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From: [e-mail] (Cindy Tittle Moore)
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Subject: rec.pets.dogs:  Dog Behavior, Problems, and Training FAQ
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Date: 15 Dec 1992 18:59:26 GMT
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Archive-name: dogs-faq/training
Version: 2.3
Last-modified: 25 September 1992

This is one (of ten) of the FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) Lists
for rec.pets.dogs.  It is posted on a monthly basis: updates,
additions, and corrections (including attributions) are always
welcome: send email to one of the addresses below.

The ten parts are all archived at pit-manager.mit.edu (18.172.1.27) in
the directory /pub/usenet/news.answers/dogs-faq.  The files are:
introduction, new, health-care, medical-info, training, working,
AKC-titles, misc1, misc2, and references.  To obtain the files, first
try ftp to pit-manager.mit.edu and look under that directory.  If ftp
does not work from your site, then try the mail server: send email to
[e-mail] with

send usenet/news.answers/dogs-faq/introduction
send usenet/news.answers/dogs-faq/new
send usenet/news.answers/dogs-faq/health-care
send usenet/news.answers/dogs-faq/medical-info
send usenet/news.answers/dogs-faq/training
send usenet/news.answers/dogs-faq/working
send usenet/news.answers/dogs-faq/AKC-titles
send usenet/news.answers/dogs-faq/misc1
send usenet/news.answers/dogs-faq/misc2
send usenet/news.answers/dogs-faq/references

in the body of the message (leave the subject line empty).  If you
don't want all of them, include only the lines of the ones you want.
You do have to repeat the path information for each file.

Changes and additions marked with |'s.
This is still incomplete in some places, particularly section M.
I want to add some notes on "drop it," "leave it," etc.

V.  Dog Behavior, Problems and Training.

  Prologue.
  A.  Understanding Your Dog.
  B.  Principles Behind Dominance.
  C.  Dominance Problems.
  D.  Housetraining Problems.
  E.  Submissive Urination.
  F.  Other Common Problems.
  G.  Comments on Obedience Training
  H.  Attention.
  I.  Corrections.
  J.  Using Food.
  K.  Training and Corrective Collars.
  L.  Learning to Sit.
  M.  Down, Stay, Off.
  N.  Heeling.
  O.  Learning Recall.
  P.  Beyond Basic Obedience.


Prologue.

While this article tries to help you understand what the sources of
trouble between you and your dog may be, I want to stress that there
is absolutely no replacement for a trainer you know and trust to help
you and your dog.  Kindergarten Puppy Classes are an invaluable start
on you and your puppy's life together, especially if you choose a good
one.  Having someone to ask questions and show you what works with
your dog is like having the picture as opposed to the words -- a
thousand times better.  Nevertheless, this article will hopefully help
with some common problems.

A.  Understanding Your Dog.

1. "Why would my dog be happier inside than outside when I am not home?"

You must understand the nature of dogs -- namely, that they live in
social units called "packs."  That means that your dog views you and
your family and any other pets as its pack.  Your home is the "den."
Dogs prefer to be closer to the center of the den -- the place where
the pack's smells are most acute.  While many dogs are very happy to
stay outdoors during the day while the rest of the pack is gone to
work, a great many dogs also develop behavioral problems as a result
of daily "expulsion" from the den.

In addition, a dog with access to a large territory may feel compelled
to "defend" all of it, resulting in other types of problems: frantic
barking at "intruders," and so on.  Restricting the amount of
territory it has to protect may reduce this type of behavior.

2.  "Shouldn't dogs run free in the countryside?"

It is an absolute myth that living in the country confers greater
latitude in the dictum "thou shall keep thy dog constrained to the
immediate environs of the pack."  Country dogs allowed to run free get
shot by hunters, into fights with other dogs over territoriality
issues.  They can kill livestock, fight and tassle and get disease
from wild animals, and be hit by cars on the highway.  They become
increasingly aggressive as they vie for larger and larger perimeter
boundaries to their territory, and they no longer relate to YOU as the
leader of their pack.  Also, don't forget that intact animals will
breed and add to the overpopulation problem.

3.  "Why do dogs engage in undesirable behavior?"

When dogs start undesirable (to humans) behavior, its best to try to
understand the source of this behavior.  Often it stems from the
frustration of being left alone.  Dogs are very social animals.  One
positive solution is to make sure your dog is properly exercised.
Exercise is a wonderful cure to many behavioral problems and dogs just
love it.  Do check with your vet for the proper amount of exercise for
both the age and breed of any dog.  Another solution is obedience
training.  The point is, your dog needs your attention, whether it is
by taking it out on a walk, training it, or both.

When bad behaviors begin in your absence, they can just get worse and
worse every day if not addressed or prevented.  Puppies (up to 18
months or so) get very bored when they are left alone.  Even catching
it in the act may not help, at least at this point.  Often this is a
problem with separation anxiety.  Try to spend as much time with your
pup as you can; this is one of your responsibilities as a dog owner.

4.  "But it is SO FRUSTRATING when my dog does this!!"

Yes, it is.  But screaming and yelling at the dog, or punishing it
well after the fact does not tell your dog what is wrong.  You may in
fact wind up teaching it to fear you, or consider you unreliable.  You
must get your dog to understand you, and *you* have to work on the
communication gap, as you are more intelligent than your dog.

Preventing your dog from unwanted behaviors coupled with *properly
timed* corrections will go much further in eliminating the behavior
from your pet than yelling at it.

In fact, you should not yell at, scream at, or hit your dog, ever.
There are much more effective ways to get your point across.  Try
instead to understand the situation from your dog's point of view and
act accordingly.  The techniques in this chapter approach problems
with this in mind.

5.  "Why does crating work?"

First of all, it prevents the dog from doing many of the behaviors you
don't want it to.  What it does not do, it does not develop a habit of
doing and does not need to be corrected for it.  Second, it means that
when your dog *does* have an opportunity to engage in the unwanted
behavior, *you* are around (because you're home to let it out) to give
a proper and timely correction.

As the behavioral aspects pointed out above, reducing the territory
to protect and keeping it in the den are positive things from the
dog's point of view.

6.  "How do I know if my dog understands me or is ignoring me?"

There are five reasons a dog might not do a command: it's untrained,
it's confused, it's fearful, it's distracted, or it thinks it has a
choice.  Only the last two requires correction.  The first two require
working with your dog do solve the problem and to get it to understand
what you want it to do.  The fearful reaction is probably an
indication that you're doing something wrong in your approach and you
need to try something else.  Persistent fear may need mild correction.
You won't always be able to tell how your dog is reacting, especially
not at first.  You must learn to pay attention to your dog so that you
can accurately read it.  Think of obedience and training as a two-way
street: you're both learning to understand each other.

