BASIC COMMANDS: share your training tips

[EDDEL]

Reading Norman's obedience class 'diary' I'm reminded of Dragon Lady not teaching "DOWN"!

So I ask ....... how did you all teach the command "DOWN" or other basic commands like "SIT", "STAY" etc for that matter.

Share whatever training tips you have ..... I'll start the ball rolling .......


We taught Bianca "DOWN" (..... this is premised on your Bichon knowing "SIT" already) ..... by having her "SIT" first, and then holding a treat in front of her nose (to focus her attention), and slowing lowering it to the ground. 

Your Bichon will 'follow' the treat with his/her eyes ..... and as he/she looks toward the floor, move your hand (holding the treat) a few inches forward so your Bichon has to lower itself toward the treat (you may have to place your other hand on your Bichon's withers so he/she does not stand or walk toward the treat).

When you feel your Bichon going in a down position, give the "DOWN" command and then of course reward and praise


Maybe someone can teach "SIT"

[Lady&Sa$$y's Mom]

We taught our girls sit just by holding up one finger,keeping it slightly above them and moving it towards them.

With down we went from sitting position and just made a fist and put it flat on the floor in front of them they caught on first try.(like ive said before,Bichons are nosey they want to see whats in your hand).

From there we went to roll over motioning with our hand around their head.

Shake was a little harder but, they got it, even the baby.I just held my hand out in front of them.At first id gently tap there chest then hold my hand out and said shake.It also helps if you have a collar on them then you can slightly pull them kind of off balance to where they lift their hand, then quickly get a hold of that hand and praise.

I'm also proud to say ive always taught my pets not only "off" but also "move".No hand commands needed for move.I just say move and they move over to the other side of the sofa so I can sit down.Pretending that you are going to sit on them helps in teaching hehehe.
No animals have been injured in the training of move.Lady has also learned move in the kitchen while im cooking.Sassy hasnt caught on in the kitchen yet.But ive learned how to dance. 

[Katydid]

BEGGING goes like this:

1)."Please Barney, please give mommie a kiss!" Make kissy noises.   

2).Beg in a more pitiful voice "PLEEEASE give mommie a kiss?". Make pouty face.

3).Give up and accept another day without bichon kisses!! 

Wait a minute you mean how do WE train them?!??! Oh, I don't know anything about that, I thought this was about how Barney trains me to leave him alone.

[SuperMax (Susan)]

Wait a minute you mean how do WE train them?!??! Oh, I don't know anything about that, I thought this was about how Barney trains me to leave him alone.

[JudyG]

Pepe and I are Petsmart trained.  Sit was a hand command and the words "Pepe, sit".  Hand is out in front of your chest with palm facing ceiling.  Push his rear down.  Tell him excitedly how great he is and give a treat.

Down was make him sit, then put the treat near his nose, say "Pepe, down" and make and "L" with the treat - making it go down to the floor (hopefully his nose is following) then away from him so he'll go down.

Settle (laying down and relaxing) was "Pepe settle" and then makng him lay more on his side, so he can't quickly bounce up.  We eventually worked up to making him stay like that for 15 minutes.  (some times having a leash on him with your foot on it to make him stay - or sitting with him and periodically giving a treat and encouraging him).  This has come in VERY handy when visiting with people and you want him quiet.

[Lovey Lilly]

Im afraid that we as Bichon parents have failed in the training department.   Lilly doesnt do anything.   She is still learning to sit.  We have been at it since she was tiny.  She is slowly learing to not bark at everything she hears.

She did know how to shake, but that one slipped her mind.   I swear everything goes in one ear and out the other.

We cant even break her of the biting its been an ongoing problem since she was little.   If all else fails then its off to obedience classes.

[aurora]

Zizou and I are in Petsmart puppy school.  So far we have done: sit, leave it, stay, and down.  Last week was so mortifying when I had the only dog who could not do down.    Of course the little bugger mastered it the very next day.  I can't wait to show off in class tomorrow.  

Our vet told us that with small breeds obedience training is very helpful in boosting confidence.  Has anyone here gone on to the upper level of obedience?  I am deciding between going right on to beginner or taking a break and working on socialization in a puppy play group.  Any thoughts or advice?

