There are many layers to the start line stay. One of the first things I focus on are positions. Whether it be a sit, a down, or a stand, the position needs to be trained and generalized to a high degree. The dog must have a full understanding of the behavior being asked before he will be able to perform it on the startline. I recommend training a strong verbal cue on all positions. Physically manipulating or luring with no reward once on the line can cause undue stress and add extra pressure. If the dog fully understands the behavior being asked, he will be much more comfortable performing it.
**If training formal obedience you may want to consult with your instructor prior to training positions**
The Sit
The sit can be trained by luring or by capturing. I teach the sit by luring as I have found that is quicker and easier to train than capturing. There are a few rules to consider when luring a behavior. First, you must always reward the action with the lure and second, it is best to get rid of the lure as quickly as possible. I recommend luring with food. When introducing the sit, I suggest starting in a calm and quiet area.
Luring the sit
1. Prepare many small pieces of treats prior to your training session. I suggest using food that can be quickly and easily eaten and also one that does not crumble. Sliced and diced pieces of string cheese work well.
2. Place a treat in front of your dog’s nose, move the treat up and back over his head. Most dogs will follow the treat into a sit position. When your dog does sit, mark and reward with the lure. If your dog jumps up for the treat, no biggie, just ignore this behavior and only give the lure/reward when the dog is sitting. If your dog backs up it may help to train against a wall.
3. Repeat step two until your dog is consistently sitting when you offer the lure.
Fading the lure
1. Make the same hand motion as if you are luring, when your dog sits give the reward from your other, non-luring, hand.
2. Repeat step one while gradually moving your luring hand away from your dog. Continue this exercise until you no longer need to reach over your dog’s head.
3. You now have a hand signal that should consist of raising your hand in front of you, palm up.
Adding the verbal cue
1. Continue giving your hand signal but as your dog sits add your verbal cue “sit” to his action, then reward. Repeat multiple times.
2. After a few sessions you can then ask your dog to “sit”, only rewarding if he sits. If he sits in anticipation before you give the verbal cue, do not reward. We must remain consistent with our verbal cues.
3. If you find your dog is not responding to your verbal cue you have moved through the steps too quickly, go back to step one above.
Generalizing the behavior
Dogs are not great generalizers. It is fantastic that you have your dog sitting on a verbal cue in your kitchen, but can he do it in the garage, the backyard, the living room, while your sitting on the couch or on the floor? Can you stand next to him, not in front of him, and will he understand the verbal cue? We need to work the behavior in all areas of the house and give the dog as many different pictures as we can, It is better to work the behavior in lower distracting environments before taking it on the road.
1. Work it in different rooms of the home, with you in many different positions i.e., standing lateral to your dog, sitting on the couch, while you’re in the kitchen making breakfast, outside while your neighbors are mowing the lawn, etc.
2. Take it to more distracting environments, the hardware store, a pet store, your best pal’s house, your neighbor’s yard, the parking lot or crating area at class. Do not ask your dog to perform the behavior in highly over-arousing environments, like ringside, until he can reliably do away from the busy environment. We want distractions, but not the holy grail of other dog distractions, not yet.
3. When your dog is reliably offering the behavior in slightly distracting environments, then it is time to bring it to dog filled events. You can start asking for it at class when other dogs are running or playing. If it proves to be too much for your dog, then move him away and start where he is comfortable. I should also note that as the distractions go up, so should the level of food. Maybe now is the time to bring out a higher rated reward. You know, like steak or chicken hearts.
4. Woot, congratulations, your dog can sit anytime, anywhere. Strong work.
The Down
The folding down (taught from a stand) can be trained by luring or by shaping. I teach the folding down by luring as I have found that is quicker and easier to train than by shaping. There are a few rules to consider when luring a behavior. First, you must always reward the action with the lure and second, it is best to get rid of the lure as quickly as possible. I recommend luring with food..
Luring the down
1. Prepare many small pieces of treats prior to your training session. I suggest using food that can be quickly and easily eaten and one that does not crumble. Sliced and diced pieces of string cheese work well. When introducing the down, I suggest starting in a calm and quiet area.
2. Place a treat in front of your dog’s nose, move the treat down and into your dog’s chest or between his front paws. Most dogs will follow the treat into a bow position. When your dog starts to bow, mark and reward with the lure. Once your dog is anticipating the bow, bring your hand up slightly and his bum should drop. If your dog backs up it may help to train against a wall.
3. Repeat step two until your dog is consistently going down when you offer the lure.
Fading the lure
1. Make the same hand motion as if you are luring, when your dog downs, give the reward from your other, non-luring, hand.
2. Repeat step one while gradually moving your luring hand away from your dog. Continue this exercise until you no longer need to push into your dog paws or chest.
3. You now have a hand signal that should consist of pushing your hand in front of you, palm forward.
Adding the verbal cue
1. Continue giving your hand signal but as your dog downs add your verbal cue “down” to his action, then reward. Repeat multiple times.
