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obedience training tips?

i was reading on here another thread [ i'm sure you have seen it] but i wanted to know how do you teach your dog things such as come sit and to not jerk you all over the place i have a beagle that minds very well but i just bought him like that any tips?

Obediance training should start as soon as aNn animal begins to depend on man for its foodt, call the animal..... by name... and use the..... come.... command. AALWAYSE USE THE SAME WORDS....and this is when an animal will learn to depend on man for its survival....I,m no expert but the most important commands I think are the basics, Teach an animal its name first then the no command and move on with the come command.There are many books along with the internet that will help you.....REPETITION IS THE KEY..... keep it simple and short lessons..

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Reedy Creek Kennel

First thing I do with any puppy is teach it to come. We play a little game where I say come, it comes and gets petted and praised. I even played a version of this with my kids. If I tell something to come, I want it to come. Plus with little kids and dogs you have the same type of worries about them straying too far or getting in the road or in someone's way.

I start that when the puppy is little. I now have a Texas Heeler pup that will be 11 weeks old Saturday. I started with her as soon as I got her at 8 weeks. She's super smart and ambitious, some pups may not take to it as young. She's doing great though.

Once you get the "come" command (whether to voice or whistle or whatever - I just use my voice because you never know when you'll loose your whistle) then you can start working on other commands.

It's important to remember a couple things about training:

1. Keep it simple. Especially with puppies. If you want them to jump up three times, bark once, and then spin around in a circle every time you say the word "fumanchu" you can, but not from the beginning. Start with easy ones, come, sit, speak, stay. It helps if you can show them what you mean when you say the word. When teaching a dog to sit I say the word and then gently push their hind end to a sitting position and then praise them. You can always build from the simple commands.

2. Make it like a game. If they think they are having fun they will learn quicker. To start teaching Ruby (the Heeler) to come I let her get away from me in the house and then call her. As soon as she came I'd pet her up and praise her and maybe give her a little treat. She was having fun, I was having fun, and now she's got it like a pro.

3. Work on one command at a time. Don't try to teach the pup how to come, sit, and speak all in the same day. They might get one of the half-way, but won't be great at any of them. I work on come first because I think it's the most important. If the pup is hauling tail towards the highway I want to yell "come" and it turn on a dime no matter what. I guess I did kind of work on two commands at once with Ruby. She has this little ball she loves to chase. I love to play fetch with a dog but I hate it when they refuse to bring it back. I started throwing the ball for her (which she loved) and then I'd get her to bring it to me. There I taught her how to come and fetch at the same time using the ball as a 'treat'. When she came she got to chase it again! Let them get one command down before you move on to the next lesson.

4. Be consistent. I cannot stress how important this is (even with kids). If you start out teaching them something, stay with it. If something is wrong it is always wrong no matter how cute they are or tired you are. If they do something right praise them for it no matter how long it took them to catch on. Basically it is this: don't yell for your dog to come 2-3-4 times and when the dog ignores you just go on about your day. One time of that and you've proven to the dog that you're not serious, it has more power then you, and it does not have to listen. If you say come, make the dog come even if you have to walk across the yard or house or whatever and pull it by the collar to your original position. You cannot, cannot, cannot let the dog slide, not even once. Pretty soon they will learn you mean business and will listen.

5. Review previous lessons. My old Fiest is 8 and one of the best companions I've had. He can tree a squirrel and is death on house cats but he's primarily my buddy. He's rode all over in my semi and pickup with me. He knows a lot of tricks too. Not a ton, but enough for me. I don't get into too many complicated tricks, just the basics: come, sit, stay, lay down, speak, fetch, get the cat etc. Still at 8 we have to go over the commands. I honestly think after a time they just forget what they mean. Petie wants to please so much but we have to go over them more as he gets older as his memory slips.

6. Be patient. Kids and puppies are alike, they are little and get distracted easily. You can't lose your cool and get mad because they aren't catching on fast enough for you.

7. Last, but not least, don't forget to be their friend. I know I've said it a lot in this but I apply some of these same principles to my kids. People comment on how well they behave and all I can figure is something must be working. I'm hard on dogs, not mean, but I expect a lot. Same with kids. If I tell a dog or a kid to do something once, they better do it. But you have to have times where you're not teaching tricks or barking orders. You have to be a friend. Play with them, have fun with them. You will build a bond through that that is stronger than any trick you teach them. If a dog is your friend it will want to do things that please you.

This was probably too long and some of you might think I'm crazy right now. I'm not an expert, I don't have all the answers, but these things have worked for me. I like a well-behaved dog. I can walk Petie any where in the world and never put a leash on him. He'll stay right with me at all times. I think he does it somewhat because that's what I've trained him to do but mostly because he is my buddy and he likes to hang out with me.

Good luck. Let us know how the training goes!

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Paul Frederick
319-371-6362

For what it is worth Paul, I think that is very good advise. I am by no means a wold famous trainer but I have raised different dogs growing up. The biggest problem I have always seen is people trying to teach a pup too much instead of just one command at a time.
I like the game idea more than let's focus on what we have to do. I will have to try to incorporate that in mine as well.

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Michael Armes
Angle Plantation Kennels
540-598-0173
Home of

PR CH Big Blue Buster HTX
PR CH Angle Plantation's Red Jasper

Let's get Ticked

thanks i will that was very informative gonna work on come first most important ......i do have a beagle who minds great can be watching a rabbit and i can call him of i can yell down and he drops ....but i didn't do that who had him before did that but that's one of the main reasons he is gonna die at my house got him when he was 6 now he is 8 and even being that old he is the best beagle i have ever owned. obedience really makes me like him i go with some people and i just yell luke come on he comes and walks beside me .........in the meantime they are hiding in the weeds trying to ambush there dogs or they have to take a knee while one runs from the back pretty funny actually but it takes them almost 30-45 minutes to catch there beagles watching that makes me happy mine will come LOL

I just

say ...GET HIGH.. they jump in the truck or on the dog box ... when i clean their kennel