[Terri]

I'm not very good at training, but I taught Belle to dance by holding my fingers together as if I were holding something, then when she's standing up, I just move my hand in a circular motion & say..."C'mon let me see ya shake your tailfeathers"
So far so good! [/size]

[Lovey Lilly]

Lilly dances for pepperoni !    The only thing that she has mastered is begging and barking at everything that makes noise or a shadow.   

I dont know what the deal is cuz she is sooo good at the groomers and at my parents she did what she was told, but as soon as we get home its back to devil dog  .  I swear her horns are the only thing holding up her halo.

I am really thinking that obedience class is a good idea. 

[Raewync (Rae)]

Great idea Del, starting this thread.

I would like to share the very first thing we were taught at dog obedience, which I really think was the key to success for me, it sounds dumb and simple and it is, but it works.

With you dog at your side, take out a treat, (cheese is good), and get your dogs attention, put the treat up near your nose/eyes, and say watch.  The dog will follow the treat and look  in your eyes.  The minute they look at your eyes you give the treat.  Walk along and do the same thing.   I could  not believe how quickly all the dogs in the class cottoned on to this.  Watch, meant treat.  It also means pay attention we are about to learn something and train.  In the early days when I took Riley to the park he would usually only come back to me when our big dog came.  One day I had him off lead and he saw a guy running and ran after him, he has been coming back to me really well to this point, but this day he kept running.    I yelled out Riley  WATCH, and he stopped dead in his tracks and came back to me.   I still use this command every day, it is one he gets an easy treat for, soon as he looks he gets the treat.

Laura finally taught Riley down,  we had done all the above, but he always kept his bum in the air.  We started just saying good boy down, when he was going to lie down naturally.  Then he would always come and lie on your lap if you have a biscuit of something so Laura worked that in and had some vege chips one day in her room and as Riley lay down she said good boy lie down, and next thing you know the penny dropped. 

 Aurora, we were the only ones at obedience that couldn't do down too.    And the next week when we could,  Norman showed up and wouldnt do it.  

We taught sit pretty easy,   hold treat above his head, the dog naturally moves it's head back and will nearly go in to sit, so then just gently push the bottom down and say good boy sit and give the treat.  Stay, down stay, sit stay and wait, all just took patience and consistency, I think the secret there is to not expect too much at first.    Put the dog in to sit position and say stay, I use hand signals too, stay in full hand in front of his face, sit one finger, wait two fingers, anyway, for sit stay, give the command and then stand by your dog, just for a few seconds at first then say good boy and give the treat.  Each time wait a little longer.  Then you can move on to stepping away, then move back and give the treat.

Wait is done by putting in to sit position and give wait command and walk away from the dog, turn face the dog and then give the come command.  We are taught to make the dog sit when it comes to you first then get the treat.  One again just a little way at a time.

Heel is done by using the watch command first and then walking with the dog at your left side, when he starts to pull or lag behind use the watch command and give the treat once he is at your side where you want him.  When he is walking nicely beside you keep praising him, saying good boy, good heel, so he knows what is doing right.

All I can say from my experience is make it fun,   if you are stressed, your dog will get confused and not perform.    Keep training sessions to 5 or 10 minutes two or three times a day, rather than longer at first.  Start your training in the same place everytime until you feel confident your dog is understanding and then try some different places.

Dogs have no conscience,   they do not hold grudges,   (okay sometimes they sulk) but they want to please you.   They don't not do something to annoy you, they do it because they haven't been trained not to.   If they are not doing as you want, you may need to look at how you are trying to get the message across.    The biggest thing is consistancey, don't allow behaviour one day and say no the next, and only one person should train to start with, then if others in the house want to be involved that is great but everyone must follow the same pattern or the dog will get confused.

We had my hubby allowing play bitting,   which made life difficult.   Riley still tries it on but he knows if I say no bite I mean no bite.  I just walk away and won't play with him anymore.

Also if you give a command, you MUST make sure the dog does it, if you ask him to sit, make him sit.  Never ask him to come if you are not in a position to inforce him to come.

I don't have any answers for stopping barking yet, I know you should teach them to bark first, like knock on a door, or do something that makes them bark and say 'speak up', then you move on to 'no bark', but Riley loves being told off for barking, it gets him attention.  I find ignoring him and walking away works best.  When visitors come he can be a pain, he stops when they pat him.

