USA-BOX Article –OBEDIENCE

Minna Nousiainen-Becher

I decided to write about this subject “How to get the SUPER nice attention/focus in the heeling out of your dog” from recent discussion on the USA-BOX list.

The article is about how to get the “Arec”& “Essi” focus. And how to keep the consistency in the attention and weaning the toy out of the picture.

First you need to build drive for the toy (or food). There are few ways you can get the attention in your dog. Personally, I teach my dog to “look” on command, first with food, from the front position and from the basic position. If your dog does not know the basic position, it is best to lure the dog with a treat to you side, next to a wall so that bad crooked basic position habit is then later on to be voided.

I always end my food sessions to drive building play with the tug. I start shaping sits and downs and focus work on pups as early as 8 weeks. With puppies all I do is shaping behaviors, there is no forcing and demands. I don’t do long sessions rather 3 shot sessions a day.

The dog knows what “Yes” means. When I say “Yes” she knows that she did something I liked and she is then rewarded, I never, ever cheat my dog from the reward - if I said “Yes” the reward comes! This is important. (You may use a clicker, for me that is just extra things I have to carry, so I just use verbal). The dog knows “No” command. When I say “no”(You may use “Wrong” or “a ah” word as well, as long as your negative command is the same, be consistent) she knows she did something wrong her “punishment” at first is learning that she is not getting the reward, later on, the punishment can be a “timeout”(taking to consideration the dog knows the “Platz” and is little older) or slight correction (that fits the crime,) in heeling that we are talking about now…My husband Chris builds drive with the dog with the dogs tug until dog is 14 months old (he shapes the sit and down with food, and ends with tug play always).

Tug play: first you will need about 4-6 ft leash, just in case the dog does not come back after getting the reward and runs off to play with him self. After all, the tug is toy for you the human to play with the dog. Proper collar, young dogs buckle collar will do. Older dog pinch collar, when I introduce the pinch I use the fur saver on a dead ring, on the leash and put pinch on just to get her used to wear it first. Proper tug toy I prefer an 8-9 inch tug with one handle or no handle at all, about 4-5 inches diameter.

I build drive with prey movement in fast phase, making few misses and letting the dog get it. Most dogs will get it from you easy, you’ll have to be clever about the misses BUT do not hide the toy, keep moving. If the dog gets the tug, tell him “good”. I tend to go in circles and Chris has to remind me not to, the dog learns just to circle and the idea is that the dog fly’s by you hoping to get the tug. In last second you’ll move the tug, dog missing it. Keep in mind that at first the dog needs to get the tug a lot. For a puppy, don’t make it too hard, you should know your puppy and when to add some more speed and when to make him work harder. The tug sessions should last a maximum 5 minutes, then put the pup away before he is all worn out. As the dog gets older, it is more physical. If you always make 2 misses and give the tug to her on the 3^rd one she will learn to count and acts lazy until the 3^rd time.

Other ways to build drive is to hold on to the dogs collar and drop the tug on the ground kick at it without the dog getting it and when she is at the very high level release her to get it, remember to hold on to the leash too, so you can encourage her to come back by you for game of tugging, don’t be so in a hurry to get the tug out of her mouth, tug and release, tab on your chest (with puppies you’ll need to be on your knees so you are not so scary and over hovering her) as they come up pay tug or push him away. Boxers are fighting breed they love this, with a younger dog don’t shove them so they get shaken up etc, again know your dogs’ limits and only push as hard as she can take it. Some can go rough and rugged right at the start, but not all. If you are working another breed as GSD most of them don’t like this at all, the shoving and pushing so be careful with that.

Now we will get to the part where we want the dog to let go of the tug…teach your dog out. I’m going to put here few ways that I use, you can combine them. If your dog knows “yes” and “no” -Dog is on the tug place your both hands on the tug, plant your hand sturdy on your knees or legs (with pups you’ll have to be on your knees) say “out” as the dog tugs say “No” “a-ah” wait, stay calm, as the dog starts to loosen up as there is no tugging involved in your part, slightly move your hands to cover the tug little by little. Once the dog releases say “yes” and let her take it, encourage coming play tug let her keep it for a little while, carry it and come back for a tugging. Repeat few times and work on something else.

Remember never to push the tuggie into the dog’s mouth when you are willing to let him have it, rather let him come get it.

The out with building more drive, as the dog has the tuggie in her mouth grab the FLANK, say “Aus”, “Aus”, “Aus”! Don’t yell your command rather use normal voice. As the dog lets go of the toy you need to be holding the dogs collar or leash and grab the toy before she does… this can be complicated and at first more so with older dog, as you are trying to get used to doing it, it may look really clunky. There are times the dog gets the toy its ok, just encourage her to come up to play tuggie with you again. When she outs grab the toy and play the drive building game with her again, eventually let her get it and try the out again.