2. After a few sessions you can then ask your dog to “down”, only rewarding if he finds position. If he goes down in anticipation, before you give the verbal cue, do not reward. We must remain consistent with our verbal cues.
3. If you find your dog is not responding to your verbal cue you have moved through the steps too quickly, go back to step one above.
Generalizing the behavior
Dogs are not great generalizers. It is fantastic that you have your dog downing on a verbal cue in your kitchen, but can he do it in the garage, the backyard, the living room, while your sitting on the couch or on the floor? Can you stand next to him, not in front of him, and will he understand the verbal cue? We need to work the behavior in all areas of the house and give the dog as many different pictures as we can. It is best to work the behavior in lower distracting environments before taking it on the road.
1. Work it in different rooms of the home, with you in many different positions i.e., standing lateral to your dog, sitting on the couch, while you’re in the kitchen making breakfast, outside while your neighbors are mowing the lawn, etc.
2. Take it to more distracting environments, the hardware store, a pet store, your best pal’s house, your neighbor’s yard, the parking lot or crating area at class. Do not ask your dog to perform the behavior in highly over-arousing environments, like ringside, until he can reliably do away from the busy environment. We want distractions, but not the holy grail of other dog distractions, not yet.
3. When your dog is reliably offering the behavior in slightly distracting environments, then it is time to bring it to dog filled events. You can start asking for it at class when other dogs are running or playing. If it proves to be too much for your dog, then move him away and start where he is comfortable. I should also note that as the distractions go up, so should the level of food. Maybe now is the time to bring out a higher rated reward. You know, like steak or chicken hearts.
4. Woot, congratulations, your dog can down anytime, anywhere. Strong work.
The Stand
The stand can be trained by luring or by capturing. I teach the stand by luring as I have found that is quicker and easier to train than capturing. There are a few rules to consider when luring a behavior. First, you must always reward the action with the lure and second, it is best to get rid of the lure as quickly as possible. I recommend luring with food.
Luring the stand
1. Prepare many small pieces of treats prior to your training session. I suggest using food that can be quickly and easily eaten and one that does not crumble. Sliced and diced pieces of string cheese work well. When introducing the stand, I suggest starting in a calm and quiet area.
2. Standing in front of your dog, who is in sit position, place a treat in front of your dog’s nose and move the treat slowly away from your dog, parallel to the ground. Most dogs will follow the treat into a stand. When your dog stands mark and reward with the lure. It is important that your dog walk forward. Do not move backward, away from your dog too encourage the stand, this will allow your dog to move forward. Use only the lure to pull your dog up into a stand position. Ideally your dog will keep his front feet still when finding the stand position.
3. Repeat step two until your dog is consistently standing when you offer the lure.
Fading the lure
1. Make the same hand motion as if you are luring, when your dog stands, give the reward from your other, non-luring, hand.
2. Repeat step one while gradually moving your luring hand away from your dog. Continue this exercise until you no longer need to place your hand directly in front of your dog’s nose.
3. You now have a hand signal that should consist of pulling your hand away from your dog’s nose, palm facing your dog.
Adding the verbal cue
1. Continue giving your hand signal but as your dog stands add your verbal cue “stand” to his action, then reward. Repeat multiple times.
2. After a few sessions you can then ask your dog to “stand”, only rewarding if he finds position. If he stands in anticipation, before you give the verbal cue, do not reward. We must remain consistent with our verbal cues.
3. If you find your dog is not responding to your verbal cue you have moved through the steps too quickly, go back two steps.
Generalizing the behavior
Dogs are not great generalizers. It is fantastic that you have your dog standing on a verbal cue in your kitchen, but can he do it in the garage, the backyard, the living room, while your sitting on the couch or on the floor? Can you stand next to him, not in front of him, and will he understand the verbal cue? We
need to work the behavior in all areas of the house and give the dog as many different pictures as we can. It is best to work the behavior in lower distracting environments before taking it on the road.
1. Work it in different rooms of the home, with you in many different positions i.e., standing lateral to your dog, sitting on the couch, while you’re in the kitchen making breakfast, outside while your neighbors are mowing the lawn, etc.
2. Take it to more distracting environments, the hardware store, a pet store, your best pal’s house, your neighbor’s yard, the parking lot or crating area at class. Do not ask your dog to perform the behavior in highly over-arousing environments, like ringside, until he can reliably do away from the busy environment. We want distractions, but not the holy grail of other dog distractions, not yet.
3. When your dog is reliably offering the behavior in slightly distracting environments, then it is time to bring it to dog filled events. You can start asking for it at class when other dogs are running or playing. If it proves to be too much for your dog, then move him away and start where he is comfortable. I should also note that as the distractions go up, so should the level of food. Maybe now is the time to bring out a higher rated reward. You know, like steak or chicken hearts.
4. Woot, congratulations, your dog can stand anytime, anywhere. Strong work.