While it has been testing sometimes to say the least, going to obedience, and I have made fun of the Dragon Lady,   I have also seen why she has done what she has.  And I have seen her with her own dogs now, and honestly she loves them dearly, even kissed one on Saturday.  

I have considered going on and joining the club, a lot in my class are going too,   but Saturday is the only day the whole family is home, I am hoping to join a night class, Dragon Lady is finding out for me.

I don't want a robot,   but I have to say knowing you have some control over your baby is a good feeling.    It could save their lives one day.    Being able to tell them to 'wait' before you get them out of a car, and at curb sides is very re assuring.  And of course to beable to give your baby the freedom of running off leash and knowing they will come back when you ask, is a wonderful feeling. 

It has been a huge commitment training Riley/Norman, but our babies are lifetime commitments and I think we owe it to them to help them behave the way we want them to in our lives so everyone gets to be happy.    For some of you having a baby who knows to jump on your lap when you feel sad is all you want, and if he doesn't sit or heel or come back to you it may not be important, but I would encourage everyone to teach your babies something at least,   it is good for their brains to learn just like it is for us.  Even training them to stand so you can groom is a good thing............ .we are still working on this one.

Of course I can only offer the techniques I have been taught and used.  I know they work, I know they take time, and sometimes you really feel you will never get it,   but believe me what ever methods you choose, just be consistant.  I made the mistake at first of trying things and if they didnt work straight off I tried something else, no wonder Riley got confused.

I am not sure if we will graduate this weekend or not,   I am pretty confident, I do know if we miss on something it will be my fault not Riley's,   if I am too stressed or nervous he will pick up on it.    The main thing is I know we have come a long way in 7 weeks and have learnt life time skills. 

Sorry I waffled rather a lot,   for those of you still awake,   good luck with what ever you choose to train your babies to do.    They are clever liitle cookies.

  

[EDDEL]

everyone for your replies, especially Rosemary , JudyG , Terri and Raewyn for sharing your training tips


I agree HAND SIGNALS are important too..... and Bianca recognizes/understands BASIC OBEDIENCE COMMANDS  'issued' by hand too   (whether she chooses to "COME" is a whole different story/thread all together )

....Wait a minute you mean how do WE train them?!??! Oh, I don't know anything about that, I thought this was about how Barney trains me to leave him alone.

    Kay, in this thread, we're pretending we're masters of the universe.... including 'mastership' over our fluffs

.....Has anyone here gone on to the upper level of obedience?

Kudos Aurora for enrolling in puppy school!  It sure is FUN isn't it?!

I'm not sure about Petsmart's basic or upper level of obedience classes..... but over here in Singapore, our kennel club has several levels of competitive obedience over & above the puppy class and the Good Canine Citizen class (this is the basic obedience class) that they conduct. 

Bianca & I went for the first level of competitive obedience course, and it taught pretty much the same things/commands as the GCC class.  Our competitive obedience courses (3 different levels) prepare both dog & human for competitions.  The difference I felt really, between the 2nd course Bianca & I went for, and the first course her daddy & her went for (ie. the GCC class) was precision .  Meaning, the dog has to follow through your command each & every time without fail . 
And since Bianca is no dog (), and I'm not  keen on obedience trails/competition, we're not continuing with the competitive obedience classes.

.....I am deciding between going right on to beginner or taking a break and working on socialization in a puppy play group. Any thoughts or advice?

Both will afford Zizou ample opportunties for socialization.  Since you & Zizou are already enrolled in the puppy class/school, why not go ahead for the beginner class.  In all likelihood, it'll teach the same basic commands, but it'll give you & Zizou a chance to reinforce what you both have learnt at puppy class/school .  Just my humble opinion



To Aurora and everyone else..... do read Raewyn's, erm I mean, Riley + Norman's accounts of their wonderful /funny /challenging classes.....

• #1 The Riley and Norman FILES
• #2 Norman goes it alone
• #3 Mummy takes on the Dragon Lady!
• #4 Riley goes it alone and leaves Norm home
• #5 Photos of Dragon Lady!!
• #6 The bad boys & girls came out to play

And of course if you enjoyed reading about their weekly "training" sessions, why not leave a post in the respective threads [/size]

[JudyG]

I forgot about the very first Petsmart attention getter - "watch me".  It is the best thing.  Pepe still will stop and look at me when I say that !!!

