How low can you go?
Well, how FAR can you go? Adding distance to your commands can be a challenging prospect. Usually when we ask our doggies to do things, they are right in front of us. “SIT!” While we stand directly in front of them, holding a treat, and looking them right in the eye. And they do. Well, most of the time. If they don’t, of course, then you repeat “Sit sit sit sit!” In ever increasing anxious tones till your trainer starts to worry that you are going to stroke out on her and steps in to calm you down. Pet-pet, its going to be fine, really!! Whew!
Sometimes people just baffle me.....
Anyway. So the first thing we always add distance to, is ‘come when you are called’. Puppy is across the room – ‘puppy puppy,come! yay!” So ANYTIME we do distance, the first thing dog wants to do is ‘come’.
'Come' is Easy! 'Stay' is challenging.
‘Come’ is a good thing mostly. A good solid ‘come’ command can, quite literally save your dog’s life. But…sometimes that is not what I want. I want them to sit/stay. Or lay down. Or…Stop Barking At That Squirrel Before I Go Insane! I want to be able to Send – “go to your mat!” “Kennel up!” I want to play ‘fetch’. I want my dog to ‘go find!’.
All those are distance commands.
You want me to do what from where? I don't think so!
Just like with anything else – we want to start slow and easy. Instead of standing directly in front of your dog, take a step backwards. Then say ‘sit’ Just Once! Really!!!!!! If dog has no clue what you’re saying – step forward. Say it again. Practice three times, then try again with a step back.
'Down?' Sure I can 'down' anywhere, anytime, anyplace. "Up?" Nah.
A good way to do this is with a tether. Tie dog to something. The dining room table. A tree. Then step away and practice from a few feet away. The good thing about a tether is that they can’t do what they want – which is, of course, chase that squirrel…I mean, ‘come!’.
Its hard to learn 'come' when I never leave your foot!
There are three D’s to dog training – distance, distraction and duration. Only work on ONE of those at a time. Then once that’s reliable, add in one more. Then finally add in the third. Slooooooowwwwlllly. There is NO hurry. The longer you take to proof, the more certain your dog will do as they are asked.
Take a deep breath. Calm down. I'm going to be around a while...
And a well mannered dog who reliably does as he’s told, no matter what, IS what we’re after.