Competitive obedience training

Competitive Obedience training

If you plan to enter your young dog for competition obedience or to do Schutzhund training then best you should get it right from the start.

The fundamental task in competitive obedience training, as in any form of dog training, is getting the dog to understand what you want him to do. Successful trainers are successful because they make their dogs understand what is asked of them.

To get the dog to understand what we want him to do we need to break each exercise down into small comprehensible pieces. Each concept must be fully mastered before moving on to the next. If the dog is experiencing difficulties or make errors on a particular task the handler must begin instruction at the specific point where the dog has a difficulty. He must ensure that his dog is successful and confident in each task to be taught.

Your instructions must be in the form of verbal commands.  “Say” the behaviour you want and then mark it with a “Yes” when he gets it right. Count up to three before reaching for a food treat. This must be done consistently so that the dog can predict what you will do in any exercise. (Food in the hand is not a command.)

Dogs are creatures of habit. If you can get him to do something correctly several times, then you begin to form in the dog the habit of always doing it that way. It is not practice that makes perfect, but perfect practice makes perfect.

Your relationship with your dog is very important: He must be led to understand that Dog training is not a game and that he must respect you as his benign leader. Force should be avoided because we want the dog to enjoy its work. If some force is needed to get the dog to understand what we want him to do then it must be the least force we can apply.

Play with your dog without a ball or food.                                                        

Develop emotional skills so that your dog wants to walk with you. Like being with you!

He must also respect you – “No” means “No”

When doing retrieve exercises introduce the dumbbell early and when he brings it get him to “hold it” touch it and withdraw your hands then take hold of the ends and say “Give” and treat. Do not pull it from the dog’s mouth, just hold it and he must release and move back before treating him.

For “Come” use a long line and tug immediately after the command to ensure a quick reaction.

Corrections can be made by voice, hand or leash and administered quickly and as close to the undesirable behaviour. Read my articles “Timing a correction” and “Voice control and “No.”

Join an obedience training club when the dog is still a puppy.