Aurora - my experience was to take a few months practicing and socializing on our own and THEN going back for the advanced class.  It seemed to be a nice break, time to mature, and practice time - but then reinforcement of what should be happening.

With all that - PEPE STILL WILL NOT 'C O M E"  !!!!!!!   Arghhhhh

[Raewync (Rae)]

My apologies Del,   I knew at the time I was typing my big blurb,   I was referring to our babies as dogs,   but it was just a general term believe me, and quicker to type 


As for the 'come' command,   I think this is the hardest to teach because eventually you have to try it off lead, the little darlings only have to get away with not coming once and they know they have it over you,   and of course you can't growl at them when they do come or they will NEVER come.    I once again just suggest only doing it where they have to come,  if you really want them to come everytime.    I would not trust Riley say if he was chasing a cat, or near the road, not yet anyway, may be never but mainly because I would not be prepared to take the risk,   I am happy if he comes when I am at the park and ready to go or change direction, so far so good.
.

[Raewync (Rae)]

Just one other thing I should add, in New Zealand, we have very few dog beaches or off lead parks,   even the park I train at is leash only, but being as we are pretty friendly round here,   we all let them off lead and just put them back on should someone without a dog or at least with one on lead comes along.    Also dogs are not permitted off lead in the streets and in fact you dont see a lot of dogs around the shopping malls etc.    Certainly no dog restaurants.    New Zealand is very nature conscious and we have many protected parks, National Parks with wild endangered birds etc, so dogs are not allowed.    It can make it hard to take your babies with you places, so having one who is trained to blend in is a very good advantage.

Sometimes here though it is definately the owners who need training not the dogs,    Only a couple of weeks ago a silky terrier was attacked at the dog beach by two big dogs,  and the owners never came forward despite public outcry and newspaper articles asking for people to come forward with information.    The little dog survived thank goodness,   but they are the people who should have their dogs trained, or not have them at all.    A man went to jail for 12 months here last week, for killing a BICHON!!!    He beat it to death, I cried when my son told me,   it was not in our city,   not even our Island but way up North.  SO to me training is all about keeping our babies safe.    Sorry Del I got carried away off topic.

[Sherry M.]

Halo learned 'sit' almost right away.    The only thing we did was tell her sit and say she is a good girl for sitting.  If she does what we ask right away we call her a big girl for potty, sitting, etc.  Kind of like how we trained our boys. 

For potty training we used the bell method as she doesn't do alot of barking or whining. I was so proud of her this weekend.    My sister-in-law came for an overnight visit with her husband and 4 boys.  So with 7 boys in the house (ages 3 to 14) I was a little watchful of accidents.  But Halo remembered to ring her bell to go out.  She rang loud enough for everybody to hear, and even let he cousins take her out.   

Then this morning I took her out and when I was doing laundry, she had to go potty again, but instead of ringing her bell, she decided to go on the floor.  So, now school is back on we will be doing one-on-one training with the bell.  Maybe she thinks the bell should only be used in a noisy environment.

Halo, although not allowed off leash (15' retractable) outside (I'm a worry wart) will come to us when called about 95% of the time.  The same is true for in house off leash.  But, she prefers to be called in french.  Funny thing is, although Denis is french, we don't speak it in the house.  I just called her in french one day, she wasn't listening in english, and voila. I have a french dog.  She is even learning 'maison' instead of 'house'.
 

  if I am too stressed or nervous he will pick up on it.

Since we don't live close enough to Timmins to go to puppy classes I bought a book "The Dog Whisperer" by Paul Owens.  I am still reading it, and according to him, you should do breathing excerises before training.  This way you relax, which in turn gets your dog to relax. It also gets you to focus on the here and now, which of course is what our babies do naturally.   He also states that dogs have good days and bad days, like us, and therefore you should only expect your dog to listen 80% of the time.

I will be doing some work with Halo from this book and my 14 year old son will be working with his dog who is 4 years old.  We will keep you posted on how it is going.

  Sorry if this is too long.

[Raewync (Rae)]

Thanks for the advice Sherry, I will do my deep breathing on Saturday.  Riley definately has good and bad days, lets hope we are in for a good one this week.

