EXERCISE 1

Feeding a dog by hand will tell the dog that all good things come from humans.

Begin by feeding all of the dogs meals by hand from the bowl. When the dog accepts this and he is RELAXED, sometimes, as you are about to hand the dog a mouthful, withdraw it and from the other hand produce a tastier treat, then offer the original handful.

LESSON IS WHEN SOMETHING IS TAKEN AWAY YOU GET SOMETHING EVEN BETTER.......

When this works, walk by the dog while he is eating and DROP special treats into the bowl. Work up to being able to PLACE them in the bowl........

LESSON IS HUMANS WALK BY AND IT IS VERY GOOD.........

Then start walking up to the eating dog, remove the food bowl, put a tasty treat in the bowl and give the bowl back to the dog..... DO THIS ONLY IF ON APPROACH THE DOG LOOKS AWAY FROM ITS FOOD, EXPECTANTLY TOWARDS YOU AS IF TO SAY WHAT DO YOU HAVE FOR ME NOW?

EXERCISE 2

BONES and CHEWS

In the book "The Perfect Puppy", by Gwen Bailey this procedure is recommended. It is successful if practiced ideally a few times throughout the day.

Give your puppy a bone or chew and allow time for him to gnaw on it. As he is beginning to get bored with it, approach calmly and with confidence. Show the puppy the food and lure him away with this food and pick up the bone as he moves away from it. Allow him to eat the food and immediately return the bone to him.

After a few repeats, he will begin to look up at you expectantly, whenever you approach. THEN begin to offer him the food with one hand while taking his bone with the other.

EVENTUALLY you will be able to take his bone first and then open your other hand to reveal the treat. Always give the bone back IMMEDIATELY. That way he will learn that there is no reason to guard his toys....

EXERCISE 3

In this exercise you will swap toys with the dog. Proceed as in Exercise two but use a toy instead of food. A toy that he will be interested in...

EXERCISE 4

Teach "leave it".

Give your dog a few free treats one at a time and say "take it" every time your dog takes the treat..Then with the treat in your right hand say "leave it". If your dog backs up or sits, count to three and say "take it" and let him have the treat.If your dog lunges for the food, close your hand over the food and repeat "leave it."

When your dog can sit quietly and waits for you to say "take it" place the food on the floor out of his reach unless he gets up and lunges for the food. Say "leave it", place the food on the floor but stay close to the food and be ready to cover the food or pick it up. Practice until you can put a treat on the floor and your dog will not touch it. Make sure you always pick up the food and feed from your hand, saying "take it." Use this command every time your dog picks up any article ( shoes, food, toys, etc.) that you don’t want him to have.

When he gets good at it practice using socks, toys, combs brushes, remote controls, etc.

EXERCISE 5

Do not let your dog demand your attention. If he barks at you or nudges your arm to be petted ask him to sit stroke him on his head, neck and shoulders for a short time then remove your hand and refuse to pet him for ten minutes..

EXERCISE 6

Do not allow your dog to go through openings and doorways first. Teach him to wait and allow you and any other human through first.

Have the dog sitting near a door with a leash attached. Open the door a crack. If the dog tries to go through first just close the door and don’t say anything. Work up to getting the dog staying seated until the door is open and you then give YOUR PERMISSION to go through the door AFTER you have gone through. This takes practice but the dogs catch on rather quickly.

When first learning use an interior door in case the dog bolts he will not get outside. Be consistent with this for the best results.

EXERCISE 7

Teach drop it...

Drop it means open your mouth and let whatever is in there fall out.

Begin with a plastic straw or something that the dog will take but is not particularly interested in. When your dog has the object in his mouth show him a treat and AS the dog opens his mouth to take the treat say DROP IT and give the treat.

Do this a number of times showing the food and then try to say DROP IT WITHOUT showing the dog the food. When he does this reliably substitute the straw or "cold" object with something of more value to the dog or a"hotter object" . The first few times showing the food then hiding the food. Do not let the object become VERY valuable too quickly. Do this gradually and the dog will learn to drop things from his mouth.

EXERCISE 7

Groom and touch your dog’s body daily. Stroke him around his head, eyes and mouth. Touch his feet toes, tail, ears, bottom and every part of his body. Have every family member do this as well as visitors.........

All of these exercises are designed to help our canine friends cohabitate with us in a stress free environment. They learn through these exercises to accept the human as the leader of his pack. Once your dog does this he can learn to relax and not worry about guarding or taking charge since he knows that is his Human’s job....

Back to Top

49 Congers Road, New City, NY 10956 | Local Map | (845) 634-4607

Content and Images Copyright ©1999-2004 County Animal Hospital, Inc. Unless othewise stated. All rights reserved.