Basic Obedience

Basic Obedience

My Basic Obedience program includes 6 private lessons. Each lesson is roughly 1 hour long.

In this program, I will teach your dog how to walk calmly beside you on a loose leash (“Heel”). Regardless of where you are or what is going on, your dog is expected to walk beside you without pulling, lagging behind, or wandering from your left to right side.

I will also teach your dog how to Sit and Stay. This command is used anytime you stop. As soon as you come to a stop when heeling your dog, he will be put into the Sit position where he/she must Stay until released or given another command. Because we are going to do this every time we stop, it will eventually become an automatic command. That is, your dog will Sit without being told when you stop walking.

If your dog is sitting, he cannot jump up on someone in front of you or run across the street. We will also teach your dog to Sit and Stay before going in or out of the house. By doing this, your dog will learn not to crash the door and jump on your guests or run away. The Sit/Stay command is used for when you only need a short period of control over your dog (i.e. greeting guests, feeding time, entering/exiting the home, Etc.). It is uncomfortable for the dog so when we need him to Stay longer we will put him in the Down command.\Laying Down is much more comfortable for your dog so we will work that up to about 20-30 minutes. This command is useful for when you are at the Vet’s office, the groomer, or talking to a neighbor. Your dog will also learn to Come when called. This is by far the most important command to teach your dog. The other commands are useful, but teaching your dog to Come when he is called, can save his life.

Your dog will be taught that when you call him, he should Come to you and then Sit and Stay until you either release him or give him another command. While the Come command is the most important, the Place command is the most practical. This is the one I use the most with my own dog and the one my clients love the most.

The Place command is where your dog is taught to go to a designated place (usually a dog bed) on command and stay there until released. This command is used whenever you are having dinner, changing the baby, you have guests over, you’re watching a movie, Etc. Because your dog has the freedom to chew on a toy and move around in his Place, we can expect him to stay there for much longer than when he is in the Down command. Most of my clients work this up to 2 hours or more.

Another good thing about the Place command is that it is portable. You just simply move the bed into another room, out by the pool, or wherever you need it. You can even use it in the car or take it with you on vacation.

As part of the program, we will usually conduct one of the lessons at a pet store or a park so you can learn how to handle your dog away from home. Also as part of the program, we will modify any unwanted behaviors. I will help you with Housebreaking, Chewing, Barking, Jumping Up, Digging, Stealing, Etc. We will work on whatever issues you are having so that you will have a well-adjusted companion that is a joy to live with.