Another way to out is lift the dogs front legs up off the ground say your “out” command and wait until she lets go, then you’ll set dogs legs on the ground, hold the leash, grab the toy off the ground and build some more drive.

What ever way you use, the clearest to the dog is that if and when they do it right, say “yes” and reward right after again with the toy.

The heeling- so now you know how to pay tug, and should do it without getting pooped right away. Chris starts his heeling with his dogs at about 14 months of age; the dog only knows how to be crazy for the tug. (And the sit and down with food) He will start by doing drive work, from the movement of the drive he says ”Fuss” and sticks the moving toy under his arm bit and continues to go straight line, the dog at first and for a while will try to jump up to try to snatch the toy form you, the dog is on a pinch collar and he says “No” and gives little correction, again know your dog and punishment should fit the crime don’t go too hard on your dog unless you know the dog can take it. If the dog bites you sharp “no” and correction follows. If the dogs rear is way out when heeling you may use the wall to keep therear in, later on once your dog is going good and longer heeling with focus you can use a horse stick to keep the hind end in. Once I’m ready for longer heeling, I use the wall at first then row of chairs or what ever is available, I make two or four chairs of caps in between there so we start to get somewhere without the “guides’.

When we do the drive work heeling at the beginning, I should get only about few steps of focus then I mark it with the “yes” word and reward, either I will throw the toy in front of me (only if the dog comes back to me for more play), or just simply drop the toy out of my arm bit as I say the “yes” word, then big game of tuggie. Then out the dog, build drive again and stick it under you arm bit again and start “fussing”, don’t forget your commands and marker words.

Let’s say the dog is coming along really good, I start using my “Good” word, this means to the dog that she doing something good, (I typically say “Gooood fuss”) keep doing what you are doing and in a little bit I will say “yes” and the reward will be coming. The “good” word is encouragement for the dog letting them know they are doing well.

Sometimes I just bring the toy out and build more drive without giving the tug to the dog and then say “fuss” again and go back to heeling. Matter of fact that is mostly just what you will be doing to extend the focus and keep the drive up in your dog for longer heeling routines. So the dog is then heeling with focus looking up and waiting on when does the tug come out , when does the tug come out, now?,…Now?? How about now?? So again in you heeling, practice whip the toy out just to build drive and still when you are moving, say you heel command and stick the toy under you arm.

Depending on the position of the dog, the handler needs to “adjust/correct” the dog into the right position, reward more good behavior, after “no” and correction the dog is correct make sure you release. And reward!

The trick is to make sure the reward does not come same time in the routine heeling, matter of fact I try not to do the routine heeling hardly at all, I make my own patterns up. If person does routine heeling all the time, they are most likely to reward their dog always from just sits and or at the same place without thinking about it.

Then when we try to keep the focus up longer periods at the time, we add distractions, dog looks at the distraction I mark it with “no” and give slight correction on the pinch. We do the same thing over again, starting with drive building and going right to heeling, with the same distraction and try to keep the dogs focus up on you and if the dog succeeds mark again with the “Yes” and reward.

Let’s talk little about the leash position, or hand position. When you are in a schutzhund trial, heeling, and as you walk your hands have to move in natural manner. Once my dog comes back to me, without a leash and with the toy back to me, then I use only a waist-leash just long enough to go around my waist on the dog in obedience. The leash is in my left hand, so that I have little slack, but enough that when I walk in normal manner, the leash doesn’t’ give unnecessary corrections. The tug under my arm.

Later on when I want to proof my dog, the tug can be put on a chair or on the ground. The dog sees me putting the tug there. At first the dog wants to go towards the tug, I just say “no” and the “fuss”. Then I demand the focus on me once I get it, I release with the “yes” and send her on to the tug. Little by little I should get more

and more focused attention from my dog. Also, when I get to that point where I can start heeling in to the training field just from the edge or entrance of field, without having to motivate at all with the tug, I give a verbal cue “wanna work”, and the dog is focused on me. I start putting the toy in my back pocket or in the back of my training vest. When the tug is out of sight like this, then I reward I take the tug with my left hand, and reward with that hand most of the time. If I were to use right hand all the time my dog would start wrapping in front of me. The “Yes” command eliminates most of that because there should not be any movement to get the tug in my part until I have said my “Yes” marker word.

I tell my dog “wanna work” always when I start working her in obedience.

I do play tug a bit before we go on the training field by the car after going potty. I out the dog, slip the toy in my pocket, and off to the training….From here I still do put the tug in my arm pit periodically in the heeling.

The next article I will try to work on for the next issue is the turns in heeling…and stopping with the heeling and backing up with the dog...making the heeling look smooth.

Happy training to everyone

Minna N-B. Of Boxnen Boxers