Dogs first learn to behave in a certain way without really
understanding what they are doing.  By putting the dog in a stressful
situation or tempting the dog to not perform the exercise, you can see
how well it understands the exercise.  When the dog initially fails
under these circumstances, it is only appropriate to help them through
the exercise.  Corrections are done if the dog appears to think it has
a choice; or if the dog continues to be afraid after helping for a
long time.  In this case, the dog needs to learn to work through his
fear.  Corrections are appropriate, because dogs often think their
owners approve of the fear -- in particular, soothing them can
communicate your approval of their fear.  Keep corrections for fear
mild, but definitely corrective.

7.  "I trained my dog to do all these things and now he won't do them!"

This is typical.  Think of adolescent rebellion in teenagers.  First
your dog learned and obeyed your commands because you were
unquestionably the leader.  Then, while your dog understood what the
command was, it was older and decided to test you.  This is where
corrections become crucial.  If you pass this struggle (and it varies
with the individual dog), you will generally get past this hump,
although each individual command may go through a mini-sequence like
this.

B.  Principles Behind Dominance.

For obedience training to proceed smoothly, your dog must consider you
its alpha leader.  This means that it considers YOU the boss.  There
are a number of exercises you can to to establish and maintain
dominance over your dog.  Individual dogs vary in submissiveness.  If
your dog is very submissive, you don't need to worry about
establishing dominance (in fact, you may need to tone down your own
dominating behavior to help bolster its confidence).  Most dogs are
happy to be submissive: just be sure to show approval at the
occasional signs of submission, and assert dominance if it tries to
test you (most dogs will, in adolescence).  A few dogs may be very
dominant and continually challenge you for dominance, in which case
you will actively need to assert and establish your position.

1.  Always show approval at signs of submission

Praise your dog when it drops its eyes first.  Praise it when it licks
you under the chin.  Give it an enthusiastic tummy rub when it rolls
over on its back.

2.  Be consistent and fair in your corrections

You must demonstrate to your dog that it can trust your orders.  Do
not ever correct the dog after the fact.  Such corrections appear to
be arbitrary and unfair to the dog, because it has no associative
memory the way people do.

If your dog is still a puppy, socializing it is a good way to gain its
trust.

If you decide that some action requires correction, *always* give a
correction when you see that action.  For example, if you decide that
your dog is not allowed on the sofa, then *always* correct it when you
see it on the sofa.

Consistency can be a big challenge with a family: every family member
must agree on the basic ground rules with the dog; when and for what
it should be corrected, what commands to use and so on.  Families must
cooperate extensively to avoid confusing the dog.  It is best if only
one person actively trains the dog; thereafter if the commands are
given the same way, everyone in the family can use them.

3.  Correct the dog's challenges

Especially during adolescence, you dog may test and/or challenge your
position.  Do not neglect to correct this behavior.  Examples of
challenges can be: disobeying you, growling, staring.

4.  Learn how to display alpha behavior

You may not need to use all of these, but you should be familiar with
them.  They are listed in "escalating" order.  Do not use any of these
if you are angry or upset.  The point is never to hurt the dog, but to
show it who is alpha.  They work best if you are calm, firm, and
matter of fact.

Eye contact: alphas "stare down" subordinates.  If your dog does not
back down in a stare contest, start a verbal correction.  As soon as
it backs down, praise it.

Taps under the chin: alpha dogs nip subordinates under the chin as
corrections.  You can use this by tapping (NEVER hitting) your dog
under the chin with one or two fingers.

Grabbing under the ears: alpha dogs will chomp under subordinate dogs'
ears and shake.  You can mimic this by holding the skin under your
dog's ears firmly and shaking.  Again, do not use excessive force.  Do
this just enough to get the point across.

Alpha roll: Pin the dog to ground on its side with feet away from you.
Hold scruff/collar with one hand to pin head down (gently but firmly).
Other hand on hip/groin area (groin area contact will tend to cause
the dog to submit to you.)  Hold dog firmly, look right into its eyes,
and wait until it quiets down and looks away from you for a time lying
limp.  If the dog struggles, attempts to bite, or whines, hold firmly,
shake scruff if necessary, and give a verbal correction until the dog
calms down.  If the dog is calm and submissive, give mild verbal (not
physical) praise.  Once the dog submits for, say, 15 seconds or so,
let it up with more mild verbal praise, but don't excite it.  If this
is to be a severe correction, ignore the dog as much as possible for
several minutes afterwards.  This alpha "roll" (in which you play the
"role" of the alpha dog in the pack) is intended to teach the dog that
you are the leader and that behavior contrary to your wishes will not
be tolerated.

5.  Keep the alpha position

Challenge your dog occasionally, even after puppyhood.  Take its food
or a toy away, push it off its sleeping place, etc.

Do mild alpha rolls periodically.  If the dog is truly submitting to
you as leader it is not at all traumatic, kind of like a scheduled,
low affection-quotient hug, and if the dog is testing you frequently
then you need to do it anyway, so either way it works.

6.  Learn to recognize challenges

Some behaviors are readily recognized as dominant, e.g., growling, but
there are other, more subtle challenges.  For example, nudging.
Discourage persistent nudging.  Don't let your dog be possessive of
its food or toys.  Make it give anything up to you when you ask it to.


C.  Dominance Problems.

1.  Ignoring your spouse or significant other

A common problem is that your dog pays attention to you, but none
whatsoever to your SO.  This problem can even be compounded by your
SO's fear of the dog, or reluctance to take control of it.  This
problem does need to be corrected, however, if your SO is ever left
alone with your dog.

Begin by having your SO give commands to your dog.  Correct it when it
does not obey.  Have several sessions where your SO issues the
commands and you provide the verbal corrections and praise.

Then have your SO challenge the dog.  Taking its food away, pushing it
off its sleeping place and the like are good ways.  Basically, you
need to back your SO up in every action.

If your SO is actually afraid of the dog, you will have to get past
this fear before you can have your SO established as dominant over
your dog.  Go out walking, playing in the park, playing fetch,
whatever fun things it takes and whatever time it takes to get your SO
comfortable with the dog.  Have your SO take the leash on occasion.
The key here will be going slow and easy.

If the person the dog does not obey is a young child, do not expect
the dog to consider the child an alpha.  As the child grows older,
then you can start making the point that the child is now an alpha in
much the same way.  When this is appropriate depends on the childs
emotional maturity and responsibility (because if the child is to be
alpha, she or he must responsibly lead, as described earlier).

2.  Growling

You have to distinguish between play growling and serious growling.
If you're in the middle of a tug-o-war game, your dog may growl, and
it's not a problem provided you can still win.  If your dog growls or
snaps at you at some other time, say when you get too close to its
food, you must correct it.


