
Training Tips
Obedience Training Tips
Be consistent with your training.
Do not train if you are in a bad mood or upset.
Practise your hand signals and footwork without your dog until you perfect them.
Keep your hand signals clear and precise.
Do not flap your arms when you walk.
Use an appropriate collar and lead.
Don’t wear clothes that flap in your dog’s face.
Treats are not just food, they can be a tug with a toy or a scratch under the chin.
Use your dog’s name to get their attention and then give the cue.
Use a happy, enthusiastic voice.
Use the marker word ‘Yes’ as soon as the action is performed.
Eliminate the word ‘No’ from your vocabulary.
Use varied high reward treats.
Jackpot treats occasionally for perfect performance.
Don’t repeat a cue, if the dog fails to perform an action take a step forward and repeat the cue.
Don’t reward mistakes.
Do not reprimand a failed exercise; just move on and repeat.
Use a release word such as “Free” or “Relax” at the end of an exercise.
Never shout at your dog.
Give your dog 100% of your attention if you expect them to give you theirs.
Learn to walk in a straight line!
Stop if you’re not having fun.
Agility Training Tips
Develop a great relationship with your dog.
Always have fun with your dog; training and play should all feel like the same thing.
Keep your dog in good physical condition.
Do whatever it takes to build your dog’s confidence. A confident dog runs faster.
Make sure it’s your dog who’s asking you to work with him, not you asking your dog to work for you.
Do lots of shaping (Operant Conditioning) with your dog. Then he learns to think more, understands each new skill, learns to fail and try again, and your relationship with him improves.
Teach your dog rear end awareness and balance. There are a lot of tricks you can teach that help your dog gain good rear end awareness and balance.
If something goes wrong it’s always your fault, either through your handling or your training.
Be consistent with your handling for each scenario. So your dog knows exactly where he’s going at all times, giving him maximum confidence to run faster to go there.
Trial results don’t matter; it’s how well you are working as a team that matters.