The down on command is extremely important and can save your dog???s life if properly trained. If for some reason, you have your dog off lead in a park and he sees a cat across the road, you will be very glad you trained him the down on command. Of cause it will take many repetitions before he will be so conditioned to stop in his tracks and go into a down position, when he actually wants to chase that kitty.

For your dog the down is a very passive thing, almost a negative thing. Normally they want action. So you should be careful when you work on the down so it does not become boring for the dog. The rewards that you use, your praise and treats, must be plentiful.

In competition Fido will always be at your left in the heel position and he should be able to do a down from the sit or stand position and also on the move. To start the training of the down, it does not really matter where Fido is in relation to yourself, because at this point you are only focussing on the down itself.

This is how you will teach your puppy to down:

Let him sit on your left or in front of you. Take a treat in your one hand and clicker in the other. With the treat lure him into the down position. You do that by holding your hand with the treat in front of his nose and moving your hand down to the floor. Normally it only takes a second. The moment he is in the down position, click and give the treat. Repeat that several times. At this stage you don???t say a word, you don???t give the command ??oedown???. After about 20 repetitions you can start giving the command as you lure him into position. Your hand movement should be very fast to encourage your dog to do fast downs.

Now after another 20 or more repetitions you can test your dog, by doing the hand movement but without a treat. Just give the command as you move your hand. The moment Fido goes into the down, click and give a bonus treat. Make a big fuss and repeat again a few more times. Do not try to progress too fast, but rather lay a solid foundation. If at any stage you test Fido and he does not respond quickly, go back a few steps.

Up to now, obviously, you have been bending down to lure your dog into the down position. Your back is aching and you are running out of pain killers. You do not want to bend over every time you give the down command. On the other hand Fido is not going to respond on the first down command if you all of a sudden don???t bend down. So you need, or rather Fido needs, a transition period where you still bend down, but not as far. Here again, make a huge fuss and give lots of yummy treats if he responds correctly.

Always set your dog up for success and remember to keep training sessions short. Do not try to do the above in one session. It should be done over many sessions so the down command will almost be engrafted into your dog???s mind. Only then will he immediately respond when you give the command even when he is actually chasing a cat.

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MS du Toit has been training dogs for ten years. Please visit her Dog Training Page at http://www.dogtrainingtipsforfree.com

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Your puppy can already sit on command and you now want to teach him to stay in that position for a certain period of time. The sit stay means that he must stay in that position until you return to him and give him a release command. In competition you would want him to sit straight next to you on your left. You will give him the command, you will leave him walking off with your right foot to a certain point which the judge will decide. Certain other criteria exist depending on the level your dog is at. When the time period is over you would walk back to your dog to stand at his right and give the release command.

In everyday life you would use this command when you take the dog with you to the shop and leave him in a sit stay outside until you come out. And of cause there are many other situations where this exercise comes in very handy.

This is how you will teach your puppy to sit stay:

Let him sit on your left. Take the leash in your left hand close to the collar, pulling his head a little bit upwards. Give the command ??oesit stay???. Step out with your right foot and stand right in front of your puppy. Stand there just for one or two seconds and then step right back to your start position. If he did not move, then click and treat. Repeat that several times.

Now you can increase the time you stand in front of your puppy to three or five seconds, later to 10 or 20 seconds. Vary the time periods. Do a few shorter ones and then a longer one. If you have increased the time and your puppy moved out of the sit position, just ignore that. Take a short break and start again with shorter periods.

Only when your puppy can reliably stay for a minute with you standing right in front of him, can you start to give one step away from him. Start the whole process again from only one or two seconds. Do not assume that because he can stay for one minute with you right with him, that he will do it with you 20 metres away. He will not. Take it one step at a time and in that way you set your dog up for success. Again remember to keep training sessions short.

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MS du Toit has been training dogs for ten years. Please visit her Dog Training Page at http://www.dogtrainingtipsforfree.com

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To house train a dog and especially a puppy is very easy and only requires patience, consistency and awareness. Nobody wants a dog that messes in the house, so many people just leave their dogs in the backyard ??” never allowing them in the house. These backyard dogs many develop undesirable behaviour which is caused by a lack of attention. If you are the new owner, you might have a dog that has never been house trained.

