Q: I’ve been to training, but it’s hard to practice at home. What can I do?
A: When you attend a training class, most, if not all, trainers will tell you that you must practice frequently with your dog. Some will even get specific and tell you that you need to practice at least 10 times a day for a period of 2 to 5 minutes each time.
This is where the problem comes in. Basic training, sit/down/stand/stay/etc, is pretty boring stuff…boring for you and for the dog. These are the kinds of things that make it difficult for dog parents to follow through with work at home and therefore lead to less desirable results from the training class.
What if I told you, however, that your at-home sessions need not be so boring? Not only don’t they have to be, but they shouldn’t be. If you and the dog are not having fun, learning is not happening. So why not make it fun? There are many games and activities that can teach and reinforce teaching to give you solid reproducible, predictable results with your dog.
Working on recall? How about playing hide and seek with your dog? When you make a game of it, your dog LOVES to hunt you down to find you (especially if you are out of sight or move quickly away from him).
Teaching stay with distractions? Once he has the idea, the old Monkey in the middle is excellent for stay and self-control (just make sure he gets the ball every once in a while so he can have fun too).
How about loose leash walking (LLW)? Make a maze with chairs and other household objects and have your dog follow you through the maze. If you can teach him to stay by your side without a leash and add distractions to that, Lose Leash Walking is almost a given.
There are many games you can play or make up to have fun teaching your dog even the basics of self-control, position changes, and just about anything you want. Use the Net to search training games, make them up yourself, or find a trainer (like Pack Leader Behavior & Training) that uses these methods and can help you. The important thing is that you are having fun with your dog. While you are doing so, you will also be increasing his “education”.
Buddy loves to play hide and seek, specially if it is his favorite white ball that he is seeking. It keeps him from chasing his tail due to he wants attention. Thanks for the training on this one.
Great post. Hide and Go Seek is a fun way I’ve been using to teach Nala both to stay close and to come when called (recall) during off-leash hikes in the woods. I wait until she’s getting a little too far ahead of me down the trail and duck behind a tree or bush and call her. She loves to hunt me down and find me. This accomplishes two things. First, it reminds her to keep a close eye on me when the hike continues as to not loose me behind a tree again, and second, when I actually do need her to come (other hikers, snowmobiles etc…) she comes racing because she thinks it’s a fun game!
Playing hide and seek when you’re on a walk is an amazing way to teach your dog to stay close to you. Great job using this method. Works best with younger dogs, but good at any age. –joann