Using Treats: Your dogs nose will follow the treat, so simply place the treat in a position that will cause the dog’s body to go to the required position such as sit, lay, crawl, etc. These are obedience tricks that your pup can be taught very early on, even before any formal training has begun. Always praise your dog when he/she successfully performs this obedience trick.
Pictured Here: Counts Cove's Chica of Arance checking out her yard on her first day at her new home.
Acceptable Treats: Plain biscuits broken into small pieces, Cheese in quarter-inch cubes, spoonful of ground, canned, puppy food, hotdog slices, Plain Yogurt, or Plain Cottage Cheese. The Yogurt and Cottage Cheese can be given at the end of a training session for a job well done, but the other treats are preferable for the actual training events. Note: before any treat can be used for motivation, the dog needs to know what the treat is and how it tastes, so be sure to always give your pet a Sample of any new treat before you actually try to use it as a reward.
Easy: Teach the dog to take food gently from your hand. It they are chomping at the food in your hand, you can hold the food between your thumb and index finger and cup it with the rest of your hand by extending the remaining three fingers out towards the dog. If need be, you can hold onto the dogs collar so that he can only reach the food and not your hand. Talk calmly with to your dog and use the words Easy or Gentle when they appear too aggressive towards the food. Always be sure to praise the dog when they do the trick correctly.
Pictured Here: Counts Cove's Timber goes nose to nose with his new owner, Ash Wilson of Irvine, California.
Sit: Taking the treat between your thumb and fingers, Position your hand slightly above the dogs nose and move it slightly backwards in the direction of their tail until the dog naturally goes into a Sit Position. Use the Command Sit to reinforce this behavior.
Lay: Bring the dog into a Sit position, then take the treat straight down to the ground as the dog follows it will his/her nose, then slowly slide the treat away from the dog until he/she is in a Lay Position. If the dog gets up and walks to the treat, try this again, this time holding the rear quarters so that they can not move forward, causing them to crawl forward to get the treat. Use the Command Lay to reinforce this behavior.
Down: This is a quick down where the front legs collapse quickly into a Lay Position. To teach this obedience trick you will most likely have to knock the dog’s front feet out from under them. To perform this trick first take the dog to a Sit position, then say Down and with your free hand, place your arm behind the dogs front feet and quickly slide your arm forward forcing the dogs front legs to collapse in a Lay Position. Use the Command Down to reinforce this behavior.
Come: We teach all of our pups to come to a fast, loud, clap so that our customers have a point to start at with the training of their pet. The tempo is very important, as these dogs are very intelligent and can distinguish between the tempo. This is why you are able to also Clicker Train your dog later. For Example With Clicker Training: One Click and the dog will Sit, Two Clicks and the dog with Lay, Three Clicks and the dog will Come, etc. Your goal is to teach the dog to Come to you Unconditionally, just because he/she enjoys your company and wants to be near you. To start off, place uncooked, cold, small slices of hotdogs in a zip lock back and put the bag in your pocket. Your dog will be able to smell the hotdog through the bag and will follow you anywhere! Every once in a while, give the dog a bite of the hotdog, but not every time. Use the Command Come to reinforce this behavior.
Pictured Here: Counts Cove's Kobe of Elizalde comes to the sound of his owner's handclap as reinforcement of training he received at Counts Cove Kennels.
Stay: This Obedience Trick takes longer to master with lots of repetition. It is much easier to do with 2 people, One person Holds the leash only corrects with the word NO and a quick, but gentle tug when the dog tries to leave before the trainer give the Command to Come. The trainer gives the Command to Stay and then Come when the dog is released from the Stay Position.
Pictured Here: Counts Cove's Bella of Dawdy practices her Stay command.
Formal Training:
NOTE: As with any training, if you do not do it correctly, you can cause injury! Also, training periods should only last 15-20 minutes per session, then the dog should be allowed water and rest for at least 30 minutes. Typically formal training should not be started until they are 4 months of age.
Leash Breaking: This is when the dog no longer pulls on the lead while being walked. If your dog walks on a leash, but pulls, the dog is NOT leash broken. To leash break a dog you need a lead that is at least 6 foot long. You can use a chocker or training collar with larger dogs, or a regular soft collar with smailler dogs. You have your dog heel to your left side and just walk normally. The minute your dog gets ahead of you or goes in a different direction, you immediately reverse your direction and give a short, quick, snap, but take caution NOT to cause the dog any pain. This is just a correction, you are not trying to punish or injure the dog. If the dog yelps, you are not doing this correctly. You continue with this correction in 15-minute intervals until the dog walks at your side with their head within a foot of your knee.
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