Competitive Obedience Training for the Small Dog Read online

  As the dog gains confidence, randomly alternate the verbal command and the signal. The dog should learn to respond equally well to either one.

  The halt is taught by coordinating your footwork with a verbal “Halt” as your hands place the dog in a sit similar to the “stationary sit” in Chapter 7.

  • While heeling at a normal pace, say “Halt.”

  • As you take two more steps, move your right hand with the leash over the dog’s head and your left hand to the dog’s rear.

  • Pull straight up with your right hand and tuck the dog’s rear under with your left hand as you command “Sit.”

  Don’t turn sideways to the dog – he will then no longer be in heel position. Bend your knees so that both of you are still facing straight ahead.

  Teaching the “Heel” signal using food

  When you see that the dog is starting to sit before you can put him into position (remember that a fast sit is usually a straight sit), phase out the hand movements and gently pull straight up with the leash in your left hand as you command “Sit.” The pull up is eliminated next and then the verbal reminder, although the verbal “Sit” can still be used from time to time for reinforcement.

  From this point on, perfect and reinforce straight sits by keeping the leash in your right hand and the dowel in your left. Just as you are halting, give a light tap toward you on the dog’s left hip. Keep the dowel in place against the dog to keep his body straight as he sits.

  When the dog understands the sit in motion, use a food treat with the “Head Up” command to teach him to make eye contact immediately after he sits. A small dog who tries to make eye contact as he is sitting usually ends up swinging his rear out and sitting at a right angle to your feet so he can look into your face.

  Bend your knees, not your body, to sit the dog in heel position.

  Because dogs learn through repetition, you should try to prevent your dog from making repeated mistakes or “negative repetitions.” What is practiced – right or wrong – is what is remembered. Consider this in light of the often-taught command “Sit Straight.” The dog sits crooked on a halt; the handler commands “Sit Straight” and maneuvers the dog into the proper position. What is the dog learning? He is learning to sit and then to sit straight! If you see your dog is about to make a mistake, break off the exercise so the dog cannot complete it incorrectly. When you perform the maneuver again, be prepared to help the dog get it right.

  FIGURE EIGHT

  When your dog has demonstrated that he understands the concepts of heel position, turns, and changes of pace, he can be taught the Figure Eight.

  Use hula hoops to define the size of your circles and introduce the exercise by exaggerating the pace changes around the hoops. Caution the dog with a “slow” around the inside circle; as you are coming out of the inside circle, command “fast” and jog around the outside. Dogs that best perform the Figure Eight understand this rhythm. Continue to practice exaggerated pace changes until you see that the dog is initiating them on his own. In the ring you will, of course, maintain a steady pace while your dog changes his pace to stay in heel position.

  Many instructors recommend a collar correction to “encourage” the dog to speed up on the outside circle. Don’t do it! The dog will only drop back further. Do flash a treat in front of the dog’s nose and use it as a lure as you complete the inside circle; give it to the dog with abundant praise and a release as he is coming out of the outside circle.

  Although judges usually call halts in the middle of the Figure Eight, they can call them at any point. Be prepared by occasionally practicing random halts on both the inside and outside circles; be particularly careful not to step into your dog when halting on a curve.

  Center the dog, not yourself, when you approach the posts for this exercise. Also, begin far enough back so that you can take two steps straight forward before turning your foot on your third step to begin the inside circle. This will help prevent the small dog – fearful of being squashed between you and the inside post – from lagging.

  Don’t forget to practice with real people as posts! With the possible exception of garbage cans, people are a lot more interesting and distracting to the dog than any other posts you might use in practice.

  HEEL OFF LEAD

  Heel Off Lead does not begin until the dog is under verbal control and his heel work on leash is almost perfect. The dowel is used for off leash work, but a light line and collar tab, often advocated as interim steps between on and off lead, are not. A tab or light line is not going to fool a small dog – Gee! Do I have on a leash or not? – for a moment. They may give you a sense of security and control, but if you think you may have to swoop down to grab a tab or correct the dog by manipulating a line, then your dog is not ready to be off leash. Your only means of control when training off lead are the dowel, voice corrections, and praise.

  To test your dog’s readiness for off lead, try heeling with the six foot leash around your neck or tucked into your waistband. Keep your hands off the leash and swing your arms normally. Is the dog attentive? Does he respond to “Close” and work to stay in heel position? If so, you are ready to try off lead heeling.

  At first, concentrate on small parts of a pattern – a forward, five steps and a release, for example. Put the leash back on or use the heeling dowel to work on anything the dog might not have done perfectly. Practice on leash for a minute or two and then take the leash off and try another pattern part, such as a forward and then slow, normal and release. Continue practicing on and off lead, gradually building up the off lead sequences until the dog is able to do entire patterns off lead with minimal verbal reminders.

  The majority of my heeling practice, even with my OTCh dogs, is done on leash or with a dowel. When showing in a match, I often do the heeling on leash. I never want my dogs to think that heeling off leash is an optional exercise!

