Charging Reward Words
Reward Words
Teaching our puppy to focus on us helps to expedite our puppy's training because otherwise, it is impossible to train a puppy that isn't paying attention to us.
Because puppies aren't born understanding spoken language and don't understand dog language that well, we teach our puppies a simple word that tells them that what they are doing is correct and that a reward is coming. In animal training, we call this a reward marker. This word should be simple, such as "yes" or "good".
Charging the Reward Word
We start by bringing our puppy into a low-distraction area without any other dogs or people. Then we simply say our reward word and give our pup the treat. We repeat this until our treats are gone. When you get to your last few treats, you can say the reward word and look for signs of anticipation, such as pricking their ears, looking to your hand, or looking at your face for the treat.
If your dog isn't showing anticipation, it's okay. Puppies will usually catch on in the first session or two. Once we have charged our reward word, we can begin our first task: the Focus command.
The Focus Command
Focus
This is one of the most important behaviors that we can teach our puppy because it can come in handy throughout our pup's life. The focus behavior can bring the following benefits, plus many more:
- Getting your pup's attention for training
- Getting focus back on you instead of another animal/person
- Replacing normally aggressive behavior
- Reinforces the owner/dog bond
To train the focus command we show the puppy the treat and slowly move the treat to our eyes. Then we reward our pup for following the lure. We want to do this until the puppy follows the lure 8 out of 10 times. once we accomplish this, we can move on to moving the lure behind our head instead of in front of our eyes. Then we will gradually fade the lure and only reward for the behavior we are looking for.
Heeling
Heeling
The heel command is both a position and behavior. Heeling means that the dog will walk on your left side, with its shoulders approximately parallel to your left leg. Heeling will help to make all outings much more enjoyable for you and your dog. The first choice you have to make is which verbal cue you will use, although most people will just use the word “Heel.”
1. Starting the Training
To start your heel training, find a low-distraction area such as a large empty room. Prepare many of your puppy's favorite treats; start with them on a leash, but not with the leash in hand. Let your dog know that you have a treat in hand, and then begin to start walking with your left leg while luring the puppy with the treat. Give the puppy the treat if they move with you near your left leg.
2. Fading the Lure
When your puppy is moving with you as you take a step 9 out of 10 times in a row, you can then begin to fade the lure. Do this by moving your hand as if you still have the treat, but leave the actual treat in your pocket. Your dog should follow your hand, despite you not having the treat. When the pup moves with you one step without the treat in your hand, give your pup the reward word and treat from your pocket.
When your pup is following you one step at a time without the treat in your hand, you can then begin to fade the hand lure. You can do this by gradually moving to a more natural walking position, slowly moving your hands to your side each time the puppy moves with you. Again, when your puppy is moving with you step by step while you’re in a natural walking position, you can then add the verbal cue, “Heel!." When your pup is moving with us one step with the verbal cue, we can then begin to increase the number of steps by doubling them gradually.
3. Moving Outside
Not all puppies will move at this pace, so if your puppy isn’t moving with you, try starting over and moving at a slower pace. Once your puppy is walking with you around the room of your home reliably and fluently 8 out of 10 times, we can then move the training outside. Don’t be surprised if when you do move outside that your puppy acts as if you’ve never put a leash on him before in his life. Remember that puppies don’t generalize behaviors very well. Simply start training from the beginning. Work at their pace.