D.  Housetraining Problems.

1.  Sudden changes in established habits

If your dog has been fine with its housetraining up till now, there
may be several reasons for it to break with its training.

  * If there have been no major changes in its life, your dog may very
    well have a medical problem, such as kidney trouble.
  * It may be trying to defend its territory if you have a new animal
    in the household.
  * It may be generally upset or anxious if you've just moved and
    trying to assert ownership of the new territory.

2.  Eating feces

Some dogs will eat other animal's feces.

If it is cat feces in an indoor litter box, you can try the following:

  * If you have a utility closet or some other closet where you can
    keep the litter box, you can fix the door so that it only opens
    enough for a cat to get through (assuming big dogs) by using
    something like a string/ribbon/rope over the door handle to a
    small hook on the adjacent wall or door jamb.  If you can make a
    more permanent change, you could put a kitty door into the closet
    and be able to keep the door shut.
  * Get the kind of litter box with a big top and a "kitty door" or
    even just an opening on it.  Place the litter box with the opening
    about 4"-6" from a wall (backwards from the way you would normally
    think of placing it).  This leaves just enough room for the cat to
    get into the box but not (usually) enough room for the dog to get
    to the box.  The kind of box with the swinging kitty door helps
    make it a little harder for the dog to get into it.

A surprising number of dogs eat their own feces.  This is a fairly
disgusting habit, but difficult to cure.  One way to prevent this from
occurring is to clean up feces as soon as possible, but this can be
difficult for dogs left in yards or kennels all day.

The Monks suggest feeding your dog a dry food that is at least 23%
meat protein, and about 25% raw meat. In addition, either an egg, or a
tablespoon of vegetable oil every few days. They also think that
eating feces may involve a dietary deficiency.  Adding Accent
(monosodium glutamate) or kelp tablets (usually available at health
food stores) to your dogs food can give the feces a bad taste for the
dog. Also putting tabasco and vinegar on the feces themselves may
work.

3.  Urination

If it is a *change* in your dog's behavior, it might be a bladder
infection, so check that with your vet first.  If your dog is an older
spayed bitch, you might need to put her on periodic estrogen doses to
control the leaking.

If your dog is urinating in different places around the house, you can
try the "vinegar trick".  Pour some vinegar on the spot in front of
the dog.  What you're telling the dog with this is "I'm alpha.  YOU
may not pee here."  Then clean it all up first with an enzymatic odor
remover and then a good carpet shampoo (see the Assorted Topics FAQ).


E.  Submissive Urination

The genetically shy dog is a super submissive type and unlike many
dogs are quite sensitive to any forms of "dominant" behavior in
humans.  Even ordinarily submissive dogs can become extremely
submissive if its owner misunderstands and unintentionally forces it
to increase its submissiveness.

Tone down your aggressive behavior -- with a submissive dog there is
no real need to consciously dominate it.  Examples of dominating
behavior:

  * Direct eye contact
  * Standing over the dog
  * Walking towards the dog while looking at it

Tips:

  * Wait when you come home.  Say "hi" to it and be verbally friendly,
    but don't touch or pet it for about 5-15 minutes.  Try not to make
    the moment more exciting than it already is.
  * When you greet it, get down on its level.  Rather than standing
    and bending at the waist, bend at the knees (or sit) so that your
    face is about level with his and you are not looking down on him.
    This is a less dominant position, and less likely to trigger a
    submissive posture.
  * Don't pet it on the head.  Rather, tell it to sit, maybe "shake
    hands", then scratch it under the chin and on the chest.  This is
    less dominating than the pat on the head (because you avoid
    standing over it).
  * When you correct this type of dog, do so with your voice only
    (avoid direct eye contact.  If it starts to urinate, then say
    immediately, "OK, let's go out!" in a happy tone of voice -- and
    take it out.  Or, take a toy out (something it likes to do) and
    play with it.  What you are doing here is telling your dog, "OK, I
    see your submissiveness.  That's good."
  * When guests come over, ask them to ignore your dog and not look at
    it even if it comes up and sniffs them.  After a bit, when people
    are sitting down then have them gently put their hands out and
    talk to your dog, without looking at it. Usually after about 15
    minutes or so everything is fine.

In general, show signs of low-key approval *immediately* when the dog
becomes submissive.  Then distract it with something else.  When you
ignore submissiveness or get mad at it, you're in effect telling the
dog "You're not submissive enough!" so the poor thing intensifies its
efforts -- and submissive urination is about as submissive as it gets.

Be really positive with your dog, this type lacks self-confidence and
will look to you quite often to make sure everything is OK.


F.  Other Common Problems.

In general there are several items you can use in training your dog to
leave things alone, if it is persistent about some things.  While
these are no substitute for training, they can help the process of
training.

  * Bitter apple, bitter orange
  * cayenne pepper, especially cooked into oil, but the oil stains easily

Put a little on your hand or a towel, and let your dog sniff it.  If
your backs off and looks disgusted, then it should work.  Let your dog
see you put the substance on whatever its been chewing, and then sit
back and watch your dog.  If it goes up to where the substance is
applied, wait until you know it can smell the stuff, and correct it
right when the stuff hits its nose.  This timing is crucial, and is
what helps train your dog away from what it is doing.  Do be sensible
and make it physically impossible for your dog to do it when you are
not home to aid in the training process.

1.  Chewing

Dogs can cause an amazing amount of destruction by chewing.  Usually
the problem is with younger, bored puppies.  You need to train them
with a combination of crating and chew toys as described in New
Owners, New Dogs.  The substances mentioned above may help in training
the behavior away from specific items.

2.  Biting.

It is natural for young puppies to bite and chew on people; however
don't let them do this.

If your dog is a puppy, yelp pitifully when it chomps on you, and
replace your hand with a chew toy; praise heartily when the chew toy
is used instead.  If it persists, stand up and stop playing with it.
It is no fun for the puppy if you stop interacting with it, and it
will learn to stop chewing on you fairly quickly.

With older puppies and dogs, say "NO BITE" sternly and withdraw your
hand.

2.1.  Fear-biting

This is a separate problem, caused by a fearful and submissive dog
that feels cornered.  It indicates an extremely poor temperament and
possible abuse.  Such dogs should never be bred.

To deal with a fear-biter (evidenced by a dog that bites/threatens to
bite but has its ears laid *back* along its head rather than facing
forward), first you have to deal with the insecurity and temperament
of the dog.  This kind of dog has no self-confidence at all, hence its
ready alarm at normally innocuous situations.

Think of the submissive dog outlined above.  You need to build up its
confidence: pay close attention to understand exactly what sets it off
(some are afraid of men, men with beards, people holding something in
their hand, small children, etc) and for now, remove that from its
environment.  Do some training or other work with it to build up its
confidence (the training in this case becomes a vehicle for praising
the dog).  Then work slowly on its fear.  You should really enlist
professional help to deal with a fear biter unless you are experienced
with dogs.  This kind of dog takes lots of patience and careful
reading and may never become trustworthy.  If you cannot resolve its
problems, consider having it destroyed; don't pass it along to someone
else to become a problem for that person.