  Gerianne

  REFINEMENTS

  When your dog knows all the maneuvers he will need in the ring, you can begin phasing out the treats. Instead of using the treats for random reinforcement, use them selectively at the moment of improved performance, shaping the dog’s heeling toward your ideal. Example: You are practicing about turns. Your dog has given you two so-so abouts and then, given a verbal reminder to stay close, the dog really hustles and makes a perfect about. That is the one you reinforce with the treat. Remember, once the dog knows an exercise, his performance has to be above average to get any reward at all. If the dog is earning rewards more than half the time, you need to refine your criteria for what is being rewarded.

  Verbal cues and praise also need to be phased out. Many handlers forget to do it! Pity the poor dog who goes into the ring and, for the first time in his life, not a word is said to him as he heels. He is going to worry, and his heeling is going to suffer.

  In training classes, you will often hear instructors exhorting trainees to “keep talking” to their dogs! Why? Do their dogs understand English? If you babble at your dog continuously, he won’t listen to you at all. Throughout training, unless you have something important to say – a command or praise – keep your mouth shut.

  For reinforcement, you can and should make eye contact with your dog each time he sits at heel and with each “Forward.” You do not need to watch your dog throughout an entire heeling pattern. If you do, you can legitimately lose points in the ring; according to the AKC, if you are watching your dog to the extent that you are not watching where you are going white heeling, your performance lacks “naturalness and smoothness.”

  In practice, you can keep an eye on your dog by looking down while your head stays up. (Try it!) If you need to, you can turn your head just slightly, but do not drop your left shoulder or twist your upper body to watch your dog. If you do, you will be changing heel position, and your dog will drop back into a lag.

  In the ring, smile at your dog after he has sat on each halt, then command “Heel” and watch where you are going. If you focus about six feet in
front of you (especially important so you can keep your balance as you come out of turns), you will be able to keep your head up and still see your dog out of the corner of your eye.

  Learning to heel takes a lot of concentration; don’t bore or tire your dog with it. Always split heeling practice into segments throughout a training session. You are developing teamwork, timing, attention and control. And you had better be having a good time – or none of the rest really matters.

  POLISH

  Have you ever wondered why you and your dog can heel so well when you are practicing alone, yet in the ring you find your feet incapable of following directions? It is because the directions are coming from someone else – the judge – who probably does not share your rhythm or timing. The best solution is to have as many people as possible call heeling patterns for you and your dog so that when your brain hears a command, it doesn’t panic your feet.

  Most people have nightmares about surprise encounters with monsters or falling through space. My most common nightmare is sort of a combination of these two: I’m in an obedience ring, the judge calls “Halt,” and I can’t stop! Actually, this is worse than a nightmare; it’s the truth. Fifteen years in this sport and I’m still working toward the day when I can stop smoothly with my dog when we hear the word “Halt.”

  Barbara

  To bring your heeling to perfection, you can also utilize doodling and distractions. Doodling involves maneuvers which you would never see in the ring but which can help increase your dog’s attentiveness and his confidence in where you place your feet. Try a serpentine of right and left about turns, spirals circling left and right, changes of pace from slow to fast and fast to slow, or changes of direction every two or three steps. Heel right up to a baby gate and halt, then heel up to the gate and make an about turn. Use left about turns to correct crabbing or anticipation of right about turns. Make up your own doodling exercises. Anything goes as long as it’s fun.

  Distractions take the dog’s attention (or yours) away from the job at hand. The biggest distractions at dog shows are people and dogs! Prepare for a licensed trial by taking advantage of class situations and matches. Your dog should be able to perform on grass, concrete, mats or dirt, alongside a baby gate, with a “judge” behind him or walking right alongside, and with other dogs responding to commands all around him. Practice in distracting places; reward your dog when he keeps his attention on you, or simplify the exercise and help him through it if his attention wanders. Build your dog’s confidence in his ability to perform in as many different situations as you can concoct.

  Teaching the average-sized dog to heel sometimes involves force and strength – “my mind over your matter.” Such is never the case in teaching a small dog. Instead of force, it just takes finesse!

  “Your mental view toward difficulties in training makes all the difference. Not every situation is inherently good or bad. It’s the way you choose to see it that determines whether it’s positive or not.”

  Jane Savoie

  THAT WINNING FEELING!

  Chapter 7

  THE SIT, THE DOWN AND THE STAYS

  Stays are the easiest exercises to teach, but potentially the most difficult and dangerous for a small dog to perform. For example, a dog that will be next to your dog in the stay group has ominous rumbles coming from his throat as he eyes your dog outside the ring. Or, returning from the Down Stay, you realize the man on your left is veering straight for your dog. He is going to put the maximum amount of space between his feet and his big dog by squashing your little one! Or, perhaps worst of all, you watch the enormous dog next to yours on the Sit Stay look down and see a rabbit. Or is it a cat? Maybe it’s a rat, cleverly disguised as your dog.

