Dog Obedience Training.
by Dennis Fisher.
This article is one of a great many articles written by Dennis Fisher about a very wide variety of subjects concerning different dogs, such as obedience training, breeding, showing, health matters, training problems and other subjects. All these articles appear on Dennis Fisher's websites. Visit http://www.allaboutgermanshepherddogs.com the site that has been set up specifically for German Shepherd Dog enthusiasts, or http://www.freedogadvice.com if you interested in a breed other than German Shepherd Dogs
RUNNING AWAY WHEN CALLED.
It’s very frustrating indeed and very embarrassing if you happen to be in a
training class and you dog decides to disobey you and run away. He may decide
that he has had enough of training fro th day and has no intention of listening
to you.
Whatever you do, don’t chase after him. Call him as pleasantly as you can – use
as much self-control as you can muster – and walk away in the opposite
direction. Then stand still – use
his name - and keep on calling him in a very happy, pleasant voice.
If he happens to see you when he turns around, sit down on your haunches,
and keep calling, happily and enthusiastically.
When he does return to you make sure that you don’t reprimand him, but praise
him.
As he approaches you, even though you may be tempted to do so, don’t make a grab
for him. Hold you hand out as if
you have food in it. If he still
refuses to come close enough to you in order
for you to put him back on leash, run away from him.
Hide behind a tree, which will confuse
him and give the idea you are playing a game and he must start chasing you.
How can you avoid this happening again?
Obviously this involves greater obedience control
of the
sits and stays. The fact that he ran way in the first instance was an act of
disobedience.
But it a situation where you do not have the opportunity to reprimand. You
cannot reprimand when he eventually turns to you.
There is an unusual method of training that can be extremely useful in
controlling a dog that sometimes runs away, not from fear, but from playful
exuberance and disobedience. It is a
very old-fashioned method, seldom used to today. But it’s not harsh and it
definitely works!
There have been a number of occasions where I have instructed members in my
training classes how to use it and it has worked extremely well.
It involves the use of something that is called a “throw chain”.
A throw chain is a small length of fairly heavy chain.
It could be a heavy
choker chain collar that is heavy enough to throw, but not so heavy that you
will have difficulty throwing it.
This is how you can use it to your advantage.
Get an extra long lead. A
long length of webbing of about 10-15
feet will be satisfactory.
Attach it to your dog’s collar in training class and let the dog wander
around, not on loose lead, but by making full use of the length of this lead.
Don’t give the dog any commands but let it wander around, in a semi-free
situation. Then give the dog the
“Come” command. In many
instances the dog will enjoy it’s situation of semi-freedom.
It will disregard your command, ignore you completely and not come back
to you.
When the dog has its back to you and doesn’t respond to your command, quickly
throw your “throw chain” so that it hits the dog’s hindquarters.
As soon as the throw chain hits the dog, call the dog’s name and give a
sharp “come” command.
Remember you are holding the end of the long lead and you can easily pull the
dog in to you.
In most instances the dog will return
quickly to you. The throw-chain does not necessarily have to be thrown with any
particular force, but it will obviously give the dog a fright to be suddenly hit
by some strange object. It cannot
run away because you are holding the end of the leash. It will be thoroughly
confused and have no idea what strange weapon you have available to you. The dog
will return to you immediately.
After you have done this on a number of occasions, all you have to do is shake
the chain in your hand; perhaps throwing it one hand to another, as if you
intend throwing it.
When the dog hears the sound of the chain it will be so confused, not knowing
what you intend doing, it will come running back to you as soon as you call.
There will be many occasions when the dog is off lead
- perhaps even a fair distance away from you – when you play with the
throw chain in your hands in this way.
The dog has no idea at all how accurate you are with your throwing arm
and the distance you are capable of throwing this strange object.
Even if the dog is 30 feet away from you it won’t take any chance of
being hit by the chain and come back
sharply to you as soon as you call.
There are few things you must watch carefully to get the best out of this
unusual training method.
First of all, make sure that you can throw the chain accurately over a distance
of ten to fifteen feet. If you are
not confident of throwing accurately over this distance, see that the distance
is less. Make sure the dog is
closer to you when you throw.
Secondly, make sure the throw chain strikes the dog in the rear not the face.
Make sure that you DON’T MISS!