I’m required to take my Guide Dog, Stetson to at least one (6 week) puppy training class and one (6 week) basic obedience class while he’s with me for the next year and half. So far we’ve attended two (6 week) puppy training classes and are on our third (6 week) basic obedience class. Tammy, our Orange County group leader holds our puppy training classes in Anaheim Hills. Ramona is the Training Director of California Academy of Dog Behavior and she teaches our basic obedience classes. Ramona worked nine years at Guide Dogs of America in Sylmar where she was responsible for helping foster families that took adorable 8 week old pups home to raise to be guide dogs. Needless to say, Ramona knows exactly what to teach us and our Guide Dog puppies in training.
Since I received Stetson last February we’ve been attending training classes once a week every Tuesday. What did we learn in training class yesterday? Well for starters, Ramona had our training area covered with dog toys…our dogs can’t be distracted by dog toy when they’re working as guide dogs. Anytime Stetson went to pick up a toy I had to tell him “No” or “Leave it” and give him a leash correction.
What is a leash correction? From the AllExperts.com website
Trainers who use training collars advise handlers to make the leash/collar correction a quick motion that sharply tightens the training collar about the dog’s neck. Then the handler should immediately release pressure; if the collar was put on correctly, the links should immediately loosen up in response. Otherwise, if the training collar remains tight, the dog won’t be able to distinguish between an intentional correction and the handler simply pulling on the dog’s neck for no reason. The dog will quickly get accustomed to being uncomfortable, rendering the training collar useless (and possibly leading to a hurt neck or throat).
The slip collar is a training collar only. It should be on your dog only when training and under your direct control. If your dog is running free and having a blast being off lead then it shouldn’t be wearing a slip collar. I have seen a dog, wearing a chain slip collar, run and jump through a brush pile. The free ring got caught in a branch effectively hanging the dog. In this instance the owner was close enough to see what had happened and immediately rescued the dog, this is not always the outcome.
Because we all forget from time to time I wanted to add these pictures of the correct and incorrect ways to put on a training collar. Of course this assumes that you heel your dog on your left side.
We also worked on greetings. It’s important that when you are with your guide dog you can successfully meet other people with out having reactions from your dog, negative or positive. For instance, Stetson did two things wrong when meeting Ramona. In this scenario Ramona asked if she could say hello to Stetson. I said “Yes, but he must remain seated and calm. If he gets up or does not remain calm then please step back while I correct him. When he has been corrected (back in sitting position and calm) you may come back and pet him.” Stetson’s first reaction was to lunge forward to greet her. That’s a no no…he should sit in position and remain calm. I gave him a lease correction and got him back in a sitting position. The second time Ramona came to Stetson he remained seated, was a little excited but acceptable, the only problem was he started putting his paws on Ramona. This is another unfavorable reaction. He must learn nut to put his paws on someone who is petting him. Stetson did very well with several other greetings, but when he saw another puppy raiser named Setsu he got really excited. It was very difficult just gettting him back in the sit position. I’d have to say Stetson was a failure when greeting Setsu. And why was Stetson so excited to see Setsu? Two weeks ago Stetson spent the weekend with Setsu and Setsu’s guide dog puppy Sachi. I’m not too sure what to do in this situation and will have to talk to Ramona about how to keep Stetson calm when greeting people he knows. By the way, Sachi just went to Guide Dogs of America for her formal training with her littermate Smitty. Good luck to the two of them!
We always work on heeling and usually start the session off with a ten minute walk. Yesterday we worked on heeling, but instead of taking our normal route we walked in straight lines and did “about faces” – basically walking straight then do a 180 degree turn and walk the other direction. This helps the dogs keep their eye on their handler because every “about face” results in a change of direction and if the dog is not paying attention they give themselves a correction (by walking in the wrong direction). After a couple “about faces” Stetson got the hang of it and started paying attention to me.
Finally, we ended the session with “Sit Stays” and “Down Stays.” A “Sit Stay” is basically when you tell your dog to “sit” then tell him to “stay” then move several feet away for anywhere from a few seconds to several minutes (depending on your dogs skill level). Stetson does pretty well with these commands. He stayed in position the entire time during “sit stay.” I think his time was 2 minutes 20 seconds. He got up one time during the “down stay.” I think the time during down stay was 3 minutes 20 seconds.
That was the end of training. I’m a groomsman in a wedding this weekend so Stetson will be staying with another puppy raising family. I’m sure he’ll have a great time with the family and their puppy in training, Dustin.
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Correct use of the training leash is important, not only during training sessions, but at all times. Always having a loop over your thumb and your hand closed into a fist, prevents even the strongest dog from unexpectedly jerking the leash through your fingers and breaking free. Whether it’s the hand-loop or a loop formed by marrying the leash over your thumb, the result is the same. Pulling on the leash merely causes your grip to tighten
Excellent pointers on. Somehting else I disconvered is that Very few people understand the improtance of leash training. I myself used to have a halter attached for walks. What an amazing difference it made when I started using a collar and leash. Amazing how much more attention my dog paid to me.
It is me again. .
I have a leash-question. My 7week old lab puppy HATES the leash. When I walk in front of him he 1. either sits down or 2. just stops walking (i don’t want to pull him) so how can i make him follow me? He walkes ahed of me..then the collar and leash getting in his way he tries to shake it off and then he sits down. Thats it… HELP PLZ thank you, what would i do without this web site ?!
@Alexandra, it’s pretty normal that your puppy does not like his leash. Most of the time when my puppy gets out in front of me I do a 180 degree turn in the other direction then he’s behind me. If he’s sitting down or not following I usually tap my leg to try and get his attention and tell him to “come” in a high pitched voice. I haven’t really written much on leash training I’ll try and put together a blog post in the coming days/weeks.
I started my 7 week old lab puppy with a collar and put a leash on at 8 weeks. She, too, HATES the leash. She is 9 weeks old now and has still not accepted it. She balks at walking (just flops over on her back) and chews on it. I am trying to just give her “puppy” lessons with no reprimands, but I’m losing my patience!
@Trudy it can be a while before puppies stop acting goofy. You might try enrolling your puppy in a puppy kindergarten or consulting a professional dog trainer.
I’m sure you’ve already noticed that your puppy has the attention span of a gnat. So one thing I’d mention is keep your puppy training lessons short. We are told to try and work on training during commercial breaks when watching TV. That’s about as long as a training session needs to stretch. As far as the leash and collar go…you just need to keep using them and eventually your puppy will accept them. Puppies definitely test your patience. Make sure you don’t train angry. If you start getting upset take a break. I like to preach consistency, patience, and persistence when training your puppy. Good luck!
Thanks so much. Your advice sounds good and I’ll definitely follow it, and probably check back in as the weeks bring new challenges! I live in the country in the middle of nowhere, so no kindergarten class available, so I appreciate your advice.