3.  Barking.

Each and every time your dog barks, go out and see why the dog is
barking.  If your dog is barking for a good reason (such as a stranger
in the yard), you should praise your dog and then tell it to be quiet.
If the dog is barking because there is a squirrel up the tree, or
something similar, tell the dog to be quiet and immediately go back
into the house.  You will have to repeat this every time the dog
barks.  Pretty soon, in a week or so depending on the dog, the dog
will only bark for a good reason.  The dog may still bark at the
squirrel, but not continually.  Instead, one or two good barks to
scare the squirrel, and then it considers its duty done.  At the same
time, you have not dampened your dogs ability to bark when there is
something wrong.

You might also enlist the help of your neighbors.  Neighbors are often
happy to help you with this problem!  Have them squirt water at
excessive barking, or rattle cans of pennies/rocks, etc.

There is some evidence that barking is an inherited trait: if the
parents bark a lot, chances are their puppies will, too.

Often, one method that helps alleviate barking is to give your dog
specific permission to bark.  Teach it to "speak" -- let it "speak"
when appropriate (say, when you're playing in the park).  Then "no
speak" follows from that.  However, there is often a problem when the
dog is alone.  The following methods outline some other possibilities
to address this problem.

(a)  Collars

There are collars available that are meant to help train your dog not
to bark.  Dogs will react differently, depending on how well they
learn, train, and handle.  The collars by themselves are not the
solution to your dog's barking: it must understand what the collar
does, and you will have to *train* it using the collar.

(b)  Debarking

Surgery on the dog's vocal cords can be done to reduce the barking to
a whispery sound.  This is a controversial practice, banned in Britain
and other places.  Some vets will refuse to do the surgery.

The dogs do not stop barking.  They do not seem to notice the
difference, or at any rate continue "barking" as if they still made
the noise.

There are different ways to perform the surgery, and it is possible
for the vocal cords to grow back and the dog to regain its bark.  If
the vocal cords are cut, chances are the cords will heal themselves.
If they are cauterized, the operation will last longer.  Whether it is
over a period of weeks or months, it seems that the dog eventually
regains use of its vocal cords.

(c)  Muzzles

There is a "No-Bark Muzzle" that is designed to prevent dogs from
barking.  Many dogs very rapidly learn not to bark when the muzzle is
put on them each time they start barking.  It is not binding or
confining and does not put the dog through surgery.

4.  Digging.

Dogs may dig out of boredom or to make a cooling/heating pit.

Try refilling the holes with junk.  With junk, dogs can quickly lose
interest and pretty much stop digging.  Fill the hole with whatever is
at hand - dead leaves, sticks, pine needles, rocks or even dog feces.
Fill the top 2 inches or so with dirt.  The dog finds the stuff, gets
discouraged and often quits digging.  They seem to get the idea
they'll never know where they'll find junk, and it's not worth the
effort to dig only to find junk so they quit.

The Koehler dog method advocates filling holes with water and sticking
dog's head under the water for a few seconds or so.  This may not work
with some breeds (e.g., Labradors), and may not appeal to you as a
method to try.  Alternatively, you can try burying a water balloon in
one of the holes which will pop in its face when it starts digging
(surprise).

Try to remember that digging is a natural tendency for dogs.  So, if
there is any place where your dog may be allowed to dig, you should
encourage it (and only in that place).  Designate an area where the
dog can dig.  Many people build a sand box for their dog.  Place the
box in an area that is cool in summer and warm in winter.  To teach
the dog to dig only in the box, place a toy or treat in the box.
Encourage the dog to dig up the toy or treat.  Praise the dog.  Repeat
untill the dog willingly jumps in and digs.  Watch the dog.  When it
starts to dig in any other place, quickly go out and take your dog to
its box.  Show it (by digging yourself), that it should dig in its
box.  To deter boredom, place several toys/treats in the box before
you leave for work.  The dog will spend its time digging in the
correct place rather than digging up your roses.

Extreme cases: line the yard with chicken wire and put a layer of sod
on that.  Use paving bricks or blocks around the edge to prevent the
dog from injuring itself on the edge of the chicken wire.

5.  Garbage.

You can get "Mr. Yuk" labels and put them in the trash to keep them
out of it or spray Bitter Apple into it.  But you have to remember to
do this regularly.  If you can, put the trash out of reach of the dog,
eg, under the sink.  You may need to get the kinds of trash cans that
have closing lids.  Don't start easy and work your way up as the dog
figures each one out: you are just training your dog how to open
garbage cans.  Get a good, well secured one at the start.

Put a mousetrap in the bottom of an empty can, cover it with
newspaper, then put something that the dog really likes in the can and
leave the room.

You should train your dog away from this habit.  Crate it, to keep it
out of the garbage when you are not home, and correct it when it gets
into it when you are at home.  This works best if you start in
puppyhood.

6.  Jumping.

Since most dogs are shorter than you, its natural tendency is to jump
up to see you.  It is also an expression of exuberance and happiness.
However, you may be wearing your Sunday Best.  The dog's paws may be
muddy.  The puppy may grow too large.  Some people are afraid of dogs.
Train your dog not to jump on people.  If you don't mind your dog
jumping on you, then train it to jump on you only when it's "OK".

In general, correct it immediately when it jumps on you, praise it
when all four paws land back on ground.  A helpful reinforcement is to
give them a command and praise lavishly when they do it, e.g., "No!
Brownie, sit!  Good girl, what a good girl!"

Try to anticipate the jumping: look for their hindquarters beginning
to crouch down, and correct them when you see them *about* to jump.
With medium-sized dogs, you can discourage jumping with a well-timed
knee in the chest (never kick).  This does not work as well on small
dogs and very large dogs.  With small dogs, step back so they miss
you; you can also splay your hand in front of you so their face bumps
into it (don't hit them, let them bump into you).  Correct, then
praise when on ground.  With larger dogs, the kind that don't really
*jump*, but *place* their paws on your shoulders, grab some skin below
their ears (be firm but not rough) and pull them down, saying "No!"
Again, praise it when it is back on ground.

Gradually expand this to include friends and visitors.  Start first
with people who understand what you want to do and will apply the
physical correction in conjunction with your "No!"  As the dog
improves, expand with other people.  In the interim, a reinforcing
exercise is to put your dog on a leash, and stand on one end of the
leash or otherwise secure it so your dog can stand but not jump.  When
it tries to greet someone by jumping up, praise it *when it lands* and
don't correct it for attempting to jump.

