Why Focusing On Your Dog's Obedience Training Will Make Your Life 10x Easier!
If you are like most of customers your biggest struggle is your dog jumps and or pulls you on walks. Does your pup do this?
If so, you are not alone and while having your dog pull you down the street or jump on people can be embarrassing I am going to explain how you can fix these issues and ultimately have a dog that walks nicely and does not jump on everyone!
how you can avoid the most common problems dog owners tend to have!
Something I preach is if you are a good coach then your dog will be good. Take a look at any great sport team. They all start with exceptional coaching. There is no difference when training your dog. The quickest way to fix your dog’s problems is by FOCUSING ON YOUR DOG’S OBEDIENCE!!
So you may be asking what does that mean? I am going to give you an example below.
Anytime I take a dog that is trained for a walk the dog understands that he should be in a heel (if you are not aware, heel means- be on my left side equivalent to my hip walking nicely at my side without pulling. You can do right side if you prefer but it is important to be consistent).
You may be asking yourself why does this matter? I just want to go for a walk I don’t care where my dog is. Well, if that is your mindset so be it. However, I am going to explain why I put an emphasize on a dog’s obedience. If your dog is in a heel he should be walking at your side… Nicely, without pulling you. With that being said if your dog is in the heel command he can not be sniffing the bushes, pulling you, lunging at people passing by or dogs, chasing animals, etc. If he does try to do these things then he is not listening to your command. To fix this you would ask your dog to heel. Any dog I walk should always be in a heel unless I let the dog know he is free. If I tell a dog he is free he understands he can pull, sniff or do his own thing! Then whenever you want him back in at your side you would ask your dog to heel.
Most people have problems with their dog simply due to a lack of communication. You may let your dog pull you a little one day and your dog remembers this for the next walk. After getting away with this for awhile your dog will test the limits just like children do! This is where people get hurt or problems develop. The dog learns what he can get away with and most dog’s will continue to push the limits.
Now, if you make it clear to your dog that he should be in a heel- things become a lot smoother. When training there is always a trade off. When the dog is in heel the dog “gets paid” also known as rewarded. I use this analogy to give you some clarity. By they way everything I do is done via praise- no treats are needed! When I praise a dog it is like me giving the dog $100.
So to keep it simple, if a dog is in heel he is getting paid. If the dog is not in a heel I will ask the dog to get back to my side by saying heel and assisting the dog on the leash. Once he gets back to the heel position, he gets “paid!”
Dog’s learn very quickly when you are clear. I am writing this article with the hopes to educate as many people as I can.
Just yesterday I was at a local park and a women was walking with her two kids and her dog was literally almost knocking her over. Anytime a person or a dog walked by her dog almost took her down! This happened at least 5 times in a matter of ten minutes. I thought to myself: this women probably does this every day and it looks miserable! How do people live like this?
It prompted me to write this. So in a nutshell if you are on a walk with your dog you can eliminate a lot of problems you encounter simply by focusing on your dog’s obedience. Pulling, lunging, jumping, sniffing everything in sight, etc can all be avoided if your dog is trained to be walking nicely at your side in the heel command.
Summing Up: Why It Is Important To Have Your Dog In the Heel command On Walks…
If your dog is in heel he should be walking nicely at your side. When your dog is there you should praise your dog by either saying, “good boy/girl” and or slightly petting your dog.
Heel means stay at your left side without pulling (you can choose right if you prefer. Be consistent)
You can eliminate all problems when walking your dog if you focus on HEEL- If your dog sniffs, lunges, barks, jumps or pulls you would ask your dog to heel. Remember heel means none of the above. It simply means walk nicely at your side without pulling.
You and your dog are on the same page.
“Dog’s Name, FREE” - Tells the dog he can do what he wants until you say heel again.
*** If you want to see me teach a dog to heel in 5 minutes CLICK HERE! ***
How you can use the sit command to eliminate your dog from jumping:
Another problem almost everyone has is their dog gets very excited and jumps on every person it sees… and for good reason! When a dog jumps on someone most people tend to greet the puppy dog by petting him.
** If you remember a little earlier in this article I said when I pet a dog it is like me giving him $100**
Let’s cue that in now. Your dog jumps on Sally and she pets the dog. What did she just do? She paid him $100 for jumping up.
OF COURSE YOUR DOG IS GOING TO JUMP ONE EVERYONE IF THIS HAPPENS!
So let’s tie in your dog’s obedience training here. If you train your dog how I do then sit means sit until you either say free or ask your dog to do another command. I know I am throwing a lot at your but bear with me here.
So what is the easiest way to eliminate jumping when your dog is greeting a new person on a walk? By having him sit! After all, a trained dog understands that sit means sit no matter the situation. This is why I stress focusing on your dog’s obedience. Now, if your dog breaks the sit then you would…
Say No
Ask your dog to heel to get back to your side
Have your dog sit
By doing this your dog your dog can not jump on anyone if you are focusing on having your dog be in a sit when greeting people. If your dog breaks the command you simply say no and repeat the steps I listed above. Your dog is smart. He will learn if I sit I “get paid” but if I break the sit then mom/dad will just have me sit again until I do it right. He will learn it is easier to sit and get rewarded right away ;)
I promise you if you do this and are consistent in no time your dog will never jump on anyone!
If you have questions about any of this please let me know and I encourage you to connect with me on social media. I post tips and videos daily with the goal of helping Dog Mom’s and Dad’s all over the world by educating them how to properly train their own dog!
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