SIT AND ACCEPT PRAISE
This week we begin the exercises that will teach your dog to stay. Start adding release words to sit, down and stand. Add stay only to sit at this point. It is imperative that a dog be calm and under control in any situation and remain in position no matter how exuberantly you praise him. This exercise will be used often during training. Sit your dog at your left side, using a firm (but not harsh) tone of voice. Very quietly, pet your dog and give it some praise. Increase the amount of praise very slowly. At the sign of ANY MOVEMENT, correct the dog by saying NO and jerking straight up on the lead. Then start again. If your dog does not put all four feet on the floor, you must place them for him before you start. (This is best done by using your left hand on the dog’s shoulders and exerting some downward pressure.) He is not under emotional control if he has his feet dancing. When the dog starts to sit and accept praise, he will also start to watch you.

CONTROLLED WALKING
THIS IS AN EXTREMELY IMPORTANT PART OF CONTROL. This will teach your dog to move on a lead and accept it. At this point, your dog will receive his first lead and collar correction and it had best be a good one, forceful enough for him to say, “OK BOSS! I understand that you are in charge!” Timing is very important. Walk with your dog on your left side. Use a loose lead! Do not use any commands. The dog must learn to stay within 12 to 18 inches of you. As soon as he is farther away than that, the handler (YOU) merely backs away from the dog giving it a hard jerk toward the handler’s body. As soon as the dog turns and catches up, praise him lavishly. The lead MUST be loose at all times, except when the correction is actually being made. If the dog balks, and puts on his brakes, immediately squat down to the dog’s level and encourage him to come with your voice and slight jerks on the lead. If the dog becomes frantic, he need more work on emotional control before going on.

In order for you and your dog to be successful, you need to accomplish this exercise before proceeding with any further training.

1. Do controlled walking for three minutes twice a day. However, do not do ten minutes and call it two sessions. It is very important to keep training sessions short and meaningful, for a happy working dog.

2. Practice the sit and accept praise exercise at least twice a day for about 2 minutes per session. That does not mean the dog is to sit for two minutes without getting up. Start at 10 seconds and gradually increase the time as the dog is ready to be successful.

3. Change pace and direction when you are walking. Don’t give your dog advance notice, but speed up, slow down, turn periodically - gently encourage your dog to catch up. Praise him when he complies.

SIT, DOWN, STAND
Continue to work on these three commands as you have been doing for the past week. Ten times each, twice daily. This is helping to commit the commands to the dog’s long term memory. Use release words on all commands. Use “stay” only with the SIT command at this point. Hint: when you have your dog in a sit, down or stand position - watch them closely. You will soon be able to tell just before they are about to move. When you see this pre-movement cue, give your release command. The dog will start to associate the release.

SIT/STAY
If your dog is to ultimately understand the command, “STAY” in all situations, he must be reliable on the sit/stay as a first step. You do not want to apply the stay command to any other command until he has mastered the sit/stay.

After placing your dog in a sit, using the sit command, stand next to your dog and command the dog to “stay.” DO NOT USE HIS/HER NAME ON A STATIC EXERCISE!! The verbal command should be accompanied by the hand signal. With your left hand move your hand from right to left across the dog’s field of vision. The hand signal is done at the exact time you give the verbal command of “STAY.” While your dog is sitting, place your left hand on the dog’s shoulders so you can feel the flexing of his muscles as he gets ready to move. (You would see the flex after feeling it) Give the correction (a sharp jerk straight up on the lead and collar) as soon as you feel ANY muscle movement. If you wait until the dog actually moves, you are too late. Do not require the dog to sit/stay for long periods of time at this point. Start with two seconds and slowly build up the length of time he is required to stay. Continue to be ready to correct at any indication of movement. All four feet must be on the floor at all times during this exercise if the dog is to be reliable. As you work with your dog, attempt to reach 30 second sit/stays, in the first week of the exercise, if you can. Don’t demand more of your dog than he is ready to give. A solid foundation is critical I this exercise since many other exercises depend on it for training.

Keep working on the controlled walking!