[BenjisMommy]

I have NO advice  Benji really does as he wants... I know I know...What have I done.... But he is sucha good boy that I have never needed to really get him to do something...... But i guess it would be nice if he could SIT when I asked him to  I will get working on all this.. Thanks for everyone's tips 

[donnaleah]

i taught kodi down by following my hand from the sitting position. at first after i said down and made the motion i would have to make him go down so he would realize what it meant and then i would give him his treat. after twice of doing this he knew what down was.  now he will lay down on command.   i find with the bichon's come command is the hardest for them.  they just want to play 

[aurora]

Has anyone mastered down from a distance?  I put Zizou is a sit, then wait, and when I walk away and ask for a down he takes a superman leap to land on my feet.  not quite what we are going for in class..

[BenjisMommy]

No sorry.. I haven't 

[EDDEL]

Has anyone mastered down from a distance?

No sorry.. I haven't

Jane, we already know you haven't taught Benji anything from your previous post
Then again, Benji is such a gooooooooooood boy

....when I walk away and ask for a down he takes a superman leap to land on my feet. not quite what we are going for in class..

Aurora (long time no 'see' ), did your (class/school) trainer teach "DOWN" with a hand signal too?

Bianca knows/understands both the verbal & hand command for "DOWN", the latter being my balled-up fist, slowing going down (from a height) and then touching the ground/floor (other trainers might have different hand signal ).

If you're wanting Zizou to go "DOWN" when you're away at a distance, I would suggest you use the hand signal.  Your "speaking" might be what's getting him excited and leaping toward you . 

Also, practice at home during the week, by increasing your distance little by little.  In class (or for the test, is there a test? ), your trainer might want you to be away at a certain distance, but if Zizou doesn't get it that you want him "DOWN", you should try it real close to him first, and then gradually increasing the distance with each successful "DOWN" (hence the practic outside of class).  Hope this helps

[BenjisMommy]

HAHA Del.. you are soo right.. I haven't taught him anything  But I got lucky.. he is sooooooooooo GOOD...

and I think it he ever was to run away and if I would yell he would come right back.. so I am not worried... 

[Carol]

Oh, you all sound so smart and in control. 
And here I am, with my dear little Ozzie, who listens to just about nothing from me except -
Let's go hurry Up! (when I take him out to pee/poo!)
Out! (when he's in my granddaughter's bedroom looking for something small to chew on)
Ozzie, want a treat?
Down!
When I brush him, I have to hold a chew toy in his mouth, because when I get the brush out to do his groom, every night, he thinks it is his invitation to chew on me!!  I am trying to enforce the chewing of a toy. Anybody have any suggestions?

[Lady&Sa$$y's Mom]

I had alot of trouble with Lady biting me
while brushing her.
For awhile we used a greenie chew to keep her
occupied but,I started thinking what if I ever take
her to a groomer.They wont have a chew for her.
So I spent a couple long sessions brushing her,
stopping when she would bite,tell her no bite.
Sometimes it calmed her down if I put her on her back
after biting and told her no bite.
I put my hand real close to her neck for this.
Thats saying I am the boss.
Dogs will do that to each other but, instead of using their hand at the neck
they put their neck over the others neck.

[Carol]

That sounds like a great suggestion. I have held him firmly by his collar and said NO! - but putting him on his back sounds a bit more effective. Funny enough, when I take him to our groomer, she always says how well behaved he is for a puppy!! 

[waldomommy]

Since come, sit, down and stay have all been touched upon, here's a cute parlor trick.

Teach your fluffer SPEAK:
The trick behind speak is to take an already existing behavior that would cause your dog to bark and "capture" it.  For instance, my pups like to bark when they hear the doorbell ring (or if they hear someone knocking) so I'd ring the doorbell, have them bark, and "capture" the behvior. 

What I did was: Ring the bell and at that very moment they start to bark, I'd yell "SPEAK" and give them a hand movement.  (It's the gesture you'd make if you had a sock puppet on your hand and you were making your sock puppet talk.)  As they were barking, I'd give the dogs a treat right away.

Bc dogs want the treat, they try to figure out what they did right.  Now when they see the hand movement or when I say "speak" they'll bark.

