Friday, November 30, 2012

Avoid Delayed Obedience to Commands

By Allyson Westcot


A dog that does not sit until the word "sit" is repeated many times has learned to delay obedience. The dog understands what he's intended to do the 1st time the word is spoken, but delays because he is able to. This type of behavior can be deadly when you are doing something like leash training or teaching your dog to go off-leash. Imagine a dog not observing the command "come" until the owner has said it several times.

Fortunately, there's a training system that may help to solve this problem. If the dog makes no response to a command after the second time, simply stop.

If you've put the dog harness on and headed outside for a walk, this could mean stopping each time your dog starts to pull and tug at the leash. Stopping for one or two minutes each and every time will show your pet the direct response to his pulling is a total stop. Finally, he will avoid that behaviour because he wants to keep walking.

When teaching a command like "sit," be sure to treat and praise your dog while learning so as to make sitting a fun thing for him to do. If your dog knows the correct way to sit but doesn't until you have repeated the command several times, then he's being headstrong and avoiding something he doesn't want to do. Start as if you are teaching him the command for the 1st time, by treating and praising him as quickly as he does it. Don't repeat it more than twice. Regularly simply looking him in the eye for a second after giving the command will work.

After he sits on command for a treat and praise, remember that it is important to always appear upbeat when giving the command to associate it with something nice. This may aid in avoiding a delay between your command and his obedience.




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