNTARILY, you can always reel him in if he balks.
Teaching the heel command from loose lead or Flexi is simply a graduation from the Flexi to shorter and shorter leashes, using and enforcing the heel command. The handler then releases to the loose walk for shorter and shorter time periods, while asking for tighter and closer walking patterns.
All of this can be dispensed quickly, with if the heeling work starts as a puppy of 2-3 months. Many of the pups we start at this age are ready for CGC test by 6 months old or sooner. The older dogs require more patience and effort, but it is still a simple exercise.
Please DO NOT use a flexi when out walking on a busy street or around crowds....flexi's are a TRAINING tool for a field or quiet driveway.
CGC TESTING
The AKC/CGC test
exercises are incorporated into my obedience training classes. I do CGC
testing as part of my Therapy takessDog training, and so it naturally flows
into my daily obedience classes as well.
The test where one
handler greets another and each dog must sit quietly by its owners side
is PERFECT for heel work and teaching not to pull. I ask the student
to call their dog to them, and have dog sit in heel position when they
see another dog or a person walking a dog coming toward them. If they enter
a high traffic area, I ask them to switch to a short leash and have the
dog heel properly. This prevents accident or injury in a panicked
dog, and teaches the dog to change modes smoothly.
I do INSIST that students use a REAL Flexi lead, and not one of the poorly made imitations. Real Flexis are made so that they do not catch, or hang up, and are fairly reliable and sturdy if used PROPERLY. The web lead, heavy duty model Flexi is best for an adult Dane, but the regular 26 foot model can be used with care in training and has less "resistance" than the web model.
PROPER LEASHES
Leashes I use and
allow in my classes are ONLY leather, fairly thin and range from 2 feet
to 10 feet long. The REASON for the thin leash is ease of handling, it
fits more easily in the hand when folded. The reason I require leather
is that it is pliable, easy to unknot (it happens) and if the dog pulls
away is less likely to cause rope type burns to the handlers hands as web
leashes will.
The EUROPEAN LEAD or TRAFFIC LEAD is a multi length flexible usage leash and best when used with the Halti or GL Halter, or as an everyday leash.
COLLARS
I suggest either
a ROLLED LEATHER, FLAT BUCKLED LEATHER or
HALTI
orGENTLE LEADER collar. Nylon
collars are ok for everyday tag hanging, buzzing around the house collars,
but they are not safe for street walking.
I hope this has answered some of your questions. Teaching obedience should be FUN, make all your sessions as enjoyable as you can, and the learning will come easy!
Thanks for reading, I hope to see more of you on the Great Dane Mailing list! Until next time, keep those training sessions Short and Happy!
Lyn
Richards
DogLogic
Lyn Richards (copyright)
3020 Brown Ave.
#10
Jacksonville, FL 32259
(603) 668-8157