  Threatening things seem to gang up and wait for small dogs on the stays! If you are to have a chance for success with the “easy” stay exercises, you will need to:

  • Build a firm foundation, increasing the variables of time, distance and distraction only as the dog’s understanding and confidence grows. Make haste slowly!

  • Proof the stays realistically, preparing for problems that are unique to the little guys.

  • Exercise eternal vigilance, never putting your dog in what could be a dangerous situation.

  “Stay” is a serious command. The dog must learn he can move from a stay only when he receives another command or is released. Don’t let your attention wander from your dog when you have told him to stay. (Never give any command, on lead or off, unless you are in a position to enforce it.)

  It is probably the most common mistake I see made by a person new to dog training: He tells his dog to “stay” when he leaves him in the car or steps out the gate. Does he really expect the dog to not move until he returns? Then he wonders why the dog doesn’t take the “Stay” command seriously in the ring! “Stay” means STAY!

  Gerianne

  THE SIT AND SIT STAY

  Many training books advise people with small dogs to save their backs and teach the sit and down on a table. That’s a fine idea if the dog is used to the height. If he is too worried about being on the table to pay attention to his lessons, just put him back on the floor and get down there with him. You would have to do it anyway to wean him off the table. Progress from sitting with the dog on the floor, to kneeling, and then to standing as you teach the meaning of “Sit” and “Down.”

  To introduce the sit, begin with the dog standing by your left side. You won’t need the leash. Put the index finger of your right hand through the dog’s collar at the back of his neck. Starting at his shoulders, quickly stroke the length of the dog with your left hand, command “Sit” and tuck the rear under. At the same time the left hand tucks, the right hand pulls the collar slightly back and up. The dog is compressed accordion-style into a sit. There is no downward pressure on his back or hips.

  Hold the dog in the sit for a moment, praising while emphasizing the command word, “What a good sit!” and then release. Dramatize to your dog the difference between praise, which should come across as “You’re doing a good job, keep it up!” and your release word, which means “You’re through!”

  After some practice, you will see the dog start to sit on command before you can place him in position. Now is the time to put the dog on leash; turn the collar so that the ring to which the leash is attached is on the back of the dog’s neck. With the dog on your left, gather the leash in your right hand and gently pull straight up over the dog’s head. Try not to twist your body out of heel position; use your left hand to tuck the dog’s rear as you say “Sit.”

  Teaching the “Sit” command

  When the dog starts tucking his rear before you can do it for him, switch the leash to your left hand and just pull up as you give the verbal “Sit.” Soon the dog will sit on the verbal command alone.

  The sit can also be taught inducively using a food treat. If you teach the exercise with the dog facing you, you can incorporate the Utility sit signal at the same time you are teaching the verbal command.

  Reinforcing the “Sit” on leash

  First, interest the dog in the treat held between the thumb and first finger of your right or left hand. (Either hand can be used for each of the signals, as long as you are consistent.) Moving your whole arm, make a small circle clockwise that ends with the treat just above the dog’s upturned head.

  As you signal, command “Sit.” If done correctly, the dog’s head will go up to follow the movement of the food, and the rear will settle into a sit. If the dog attempts to jump up to take the food (and he will if you are holding the food too high), try again, coaxing him into a sit by keeping the food just above his nose. Reward him with the treat when he sits; keep praise low-key so he will remain in the sit while he eats the treat.

  The inducive sit

  You can introduce “Stay” when the dog is responding consistently to a verbal “Sit” without having to be placed in position. With the dog sitting at heel, gather the leash in your left hand. Allow very little slack. Comma
nd “Stay,” and at the same time give the stay hand signal by bringing the palm of your right hand in front of the dog’s face. Immediately return your hand to your side. Don’t hold the signal, and don’t use it to intimidate the dog.

  Stand by your dog for five seconds, praise quietly and release. When the dog can successfully complete three five-second sit stays in succession, increase the time in five-second increments at each practice until the dog can sit and stay by your side for a full minute.

  If your dog thinks about moving (and if you are watching him closely enough, you can tell), don’t just remind him to stay. Intercept the mistake with a quiet “Ahh!” as you pop up lightly on the leash. If the dog gets all the way out of position, start the exercise over again, but this time watch the dog more closely. You should be working on increasing the dog’s attention span by requiring him to remember a command the first time it is given. If at any time you find you are having to make too many corrections, you are trying to advance too quickly. Always match the degree of difficulty with the dog’s level of confidence and understanding.

  When the dog is steady on a sit stay in heel position for one minute, start leaving him, first by moving just one step to the right, then pivoting one step directly in front. If the dog tries to move, patiently replace him; undoubtedly he has already learned in “real life” that it is best to get out of the way of your moving feet. You will have to convince him that it is smarter to stay put.

  A small dog doesn’t have very far to go before he is gone. As you increase your distance from him, keep just enough tension on the leash to complete a correction before your dog is able to break. Step toward him and reprimand “Ahh!” as you pull the leash up with just enough effort to put the dog back into a sit.