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Dog Connection Adventure Camp Homework – Sit
SIT
For teaching your dog a new trick, its always a good idea to remember “SAY IT – SHOW IT – PAY IT”. Say your cue word or command, what you want your dog to do. Show them what you want them to do by luring at first, or helping them into position. Pay your dog with a treat, a pet and lots of praise for doing what you asked.
1. Start by using treats to lure your dog to move their head up and back. When the head moves up, the rear comes down. Praise and reward when the rear touches the ground.
2. When your dog is offering to “Sit” consistently when you lure with the treats, start naming the behavior. Say “Sit”, then show the treat and praise and reward when they do.
3. Now without the treats in hand, give your “SIT” command. You can use similar hand motions to those you used when luring the sit. When your dog sits, praise and reward, then give your “OK” before they move out of position.
4. At this point, you want to introduce a release word like “OK” or “FREE” which will signify to your dog that they can get out of the position and move freely.
5. Start teaching your dog to stay in position for longer and longer time, by giving more than one treat in succession before giving the “OK”. If your dog moves before the “OK”, help them back into position but wait a few seconds before you reward again or give your “OK”
6. As your dog understands the game, wait longer between treats and move around and add distractions. Always make sure your dog is being successful and make the exercise easier if they are having trouble at some point. Pretty soon you’ll have a dog with a happy and reliable “Sit-Stay”.
Copyright Dog Connection 2011
Adventure Camp #2 – Out in the Real World!
For today’s Camp Adventure we took the dogs to an off leash dog park, to burn some energy, socialize and romp with their fellow campers, and then do some much needed one-on-one training. We let all six campers roam free, and they quickly went into a fast paced game of chase and tag. It was great to see how some of our shier campers are starting to enjoy their play times and socializing with the pack. That’s what camp is all about! We worked with each dog on some of their basic behaviors like sits and downs, and some of our more advanced campers got to practice their stays, and go to mats. We also did some one-on-one work on their loose leash walking – rewarding them for walking on our left side, keeping a loose leash, and encouraging them to sit at our left when we stopped moving.
From there, we took the dogs to a playground so they could practice what they had worked last week with Liane out in the real world with kids who weren’t necessarily doggie-savvy. It went WONDERFULLY! The playground came to a complete stop as all the parents brought the toddlers to meet and socialized with the Campers. The dogs took it all in very well, and we were very happy to see their polite responses and how even those who had been a bit unsure or shy last week, were happy to take in all the attention. A great experience for both kids and dogs!!!
For lunch break, we took the dogs to Miami Squeeze Juice Bar, where they got to hang out at the terrace and experience the sounds of traffic and people nearby . They did great and even took a potty break near the adjacent railroad tracks. We are making sure the younger Campers, get lots of potty opportunities, and so far, everyone has been clean in the crates in the car, and have been happy to use the grass areas for their business. We also try to consistently give them a group cue to “Go Potty” when we stop at a good spot, and reward and praise those that do their business, so they learn that will be their command to “use the facilities” 🙂
Our last stop of the day was out at the Hollywood strip mall. We walked around the shops and restaurants with the Campers, getting lots of compliments from the people there. We made a longer stop at a playground area for a final training session, so we could take some footage for your homework videos. We worked on the different stages of the “Sit” and “Down” according to the level each Camper could work at. Please take a look at these Homework Videos, and try and experiment with your dog and practice these two commands. Keep training sessions short, 5 minutes at the most, and always end in a positive note. And don’t forget to send us feedback on how your training is going and how the Campers are doing at home!
Fall Camp #8 Training & Beach Day FUN!!!
After a quick morning greet and workout, we loaded up our Campers and headed over to Brickell Road Area to do some training and sightseeing. We walked the dogs calmly around shoppers, café tables, and along the sidewalk. They all got quite a bit of practice for walking on leash, and a lot of exposure to strangers and different sights. Stores are setting up the Christmas decorations and preparing for the big Thanksgiving sales, so the area was buzzing! The dogs behaved wonderfully and didn’t seem at all fazed by any of the new sights. Crossing the street, or walking between tables with a well mannered dog is no problem and no one seemed to mind the dogs’ presence at all!
After our training fieldtrip we headed on to Key Biscayne for a beautiful and fun beach day. The day was sunny and bright, and the waters were calm and clear – a PERFECT beach day! The dogs got to walk in the shore, play in the sand, practice some training and manners in a new environment and even behave in the presence of many strange dogs and people. We took a minute for our picnic lunch, so the dogs got to practice settling by themselves while we ate – a BIG distraction! Many of our campers showed quite a talent for swimming, and others were VERY enthusiastic if not too graceful! It was a fun and educational day for them, and we hope they went home exhausted 😀
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