For those of you who don't mind being jumped, you can gain control
over it by teaching your dog that it can jump on you -- when you OK
it.  At random times (i.e., not *every* time you correct it), after
your correction and praise for getting back down, wait thirty seconds
or so, and then happily say "OK, jump" (or something similar, as long
as you're consistent) and praise your dog when it jumps up then.  At
other times, when it is *not* trying to jump on you, encourage it to
do so on your permission, using the same phrase.  You must make it
clear that it shouldn't jump on you unless you give it permission, so
you must still correct unpermitted jumping.

7.  Whining

In many cases, the dog is trying to manipulate you when it whines.
First be sure that the dog isn't telling you it has to eliminate.  If
you know it doesn't have to go, correct it.  If it persists, then you
can try squirting lemon juice in its mouth to discourage whining.

8.  Car chasing

This is symptomatic of a larger problem: why is your dog free to run
after cars in the first place?  If the dog is being allowed to roam
that should be stopped.

Have a few friends drive by (slowly) in a strange car.  When the dog
gets in range, open the window and dump a bucket of ice cold water on
the animal's head/back.  Repeat as needed (with a different car) for
reinforcement.

9.  Tug of War

The Monks (and former Monk, Job Michael Evans) seem to believe that
playing tug is a form of "teaching" the dog to use its teeth, and
therefore a precursor to the dog's learning to use its teeth as a
weapon.  In their view, you should never play tug with a dog.  There
are other authorities that recommend never playing tug of war with
your dog.

However, dealing with the aggression may be more constructive than
never teaching your dog to use its teeth.  Besides, studies on canine
aggression show that even extremely docile dogs can be provoked to
show aggression.  Houpt and Wolski in their book _Domestic Animal
Behavior for Veterinarians and Animal Scientists_ note: "Growling is
an aggressive call in dogs, and is commonly known.  It is interesting
evolutionarily that even the most placid dog can be induced to growl
if one threatens to take a bone away from it.  A scarcity of food in
general can increase aggression ..., but bones seem to have particular
value even for the satiated dog."

This can hinge on whether you (as the owner) can distinguish between
challenges and playing.  If the dog is playing when doing TOW, there's
no problem.  If it *is* challenging you doing this, you need to 1)
recognize the challenge (versus just playing) 2) win and 3) stop the
TOW and correct its challenge to your authority.  If you can't make
the distinction, then don't play tug-of-war with it.

Couple any tug-o-war games with the command "Give" or something
similar so that the dog learns to immediately let go ON COMMAND.  If
it doesn't, that's a challenge, and you need to deal with it.  Teach
your dog what "give" when you start playing this game with it.  When
you know that your dog understands the command, then periodically
reinforce it by having your dog "give" at random times.  This becomes
a form of keeping your alpha position as mentioned earlier in this
article.


G.  Comments on Obedience Training.

1.  Different training methods

There are a number of different training methods available.  None of
these methods are perfect and none are guaranteed to work on your dog
(regardless of what it says on the cover).  Each dog is different and
the interaction with its owner is unique.  Some methods work better
than others for *you* and *your dog*.  It will depend on your personal
preference (dogs are good at telling when you are hesitant or unhappy
with a particular technique) and your dog's temperament and ability.

People frequently disagree over which methods are "good" and even
which are "best."  This kind of argument is fairly pointless, as the
effectiveness of each training method is subjective.  Find one that
works for *you* and don't worry about criticisms.  On the other hand,
suggestions to help overcome specific training problems may be what
you need and you shouldn't reject it out of hand because it's not in
the method you chose.

A good expert shouldn't reject any other methods out of hand; the
Monks in their books point out that readers should consult other books
as well.  Being an expert doesn't mean being able to only use or do
one method.  The more methods you look at and try, the better data
base you have to draw from.

There are many methods for training dogs out there.

Baer, Ted.  _Communicating with Your Dog_.  Barron's, New York. 1989.
ISBN 0-8120-4203-4 (oversized paperback).
  Heavily illustrated with color photos.  A sensible approach to
  laying a good foundation for extensive obedience training (even if
  you don't take the dog any further than what's outlined in here).
  Simple instructions for teaching a 20-word language, with emphasis
  on understanding and building on previous work.

Bauman, Diane L.  _Beyond Basic Dog Training_.  New, updated edition.
Howell Book House (Maxwell Maxmillan International), New York.  1991.
ISBN: 0-87605-410-6.
  Emphasis is on training a "thinking" dog rather than a
  pattern-trained dog.  Extensive manual on obedience training.
  Communication and understanding are discussed.  A well known and
  often recommended book.

Benjamin, Carol Lea.  _Mother Knows Best: The Natural Way To Train
Your Dog_.  Howell Book House, New York. 1985.  ISBN 0-87605-666-4.
$15.95 hardcover.
  She uses praise, contact, play and toys to motivate puppies, but she
  does not recommend food training a young puppy.  She does recommend
  crate training and she also recommends sleeping in the same room
  with the puppy.  She provides methods to teach no, OK, good dog, bad
  dog, sit stay heel, come, down, stand, go, enough, over, out,
  cookie, speak, take it, wait and off to puppies. She talks about
  canine language and talks some about mental games you can play with
  your dog such as mirror games, and copying your dog and having him
  copy you, chase games and even playing rough with your puppy.
  Most training methods rely on the foundational relationship between
  an owner and his dog, and this book provides some ideas on
  establishing that relationship while the puppy is still young.

Brahms, Ann and Paul. _Puppy Ed._.  Ballantine Books.  1981.
ISBN:0-345-33512-0 (paperback).
  Describes how to start teaching your puppy commands.  This is a
  thoughtful book that discusses in practical detail what you can and
  cannot expect to do with your puppy in training it.  They stress
  that by expecting and improving good behavior from the start, later,
  more formal training goes much easier.

Koehler, William.  _The Koehler Method of Dog Training_. Howell Books.

Milani, Myrna M., DVM. _The Weekend Dog_.  Signet (Penguin Books USA,
Inc.) (1985). ISBN: 0-451-15731-1 (paperback).
  This book outlines practical solutions for working people with dogs.
  It has excellent suggestions for understanding dog behavior,
  particularly destructive or unwanted behavior.  Gives all kinds of
  practical solutions to the problems of adequate exercise, adequate
  training, housebreaking, and so forth.

Strickland, Winifred G. _Expert Obedience Training for Dogs_.  Third
revised edition.  Howell Book House (Macmillan Publishing Company),
New York.  1987.  ISBN: 0-02-615000-X (hardcover).
  Strickland is a well known dog trainer.  Covers all aspects of
  training and competition including the formal training for AKC
  obedience trials (novice, open, utility, tracking).  Includes some
  general care (health and feeding) tips.  Author has also written
  _Obedience Class Instruction for Dogs_.

