Dog Training
By Lana PetteyLesson 3: More Lessons and Polishing Skills
Practice
Practice Stays. Too many long Stays will put the dog to sleep. Vary the length of time and distance you move away from the dog. Vary long Stays with some action like heeling or playing.
Practice Heeling by varying your speed and direction. The dog should sit, now, every time you halt. He should be sitting in Heel position, facing the same direction as you are facing. You can vary your practice by sometimes telling the dog to stay and stepping away, sometimes tell him to heel and move off together. Vary the lessons to keep the dog's interest.
Practice walking with the dog on the leash but NOT heeling. Sometimes you will want to allow the dog to sniff and relieve himself while still maintaining decorum. Still insist that the dog behave mannerly and not pull.
Practice calling the dog at random moments. Also practice calling him from a sit-stay if the stay is solid. Remember, if you call him every time, he will soon learn to anticipate and run to you before you call him. Vary the exercise by sometimes walking back to him and praising and releasing him from the stay or telling him to stay once again and moving away. Vary the exercises to keep it interesting.
Discussion: What lessons are you having the most success with? Which ones are harder?
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