House Training a Puppy

A puppy does not yet have the ability to wait for a door to open if it wants to toilet. You as owner are responsible for being aware of when the puppy needs to go out. Listed are few definite situations and times when you should take your puppy to the area in your garden where you want it to toilet:

The moment it wakes up, in the morning or during the day when it was sleeping.

Just after feeding times

When you see the puppy sniffing around and turning in circles

When you see the puppy going behind furniture. (It is not playing hide-and-seek!)

At these times, pick up your puppy and take it outside. Wait there, sunshine or rain, until it has done everything. Do not go inside, the puppy will just follow you and do it in the house. And it will be all your own fault! Never scold your puppy if it had an accident in the house, it was NOT his fault.

You can be very successful in the dog training basics if you are consistent. Your patience will pay off and very soon you will notice your puppy start going outside all on its own. Remember also to praise your puppy everytime it does its toilet outside. It is also a very good idea to take your puppy to a dog training school for puppy classes and basic dog obedience training.

House Training an Adopted Dog

To house train a young and even older dog is basically the same as training a young puppy. It will even be quicker, but you need to be very consistent. Make sure to praise you dog when it is doing right. You can even train your dog to touch a bell when it wants to go out. You can do that by using the method of clicker training.

In all your dog training, be it house training, basic obedience training, dog agility training, always use positive reinforcement methods and you will achieve your goals much faster and both you and your dog will enjoy it.

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MS du Toit has been training dogs for ten years. Please visit her Dog Training Site at http://www.dogtrainingtipsforfree.com

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The German Shepherd Dog is a very noble breed with excellent working abilities. These dogs are capable of performing long hours of physical exercise without showing signs of extreme exhaustion. They are often used as police dogs, guard dogs, search and rescue dogs and also therapy dogs. The German Shepherd Dog is one of the best examples of a perfect working dog.

The German Shepherd Dog is also one of the most popular family and pet dogs because of its many good properties. Owning a German Shepherd Dog comes along with a great responsibility to train the dog. It is very important that the owner shall at least do basic obedience with their dog. That includes sit and down on command, sit and down stays and loose leash heeling. The recall command is probably the most important command of all for any dog, but even more so with the German Shepherd Dog.

German Shepherds are very strong dogs and you do not want to be dragged around the block when you take it for a walk. You need to be in control. When you have visitors, you do not want your German Shepherd to jump up against your friends. It is essential that you start training your German Shepherd puppy the moment it arrives at your home. From day one you should establish the packing order. Your puppy should not for one moment get the idea that he must fulfil the role of alpha.

Things your German Shepherd puppy should not be allowed:

?,? Your puppy will be very cute and beautiful, they all are, but he should not be allowed on the bed or on the couch.

?,? He should not be allowed to play bite any human. If he wants to bite your hand, say ??oeNO??? in a growling voice and give him a chewable toy.

The most essential thing you should do with your GSD puppy:

?,? Your puppy should be well socialized especially the first few months of its life, but preferably for the rest of its life. Take him with you wherever you go. Let him meet other dogs, people and especially children

German Shepherd Dogs are such clever dogs and easily trainable and so willing to please their owners that it is really sad when owners do not train their dogs.

There are so many disciplines in which their dogs can excel for example:

?,? Obedience

?,? Tracking

?,? Protection work

?,? Agility

?,? Therapy work (depending on the temperament)

Which method should be used for training the German Shepherd Dog?

It is wrongly believed that because the GSD is such a strong dog, that you should use strong and harsh methods to train the dog. Actually it is just the opposite. GSD???s are sensitive dogs and so clever that they learn very fast when you use positive reinforcement methods with lost of treats and praise. Clicker training is ideal for training any dog but also the GSD. You still have to be very firm especially when it is a male dog going through his hormonal phases, but the key is consistency and patience. If properly trained your German Shepherd will be a joy and companion for many years.

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MS du Toit has been training dogs for ten years. Please visit her Dog Training Page at http://www.dogtrainingtipsforfree.com

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