Tucker, Michael. _Dog Training Step by Step_.
  Tucker is an ex GDB instructor and his books are easy to read and
  follow. His others are _Dog Training Made Easy_, _Solving Your Dog
  Problems_.

2.  What is best for your dog?

This really depends on the temperament and intelligence of your dog,
and your own ability.  There is no one method that works for all dogs
since breed and temperment plays a large part.

3.  Consistency, Timing, and Patience

Good results in obedience training require large doses of the above.
You must be consistent: use the same word for a particular command
every time (e.g., don't use "Come" sometimes and "Come here" other
times).  You must develop a fine sense of timing when introducing new
commands and later correcting behavior on learned commands.  Patience
is needed: losing your temper is counterproductive.  Get the whole
family to agree on the commands, but have only one person train the
dog to minimize confusion for the dog.

Establish a daily training period, preferably just before dinner.  It
can be as short as twenty minutes, or longer.  Establishing a routine
helps.

Don't expect overnight success.  It can take up to two years of
consistent work, depending on the dog, for a properly trained dog.
(This is where the patience comes in!)

4.  Praise

You must praise often and unambiguously.  A smile won't do it.  Give
abundant verbal praise, scratch your dog on the head, etc.

Try making the command word part of a praise phrase.  In this case,
whenever your dog is in the desired heel position, you could say
something like "Good heel!" in a praising tone of voice.  Note that
you only give the command *once* but that the command word is repeated
in the praise phrase for reinforcement.  That seems to satisfy the
objective of the proponents of repeating the command (i.e. letting the
dog hear the command often) without actually repeating it as a
command.  Further, because it is being said when the dog is doing it
right rather than during a correction the dog doesn't create any
negative association with the command as the latter is likely to
cause.

5.  When should I start?

If you have a puppy -- don't wait!  Enroll in a kindergarten puppy
class once its up on its shots.  Don't wait until the pup is 6 months
old to start anything.

Training before "six months of age" is fine if you see the puppy
having fun with these lessons.  Just remember to keep the lessons
short, don't loose patience when your puppy suddenly forgets
everything it ever knew, and give it plenty of time just to be a
puppy.  In the long term, the time you spend with your puppy
exploring, playing together and meeting new people is probably more
important important than your short "training" sessions, but both
activities are very helpful.

Remember:

  * Make it fun *for the pup*.
  * Expect setbacks.  Just because the pup understood what you meant
    yesterday, doesn't mean he'll remember it today.  This means
    *lots* of repetition.  Teach the basic commands: sit, stay, and
    come for now.

6.  Obedience classes

You may find it well worth your while, especially if you are new to
training dogs, to attend obedience classes.  Most places have local
training schools.  Be sure to check up on these places.  Call the
Better Business Bureau and your local SPCA for any specific complaints
registered with them.  Especially check carefully places where you
ship your dog out to be trained: many of these places are suspect,
because YOU must also be trained to handle your dog.  Beware of
advertising that claim LIFETIME warranties on the training, GUARANTEED
solutions, etc.  It is best for you and your dog to go through
obedience training together, so that you both learn from each other.


H.  Attention

An important aspect of obedience training is getting your dog's
attention.  Your dog will not perform as readily if it isn't paying
attention to you.  There are a number of things you can do to get its
attention, and you should be sure to praise it for paying attention.

The Monks of New Skete stress this a lot in their book (with the
addition that in turn, you've got to pay attention to what your dog is
communicating to you during training).  If there's one piece of
definitive advice about dog training this must be it.

1.  Umbilical cords

Put your dog on a medium-to-short leash and tie it to your belt.  Now,
go about the house on your ordinary business.  Do not pay attention to
the dog.  It will quickly learn to pay attention to you to determine
when you are going to get up and walk around, or where you are going.
This is an especially effective exercise with puppies and also lays a
good foundation for learning to heel later.  Start with short periods
of time, say 15 minutes, and work up as your puppy gets older and more
familiar with this exercise.

2.  Watching

If you look up and catch your dog watching you (this is different from
the staring contests mentioned above because the dog is not "staring"
at you when it is watching you move around), praise it.

3.  Food in your mouth, spitting it at your dog

An excellent exercise for teaching attention.  It gets the dog to
concentrate directly on your face, not your hands or pocket.  Do this
as a separate exercise, until your dog understands that it must watch
your face.  Also, DON'T let them pick up the food from the floor or
ground.  If you do, they will learn that they don't have to catch the
treat.  They can just wait and pick it up.  And don't let them come
back later to clean up.

Do not, however, use food in general when obedience training.  See
Using Food below.

4.  Talking softly

Talk softly to your dog.  It will have to pay more attention to you.
This is especially effective when younger, and is a good habit to get
into.


I.  Corrections.

You should never correct when you yourself are upset, angry or
downright mad, especially at your dog.  Good correction depends on
timing, a keen awareness of what the dog is thinking, and quick
switching between correction and praise, all of which are difficult
when you are upset.  Stop the exercise until you regain your
equilibrium.  You will have much difficulty training your dog if you
continually get mad while doing it.  In fact, if you always or often
get mad when training your dog, someone else should train it.  You
will get absolutely nowhere yelling at your dog.

1.  Young puppies

The dictum "don't train before 6 months of age" doesn't make any sense
unless you're talking about the *correction* involved in formal
obedience training.  If you think about it, you train your dog all the
time whether you realize it or not.  Dogs are great at picking up your
body language and tone of voice.  Even if you're not trying to train
them, they're "training" themselves using the clues we give them (and
many "problems" are classic cases of the dogs misunderstanding their
owner's signals).

If possible with a young puppy it is best to use the "correction" of
distraction.  When you deny the puppy something, try to replace it
with a positive activity rather than just being negative and oppressive
all the time.  Otherwise, limit your corrections to a verbal "no."

2.  Older dogs

There comes a time in training any dog that it must do what you ask
just because you asked the dog to do it.  You have been helping your
dog with this particular task for a while and you see the look in its
eye that says, "Yes, I know what you want, but I don't want to do that
right now."  This is very different than the look that says, "Huh???"
You do have to know the dog you are training and be able to tell the
difference between these looks.  That is just part of being a trainer,
and no one can really teach you this skill, but you do have to learn
it.

Always praise the dog immediately when it listens to your corrections.
Again, this gives the "jekyll and hyde" feel to dealing with your dog.
But it is very important to immediately praise your dog for listening
to you.  This helps build confidence and keeps the dogs from having
that "hang-dog" look when performing.

3.  Proofing

Proofing is a method where you make sure your dog understands a
command, *after* you have taught the dog the command.  It isn't fair
to proof a dog on a command when it is still learning what it means.

