Teaching your dog how to heal correctly is an essential foundation skill for competitive obedience, if you plan to compete in dog obedience competitions. The simplest method to teach him this is with a treats-or treat-targeted method. The dog will eventually learn this through positive reinforcement. You can use a small stick or treat as well.
The next method that I am going to cover is using the harness. Harnesses are designed to secure your dog by either having the leash itself be tight around his body, or by allowing for a loose leash to pass through the harness. These are great, especially when going out for a walk. They are also incredibly convenient when taking a dog out to the beach or to the park, as you won’t have to worry about the dog getting loose. This is especially useful if your pup is small, as he won’t be able to jump on you like larger dogs can.
I highly recommend these training methods if your dog is nervous and fearful of strangers, or other dogs in general. Even if your dog is typically friendly and loves companionship, these dog behavior training methods are still beneficial. They allow you to work on your dog’s obedience without actually bringing the dog into contact with someone else, which is a key component of training.
In this article I’m going to cover one of the more challenging aspects of dog training: teaching your dog how to stay. Staying is critical when hunting ducks. While hunting these ducks, the natural instinct of the duck is to hide. Dogs need to learn to listen to their owner’s signals and remain within hearing distance. This will not only keep your dog safe, it will also keep you from accidentally shooting the duck while trying to hunt.
I recommend having your dog undergo some basic obedience training. At least once a week, or more often if your dog is young, you should put them through this training. This will train them how to act around people so they won’t become scared or aggressive. When I say “around people” I mean that the dog must know that it’s okay to act how it normally acts around people, and not become overly excited when a person walks up to them or touches them. You don’t want to accidentally hurt the dog because it may be fearful of people, and that fear could cause the dog to bump someone.
I recommend using a nice reward system when training your dog for how to stay. When I say “reward”, I mean something nice to your dog when it completes the trick that you ask of it. A dog that knows how to behave around people won’t run at people, or nip at them, unless it senses a threat. I recommend awarding your dog a pat on the head when it successfully completes the trick. When I talk about pat, I mean any type of reward that makes the dog feel good, such as treats, praise, toys, and even a nice “well done” pat on the head when you see him or her do something great.
Here’s an advanced tip from my dad on my first duck hunt. If you have a dog that knows how to behave around people but doesn’t know how to stay still long enough for you to hunt, practice making noises at the same time as his nose is pointed into the ground. He will eventually get the drift that he needs to stand still in order to get a prize. The only noises I used were his nose, his back, and his front (for a prize) so make sure you are consistent with your noises. If you don’t have someone to practice with, or you don’t have a dog, this is a quick way to try and teach your dog how to stay still long enough for you to hunt. Remember to keep an eye on the horizon of the ground though!
Here’s a last tip from my dad on how to teach heel if you think I’m wrong, you might be right. We don’t have to hunt with dogs, if we want to hunt ducks. Let’s say we go to look at some logs to cook supper, instead of using the normal grill. I was watching him the other day, and I saw him reach down to pick up a rock. He never flinched, even though the rock was only about two feet long. So instead of trying to figure out how to teach heel using these dog tricks, why not just use a dog?
