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Acetylene · 11-29-2004, 08:52 AM

Teaching your dog to walk first is key. Ideally, your dog will Heel so well it doesn't even need a leash (Although you will use one anyway for safety). You need to do a lot of drills, where you walk around in a park and make lots of crazy turns and keep changing your speed--not to trick your dog, but to make him pay attentiont. Give him praise every time he follows you. Soon it will be automatic.

Also, make sure you train him to SIT when you stop moving. This will keep him from letting his momentum drag you into the street or other dangerous situations.

Whether you use treats is sort of up to you, but it's my opinion that you only need/want treats for the first session, when you need every advantage you can get. The rest of the time, if you need food to make your dog care, then your relationship to the dog is what needs work, not its obedience training.

Joeb is right about an obedience class, but what these are really good for is not actual training (you still need to do that at home) but getting him used to working around distractions. Your little spaz needs to be able to focus on you anytime, anywhere. Someday his life may depend on it, when he is running after a squirrel into the street and you say "Come!"

Labs can be exhuberant, but they are good dogs and there is nothing stopping them from responding to firm, consistent, and loving training. A year and a half is PLENTY old enough to learn Heel perfectly (He is capable of knowing this as early as 6 months!)

Choke collars are a bad idea--the leash is only there for safety, not to punish your dog. If you need to punish/correct him, you should grab the scruff of his neck, the way a real alpha dog would--the choke collar does not communicate to him the same way. Speaking of alpha dog, your dog needs to be on the bottom of the totem pole in your family; even your 2-year-old should be able to command him to Sit (a bit of an exaggeration, but you get the point). This is vital for the safety of your children, and the sanity of your dog, because dogs are not equipped to lead in human sociaty (duh) and will get confused, stressed, and will act out if they don't have clear leadership.

One last thing (long, I know, sorry): Find out what your Lab wants to do, and give him regular chances to do it. This will help him stay focussed and trust you to let him have fun. If he likes to sniff, stop once every 10 minutes or so, and say "OK sniff!" and let him sniff a nice rank pile of garbage. If he likes to bark, say "OK bark"; if he likes to run free, get a retractable leash and just say "OK" (OK releases a dog from a Stay or Heel--important) and let him run to the end of the leash.

11-29-2004, 08:52 AM	#11 (permalink)
Acetylene Addict Location: under a rock	Teaching your dog to walk first is key. Ideally, your dog will Heel so well it doesn't even need a leash (Although you will use one anyway for safety). You need to do a lot of drills, where you walk around in a park and make lots of crazy turns and keep changing your speed--not to trick your dog, but to make him pay attentiont. Give him praise every time he follows you. Soon it will be automatic. Also, make sure you train him to SIT when you stop moving. This will keep him from letting his momentum drag you into the street or other dangerous situations. Whether you use treats is sort of up to you, but it's my opinion that you only need/want treats for the first session, when you need every advantage you can get. The rest of the time, if you need food to make your dog care, then your relationship to the dog is what needs work, not its obedience training. Joeb is right about an obedience class, but what these are really good for is not actual training (you still need to do that at home) but getting him used to working around distractions. Your little spaz needs to be able to focus on you anytime, anywhere. Someday his life may depend on it, when he is running after a squirrel into the street and you say "Come!" Labs can be exhuberant, but they are good dogs and there is nothing stopping them from responding to firm, consistent, and loving training. A year and a half is PLENTY old enough to learn Heel perfectly (He is capable of knowing this as early as 6 months!) Choke collars are a bad idea--the leash is only there for safety, not to punish your dog. If you need to punish/correct him, you should grab the scruff of his neck, the way a real alpha dog would--the choke collar does not communicate to him the same way. Speaking of alpha dog, your dog needs to be on the bottom of the totem pole in your family; even your 2-year-old should be able to command him to Sit (a bit of an exaggeration, but you get the point). This is vital for the safety of your children, and the sanity of your dog, because dogs are not equipped to lead in human sociaty (duh) and will get confused, stressed, and will act out if they don't have clear leadership. One last thing (long, I know, sorry): Find out what your Lab wants to do, and give him regular chances to do it. This will help him stay focussed and trust you to let him have fun. If he likes to sniff, stop once every 10 minutes or so, and say "OK sniff!" and let him sniff a nice rank pile of garbage. If he likes to bark, say "OK bark"; if he likes to run free, get a retractable leash and just say "OK" (OK releases a dog from a Stay or Heel--important) and let him run to the end of the leash. __________________ There's no justice. There's just us.