For example, you teach your dog to stay.  After making it stay in a
relatively distraction-free environment, you step up the pressure.
You throw balls up in the air and catch them, squeak toys, have
someone stand near your dog and talk softly to it.  If your dog gets
up, gently put it back.  If after doing this for a while, the dog
still gets up, then you start putting him back less gently, i.e.
taking your dog roughly by the collar and putting it back, escalating
to picking your dog up by the collar so that its front legs come off
the ground and VERY slowly putting it back in its place, escalating to
picking the dog up by its skin so that its front legs come off the
ground and VERY slowly putting it back.  Some dogs get the idea more
quickly than others; stop your correction when it stays down.

When your dog passes this step, increase the pressure by throwing
balls all around him, bouncing them on the ground, etc.  Also, someone
else should try to offer him food, make strange noises such as
clapping , barking like a dog, meowing like a cat, using toys or
things that make strange noises.

When your dog passes this step, increase the pressure by putting it on
a stay and having someone shout in a loud voice "ROVER, COME!" (do not
use your dog's name), "OK", "DOWN" (if doing a sit stay).  If at home,
put him on a stay and go and ring the doorbell.  It should take
several months (6-8) to work through all of these distractions and
care must be taken to not blow the dog's mind by putting him in a
situation that he is not ready for or by never letting the dog "win"
(i.e., successfully perform an exercise).

Always let the dog "win" on the last exercise in the session.  That
is, end the sessions on positive notes, with much praise.  This keeps
your dog interested in the work.


J.  Using Food.

According to the last chapter of Diane Bauman's book _Beyond Basic Dog
Training_ there is more to dog training and to trainer-dog
relationships than just the dog performing for food and toys.  The dog
should have a relationship with you and work to please you and work
for your praise.  That should be the important thing in your training,
the relationship.

Remember, the goal in obedience is consistency.  If you have a
hard-charging dog when you train with treats and toys, but have a
slow, depressed dog when you take the treats away, getting any kind of
consistent performance out of the dog will be VERY difficult.  Sure,
with a slow dog you may loose a few points for lack of "Utmost
willingness" but if the dog does every sit correctly, every front
correctly and works confidently, you will still do well in the show
ring.

Further, there are many cases of dogs trained using these techniques
that are "ring-wise."  They know they will not be corrected nor will
they be rewarded "properly" for their performance, so why should they
work?


K.  Training and Corrective Collars.

There are several kinds of collars.  There are the plain flat buckled
ones for everyday use available in a wide variety of colors, sizes and
fastners (from buckles to quick-release).

Note that puppies do not need corrective collars.

For training purposes, there are choke collars (also called training
collars), pinch collars and prong collars.  Used properly, there is
nothing wrong with any of these collars, although they often look
rather alarming.  The point is that these collars are for control, not
for pain infliction.  Yanking savagely on these collars is
counterproductive; firm corrections get the point across without
injury.  Try this experiment: wrap each of the collars around your arm
in turn and have someone experienced with corrections give a
correction to your arm.

The Monks of New Skete have a very sensible discussion about choke or
training collars.  In _The Art of Raising a Puppy_, they emphasize:

   "A combination of related elements must all work together [to make
  leash corrections properly]:

      -a properly fitted training collar that is put on correctly
      -a leash that is held so that there is always some slack
       between you and your pup
      -a three step correction consisting of a "No" with a leash pop,
       repetition of the command, and immediate praise upon compliance.

  ...for most breeds we recommend a soft braided nylon training
  collar that is snug going over the pup's head and which rests
  comfortably high on its neck.  Because nylon collars are lightweight
  and flexible, they do not tend to slide down to the bottom of the pup's
  neck as many steel collars do, so you can make easier, more effective
  corrections."

To prevent your dog from injury from corrective collars, do not leave
them on when you are not around.  Its usual collar should be a plain
flat bucked collar; save the choke and prong collars for actual
training and when you are around.


L.  Learning to Sit.

Command, "Sit!".  Pull straight up on your leash (do not jerk),
simultaneously push (do not hit) down on the dog's rump.  After the
dog knows the exercise, a tap on the rump is appropriate if the dog
refuses to sit.

Another way is to have the dog focus on your hand.  Say "sit," move
your hand over its head so that it must sit to keep it focused.
Praise it when it is sitting.


M.  Down, Stay, Off.

One caveat is to be sure that you are consistent with "down" and
"off."  Do not use them interchangeably, you will only confuse your
dog.  "Down" should be the classic "lie down on the floor" command,
"off" needs to be "get all your paws on the ground (and off me or off
the chair) NOW!"

Traditionally, you start by putting the dog in a sit position.  Then,
using your hand, or a toy, guide its nose down until it's in a down
position.


N.  Heeling

To make the process of learning to heel easier, start when your dog is
a puppy.  Don't expect it to heel, but discourage from the beginning
any forging (lunging) or lagging on the leash.  Keep the puppy focused
on you when on leash.  This may mean constantly talking to your pup to
keep its attention.  Pretty soon, you'll have a pup that stays pretty
close to you on leash and doesn't pull in any direction.  The umbilical
cord approach suggested for attention can be a good way to start and
maintain this.  Don't worry about "perfect heeling" for several months
yet; it is too much to ask of a puppy right away.

When you and your dog are ready to learn heeling, there are several
approaches to take.

  * Try binding, where you have only a few inches of slack on your
    leash.  Hold the lead like a baseball bat handle, with your hands
    almost on his collar.  "Plaster" you arms against your body.  When
    you start off (with your left leg) tell him heel and hold him
    right there at your side.  If he pulls ahead, add pressure in the
    lead backwards and say "get back".  Once he stops pulling tell him
    "good boy". Stop and do about four straight lines first (no turns
    yet). Just counter any way he pulls with either "get back",
    "get-up" "get-in" or "get out".  When he is in the right spot,
    tell him he's good.  Just do a few short heels first and increase
    length. As he learns where heel is, he should stop pulling then
    you can let more leash out and do the same thing.  If he starts
    pulling again, go right back down to just a few inches.

  * Put your dog on a 6 foot leash with either a choke collar (not
    prong) or flat collar.  Hold the loop of the leash in your right
    hand and keep your hand against your waist.  Loop the slack over
    the thumb of that hand.  Walk around the back yard and when your
    dog walks past you and is not paying attention, turn 180 degrees,
    drop the slack from the leash and RUN!  Your Dog will get turned
    around and will have to follow.  As soon as the leash is slack
    STOP moving.  Say "good <name>," pick up the slack and walk around
    the yard again.  Whenever your dog goes ahead of you and it can't
    see you, drop slack, turn and RUN again.  Don't jerk the leash
    like a correction.  You want a constant pull and if you keep your
    hand against your waist a jerk on the leash won't happen.

