Teaching your dog how to get into
the "basic position" is
not an easy task. Watch the YouTube video and follow my step-by-step instructions
to learn how it can be done with ease! [Links to Part 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 ]
Teaching our dog to stay focused in the
"BASIC POSITION".
Part 1 of 4: Getting our dog to pay attention
to us.
If you have ever watched a dog obedience show
on TV, you may have noticed that all exercises
start and end in one position: The dog sits in
a straight position on the left side of the handler
while the dog's right shoulder blade is level
with the handler's knee. This is called the "basic
position". Have you noticed that most (well trained)
dogs sitting in this basic position actually look
up to their handler? No, this is not because these
dogs love their handler so much, they do it because
they have been trained to do it. Why is that a
good thing? It is good because when your dog is
calmly looking at you, he is actually paying attention!
Even if you are not interested in competitive
obedience, teaching your dog to get into the basic
position on command has a lot of benefits. For
example: After you got the leash to take your
dog out for a walk, would you rather have him
bounce around like crazy or wait calmly next to
you before you open the door?... I can already
think of half a dozen more examples and I am not
even finished with this sentence.
Don't be mistaken, asking our dog to look up
at us is more than just a neat trick. Non-verbal
communication plays a much more important role
for dogs than it does for humans. As a matter
of fact, young dogs will seek our eye contact
in many situations but most of us rarely pick
this up. We mind our own business or simply don't
expect them to communicate this way. Eventually,
these dogs will cede to communicate with us visually
and a great opportunity to better understand each
other is lost. Teaching our dog to look at us
AND renewed attention to our dog whenever he makes
eye contact helps to reestablish this level of
communication.
Let's get started with the practical part: If
you have read through my fundamentals section,
you are familiar with the concept of "chaining
and back chaining" (Section 12). That is what
we need to do with the "getting into basic position
and looking up" exercise. You will achieve the
best results if you begin your training with the
last element of the exercise and then work your
way towards the first. This means that for now,
we don't need to worry about how to get our dog
onto our left side - all we want for now is to
teach our dog to look at us in anticipation.
Elements of the "basic position" exercise are:
(a) Our dog needs to get into a straight position
on our left side
(b) Our dog needs to sit down this position
(c) Our dog needs to look at us and pay attention
Like I said, we will practice each element individually,
starting with the last one.
Getting our dog to look at us step by step:
| Step 1 |
Get your treats, your
clicker and a toy. Put the treats into
your right pocket (I suggest you wear a
training jacket or a belt pouch to keep
your treats handy.) Initially, you want
to keep them out of your dog's reach so
he does not get distracted.
|
| Step 2 |
Make sure your dog can focus exclusively
on you, avoid any disturbance. Training
indoors or in your backyard is a good idea.
|
| Step
3 |
Give your dog the Sit command and
praise him calmly once he sits down correctly.
|
| Step
4 |
Calmly step next to your dog's right shoulder
so he sits to your left. Your dog's right
shoulder blade should be level with your
knee (this is the correct basic position).
|
| Step
5 |
With your right hand, take a treat out
of your pocket and hold it in front of your
mouth (pretend you are taking it out of
your mouth).
|
| Step
6 |
Now get your dog's attention by making
a sound (pssst) or by calling his name.
When he looks up, show him the treat and
immediately move your right arm down to
your dog so he can easily get the treat
without moving out of position. Bend down
if necessary. Make sure your dog does not
get out of position before he gets his treat
- if he does, put the treat away and start
over at step 3. If your dog gets too excited
about the treat, discontinue this exercise
and wait until he has calmed down (take
him for a walk or play him so he looses
some of that excess energy).
|
| Step
7 |
Repeat this exercise starting at step 5
a few more times. For now, avoid waiting
periods. Your dog needs to think that there
is a constant stream of food coming from
your mouth so that's what he is going to
be focused on.
|
| Step
8 |
After a few minutes of successful training,
release your dog from the sit position and
play with him (ball or tug, whatever your
dog likes).
|
| Step
9 |
Once your dog has learned to sit calmly next to you, eagerly awaiting his treats, you can start to increase the waiting period between his treats so he needs to stay focused on you longer. This is also the right time to introduce the "Look" cue. Instead of getting your dog's attention by calling his name or making a sound, ask him to "Look" at you and then praise him when he does it. If he looks away again, repeat the "Look" cue. Some people train the Look cue separately. That's okay, but in my opinion not necessary.
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This is also a good time to streamline
our "treat dispensing" method. Up to this
point, your dog has learned that treats
are always coming from your hands. Smart!
Why look up to the master when the yummy
thing is coming from the hand? The remedy
is simple: put the treats in your mouth
and spit them so your dog needs catch them.
And no, I am not kidding!
|
I understand that this might be a bit uncomfortable
for a lot of people, but there are good
ways to deal with the yuck-factor. A lot
of dogs like fruit. You can cut an apple
or a peach into pieces and use those as
treats. You could also use small pieces
of cooked beef of liver. At this stage,
we want our dog to look at our face without
being distracted by our hand.
|
| Step
10 |
Let's do it. Go through steps 1 to 4, but
instead of holding your dog's treats in
front of your mouth as described in step
5, put them into your mouth. Stand up straight
and turn your head towards your dog (try
to keep your upper body straight). Once
you have your dog's attention, spit a piece
of food towards him. I would not be surprised
if that first piece of food bounced right
of your dog's nose or perhaps did not even
land near your dog. If that happened, your
dog probably got up and started sniffing
around for the lost treat... Oh well. Not
a single one of my dogs has ever been a
naturally born food catcher either. Eventually,
our dog will learn how to catch the treat
in mid-air. For now, it is okay if our dog
gets up to look for the dropped treat. After
all, the purpose of this lesson is not food
catching, it is about paying attention and
looking up before the food reward comes.
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After a few training sessions, your dog should
have learned that there is food coming from your
mouth and he will probably look up to you as soon
as you start the exercise. Bravo - that is all
we want from him for now. We can move on to part
2, but you should keep on practicing!
Keep in mind : Your treat
has to be the most interesting stimulus for your
dog during this exercise. If your dog is focused
on something else, the lesson won't work! If your
dog does not care for the treat, use something
yummier or wait until he his really hungry (perhaps
have him skip a meal before you train). It is
important to keep training sessions short so your
dog does not loose interest. Try to finish your
sessions on a high note and always add some playtime
when you are done.
What if?
Q: Once my dog smells the treats, he does
not want to sit down. Instead, he gets up and
tries to take the treats from my hand or out of
my pocket.
A: In my opinion, teaching our dog how
to stay focused in the "basic position" is the
mother of all exercises. However, you have probably
noticed that this lesson is not listed as number
one. Why? It is almost impossible
to teach your dog to pay attention if he is all
over the place. That's why we start out with the Sit command. Your dog needs to be able
to obey the Sit command even under some
moderate distraction (such as food in your hand)
before you can start with the basic position.
If your dog is not quite at that point yet, take
it easy and work a bit more on your Sit while adding some distractions.
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