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.