 

[Karen xo]

Thats one command Cheeko will come top of the class at    He loves to 'speak' infact he is a real blabbermouth  

[waldomommy]

Thats one command Cheeko will come top of the class at    He loves to 'speak' infact he is a real blabbermouth  

Well in that case, Karen, you may need to command for "quiet."

Right at the moment the pup has just finished a bout of barking and is silent, give the hand command that a baseball ump would use to indicate "safe."  (Hold your arms out in front of you and cross the middle of your right forearm over the middle of your left forearm and then return them to the position you started out in.)

While giving this hand command, say firmly "Quiet."  And then give your dog a treat.  Soon he should associate the talking sock puppet movement with "speak," and the baseball ump's safe signal as "quiet". 

[EDDEL]

for sharing/teaching the "SPEAK" command, Una!
I was gonna say.... you best teach the "QUIET" command too....
and after Karen's post, you sure did!  

[Bella]

I got bella to do the "sit" command my saying sit and letting my hand guide her to the sit position. I would say "Bella sit" then softly and slowly touch her back so she knows I wanted her to sit.

We also tought Bella to shake paw (she would do anything for her treats) I would let my hand out and she would follow my hand I said "shake paw" and I would hold her paw and shake it. I did this maybe 2-3 times and she knew how to shake paw in one day!

I have been teaching her to "stay" she is doing well on that. also she knows a little of "go back".

I am teaching her the "stand up" and the "dance" command
I am also in the process of teaching her to heal-yet I may need help with that part. I would not like for Bella to jump on others when she gets a little too excited.

Hopefully I am doing things right

[Dianne]

bella!!!!!!!!! sushi turned one last tuesday the 8th!! hahaha, how cute! so far, sushi knows how to come when called by name, <if you try to whistle or do something else, he wouldnt come to you, you have got to call his name, lmao> and he knows the commands sit and down..and i'm thinking of enrolling him to a basic obedience class this spring,..i'm still not sure though, hekhekhek!=]

[drfraser]

 i taughy ziggy in 5 mins to sit and shake paw i was very lucky.i put a treat in hand and said sit.He did'nt tried again and put treat close to nose and said sit while pushing his but down and he has done it since not all the time you might have to tell him a few times

[drfraser]

  trying him to come put treat in hand let him see it and cross the room and call him.When he comes give treat and go somewhere else and call him

[Sugar Junky (Jackie)]

Warning .... this is a tad bit X-Rated....

I'm Filipino and bi-lingual (English and Tagalog) so naturally, so is my dog.  Okay, an exaggeration on Bailey. 

Bailey is one hilarious Bichon!  I'm still scratching my head, wondering how he associated this one command to a specific action.  We all know dogs love belly rubs and Bailey is no exception.  When I feel like giving him a belly rub, I would playfully say to him in Taglish (Tagalog & English):  "Bailey, show me your big tite" (pronouned as tea-teh).  The English translation is: "Bailey, show me your big d**k".  Bailey would then immediately lay on his back with his legs spread wide open, ready to receive the belly rub.  

[nzbyrd]

well done for teaching your Bichon an alternative language

[MattiesMom (MaryEllen)]

Funny!  All kidding aside, it is most likely your tone of voice that lets him know he will get a belly rub.  Most fluffs are multi-lingual if the same person is speaking.  You could be speaking Simlish and your fluff would get the meaning from your tone of voice.  It only works for oft repeated actions, like a belly rub.  Sometimes it seems like they can read our minds, but it is really the subtle tones and body movements that give them the message.  Canines communicate amongst one another in this way and they are excellent at reading the messages!  Just for fun, try just thinking about what you are going to do, instead of speaking.  Be sure you do everything you usually do when you speak and see if Bailey repeats his behavior.  In agility it is more body movement and posturing that shows the dog where to go and what to do.  I've noticed that Mattie, who is agility trained, is much more tuned in to my body movement.  She seems to read my mind on walks and knows when I'm going to turn, speed up, or slow down.  Her leash is always slack.  Sassy is somewhat oblivious and I have to direct her more.  Learning to communicate with your fluff is so interesting, isn't it?  MaryEllen

[Sugar Junky (Jackie)]

Amazing MaryEllen!!!  It worked more when he was seated next to me.... hahaha!!!!    He still responded to the verbal command when he was not seated next to me.   It's time for a "Pet Star" appearance.