Mickey Mini Golden Doodle Timid and Resource Guarding

  Explanation and Goal:   This teaches your dog that you might very well be in a seated position when they are in a place (while the third step has started the idea that you may be moving around the room).   This is tricky for dogs as they usually want to be petted or cuddled when you take a seat, but owners must have time to read, work, eat a meal, and so on without constantly needing to pay attention to their dog.   Usually this is eventually used for a half hour or an hour.  It is like a crate without walls.  It allows your dog to feel more included, but they are responsible for staying there until released.  This command is valuable when you need to move them out of the way to do chores and/or you have company over.     Long place is technically the 4th step in teaching the place command:      First step is intro.  Intro is just walking the dog and letting them pass over it.  "Place" is said when al...

 Description of the place command:   The place command, when finished, allows you to send your dog to a bordered object on the floor (a folded quilt or blanket, a cot, or a dog bed are some examples) where your dog can stay until you release them for a period of time and they can be comfortable for a period of time, while you do something else. This exercise also helps your dog to have impulse control and learn they can’t be the center of everything all of the time. Equipment needed:  Leash, Collar, and Place Object (something that feels different than the floor like a blanket, cot, or dog bed) You could also use food with a food-motivated dog for this exercise, especially if they are skittish at first about walking over the place object.  Just lure them with the food going over the place object, if you can. STAGE 1:  INTRODUCING THE PLACE OBJECT STEP 1:    Position your place equipment in the middle of the room. STEP 2:  Start walking your dog ar...

 Exercise: Sit on The Dog (do not confuse with the down exercise later on)  Equipment needed: Metal Training Collar, 6' leather lead, chair for handler to sit on that they aren't too worried about (IE an antique chair would not be a good idea, especially for a dog that might try to chew something other than their toy while you aren't watching), silence from the handler, which means no verbal commands, praise, or corrections. Also, no conversations of any sort with your dog. NOTE:  THIS CAN ALSO BE DONE WITH A SLIP LEAD, TRANSITIONAL LEAD (NO NOSE LOOP), OR NYLON SLIP COLLAR INSTEAD OF THE METAL CHAIN TRAINING COLLAR AND 6’ LEATHER LEASH.   A FLAT COLLAR CAN BE USED IF IT IS SNUGGED UP SO IT CANNOT GET OVER THE DOG’S HEAD. Objective and Goals: This exercise starts the leadership portion of dog training in a very non-confrontational way. You are defining the space and activity that the dog will inhabit while you are engaged in other activities. It starts the proce...

 So many people do not train their dogs.   Some humans don't want to.   Some humans feel their dog is already well mannered as it is.   Some people have gone to training classes but not left with a trained dog (trained to a standard, and I will discuss that in another article).  However, living with a trained dog makes life so much easier.   I only wish people knew that once the work was put in, living with your dog is a delight NOT a chore. Here are some reasons to train your dog that benefit both members of the team: ·   Your dog is happier because he/she understands what you want. What are people thinking when they ask an untrained dog to sit?   I know the dog is thinking   “Whattttt??????”   Dogs are not born with an innate ability to understand English, even if to us those words are the most common commands used.   If your dog isn’t trained, he/she has no idea what you want of him/her.   They will try t...

  Novice has been traditionally the 1st level (now there is rally as well) of the American Kennel Club's obedience trials . Three different judges must at least qualify a team with a score of 170 or higher in order for the participants to move onto the next levels, if they would like to. You can move onto open and utility trials after that. When people see these dogs in the ring, they think it's all about "pretty walking". It's actually about a lot more than that. Here are some exercises from the Novice trials, and their real-life applications.       HEEL ON LEAD: Heel is a moving command and an exact position. The dog turns with the handler, and exhibits that their job is to move with and pay attention to the handler. Uses for this include, but are not limited to walking safely down city streets (teaches your dog to not be concerned with distractions), bringing groceries and dog from car to house, walking through unexpected distractions, taking a dog out of a si...