  * Practice your foot work.  Make sure you are clear with your
    about-turns, left-turns and right turns.  Bauman illustrates the
    way to turn with photographs in her book.  Being clear with your
    turns helps clue your dog into when you are going to turn.

  * Along with foot work is timing - count out loud "1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2"
    and keep each pace the same length.  When going slow it's "1 and 2
    and 1 and 2" same length paces but at 1/2 time.  Fast is "121212"
    again but twice as fast and with the same length paces.

  * Simple direction changes help as well: do an "about-face" turn
    whenever the heel starts disintegrating.  That way, your dog has
    to stay closer to you to watch where you're going.


O.  Learning Recall.

First of all, the golden rule of recall:

*******************************************
NEVER PUNISH YOUR DOG WHEN IT COMES TO YOU!
*******************************************

It will not want to come to you if it associates that with punishment.
*Always* praise a dog for coming to you.  Remember its associative
powers are limited, and it will only understand that it was punished
for coming to you, regardless of what it just did before that.

1.  Starting young

Understand that teaching a 1 year old dog the recall is not the ideal
situation.  Your dog should be taught the recall by 4 months or so,
and when the dog is younger, it is much easier.  By the time the dog
is a year old, and starting to exert its dominance, the recall should
be a well-established habit and a few relatively minor corrections
should re-establish that habit in case there are minor lapses.

2.  On leash

Make a fun game of it, get your dog to understand what that command
is.  With a puppy, call its name and "COME".  Get down and open your
arms wide as your pup comes in to "funnel" it toward you.  Make a big
fuss over it.

Sit your dog down, on a lead, and make it stay.  Walk to the end of
the lead and say "<name>, COME" and give it just a little pop and run
AWAY from your dog.  As your dog gets to you, make it sit in front of
you.  PRAISE, PRAISE, PRAISE!!  Work on this way until your dog starts
coming before you can give the little pop.  Then get a long lead (15
feet or so) and do the same thing.  Then progress to letting it drag
the 15 foot lead around.  Call your dog as you are working in the
yard, or doing other things.  Always praise.

Make your dog sit every time it comes to you.  This avoids the later
common problem of the dog running past you when you call it.

3.  Off leash

Don't start off leash until you know that your dog understands recall
on a leash.  The proofing techniques outlined below are only for
correcting dogs (NOT puppies) *that understand* but *choose not to
obey*.  This is very different from the case of trying to get the dog
to understand what you want it to do in the first place, and applying
these kinds of corrections to a dog that does not know what you want
will probably ruin it for obedience training.

3.1.  Starting off leash

Take off the leash, sit the dog, and tell it to stay.  Walk away about
6 feet and call your dog.  If it does not come, calmly and slowly walk
up to it, take its collar in your hands, and then back up to where you
were when you called your dog, pulling it gently along with you.  When
you get to the starting point, tell it what a good dog it is.  Keep
doing the exercise.  If it still refuses to do it, lift its legs off
the ground while going to the starting point.  You will escalate the
unpleasantness of not coming without injury.  Each time you return to
the starting point, praise your dog.

3.2.  Friend nearby distraction

Have a friend offer to play with your dog when you call it.  If it
doesn't come (because playing is so much more fun than doing a
recall), go over to your dog (don't run over to it, or yell at it
while doing so) and pull it back to the starting point.  Always back
up to your starting point, to emphasize to your dog that it should be
in front of you and to let you look at it during the correction
(staring is alpha behavior).  For each failure, you need to escalate
the dragging back (again, without injury or anger, if you find
yourself getting angry and frustrated, stop the exercise until you
calm down): hold the side of the face, both sides, the ear, the lips,
the skin on top of the head (in escalating order).

This dog knows beyond any shadow of a doubt at this point what you
want it to do, but when the offer of a friend with a toy or with food
is more important than obeying you command, the correction must be
sufficiently severe.  Then, it will ignore the offer of food or a toy,
and he will come to you.  When it does, without being dragged, praise
the dog enthusiastically, as lavishly as you can.

With some dogs, the exercise is not over yet, but you need to repeat
the exercise to make certain the dog has it.  With others, you get one
good response, and you quit.  Again it all depends on the dog.

3.3. Increased area

When the dog is reliable in your enclosed training area, then to to a
larger enclosed area and make sure the dog understands when the
distances are greater.  When you are up to several hundred yards,
you've pretty much got it made. Add as many distractions as you can.
If your dog likes to play with other dogs, use dogs as a distraction
and make your dog interrupt a play session to do a recall.  If your
dog ignores you, correct the dog.

Only call your dog once.  If the dog disobeys, don't call again,
just correct the dog.


P.  Beyond Basic Obedience.

It is, of course, beyond the scope of this article to discuss any more
advanced obedience exercises in any kind of detail.  However, there
are many resources if you are interested in further obedience
training.

1.  Classes

There are a number of classes, public and private, offered for more
extensive obedience training.  Especially if you get to know an
experienced handler/trainer well, you can learn a lot from that
person.

2.  Books

There are a several books available that devote a good deal of
discussion to training dogs, above and beyond what most dog books do.
These are:

Bauman, Diane L.  _Beyond Basic Dog Training_.  New, updated edition.
Howell Book House (Maxwell Maxmillan International), New York.  1991.
ISBN: 0-87605-410-6.
  Emphasis is on training a "thinking" dog rather than a
  pattern-trained dog.  Extensive manual on obedience training.
  Communication and understanding are discussed.  A well known and
  often recommended book.

Strickland, Winifred G. _Expert Obedience Training for Dogs_.  Third
revised edition.  Howell Book House (Macmillan Publishing Company),
New York.  1987.  ISBN: 0-02-615000-X (hardcover).
  Strickland is a well known dog trainer.  Covers all aspects of
  training and competition including the formal training for AKC
  obedience trials (novice, open, utility, tracking).  Includes some
  general care (health and feeding) tips.  Author has also written
  _Obedience Class Instruction for Dogs_.

3.  Magazines

4.  Mailing list

There ia an electronic mailing list devoted to dog obedience issues.
This is not for the novice, but for the person starting on advanced
obedience training, as well as those experienced with these
techniques.  It is a good forum for discussing particular problems
that may come up in the course of training your dog.  The list's
volume is moderate, with occasional peaks and valleys, depending on
how "hot" the current topic is.  For more information, send email to
the list maintainer at [e-mail].

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This file is Copyright (c) 1992 by Cindy Tittle Moore.  It may be
freely distributed in its entirety provided that this copyright notice
is not removed.  It may not be sold for profit nor incorporated in
commercial documents without the author's written permission.

Cindy Tittle Moore
Internet: [e-mail]  UUCP: ...!ucbvax!ucivax!tittle
Bitnet  : cltittle@uci        USmail: PO BOX 4188, Irvine CA 92716
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