Teach Your Dog to Target for Easier Loose-Leash Walking

Targeting is one of the easiest behaviors to teach your dog, and it’s adaptable to training many different dog behaviors.  Learning to train your dog loose-leash walking with a target keeps him by your side when walking through crowded areas, in a competition arena and around other dogs. The target stick gives your dog an object to focus on and ignore distractions. This helps him stay calm and relieves any excitement or stress caused by distractions.

Teaching Your Dog Targeting

Your dog needs to learn exactly what targeting is, and how to focus on an object before learning how to heel with a target stick. The easiest way to teach targeting is using your hand. Begin training by holding your hand in front of your dog and wait until he touches or sniffs it. As soon as your dog touches your hand, click and treat him from your other hand.

Targeting Hand

If you’re not using a clicker, you can use the word, “Yes” and then treat your dog. Make sure you don’t give him a treat from the targeted hand but always from the other hand. This is because he might touch your hand just because he knows it’s holding the treat. You want him to target the hand, not sniff the treat.

Keep holding your hand in front of your dog, and giving a click and treat whenever he touches your hand.  When he’s touching your hand reliably every time, start moving your hand into different places above his head, to the sides and below his face. When he’s confident touching one hand, switch to the other hand and continue with the same training. Once your dog excels at touching your hand in any position, add the cue, “Touch”.

Training Loose-Leash Walking with Targeting

Take a step away from your dog, holding your hand by your side and say, “Touch.”  Your dog will automatically step toward your hand and touch it. Click and treat your dog when he does this. Gradually add more steps until your dog targets your hand as you walk along. Use the cue “Touch” every few steps to keep him by your side.

Teaching Your Dog To Use a Target Stick

When he’s reliable walking by your side and targeting your hand, it’s time to start training him to touch a target stick. You can use anything as a target stick:

• Pointer
• Pen or pencil
• Finger 
• Ruler

Target sticks designed specifically for targeting are available at pet stores and some models fold up for easy carrying.

Targeting Stick

Once you have your target stick, start teaching your dog to touch the end of the stick with his nose. 

Putting a small Styrofoam ball onto the end of the stick helps your dog focus on the tip of the stick. Remove the ball after he learns to touch the tip of the stick confidently.

Begin training him in the same way as you taught him to touch your hand. Click when he looks at the target stick, sniffs the stick and touches the target stick. Keep the stick only a few inches away from him at the start.

When he learns to touch the tip of the stick, start moving it around in the same way as you did your hand. Keep the training session to only four or five minutes, several times a day.

The final step to train your dog to heel with a target stick is to get him walking beside you while following the stick. Take a step with the target stick at your side and tell your dog to touch the stick.

Click and treat when he goes to the stick. Continue adding steps and telling your dog to touch. Eventually, your dog will heel in whatever position you choose, whether on the right or the left.  Once he knows how to target the stick, you can train him in any obedience position,agility, freestyle handling and Canine Good Citizen training.

What Your Puppy Should Know During the First Year

You've just brought your new puppy home, holding him in your arms as he licks your face with puppy kisses. The last thing on your mind at that moment is training. That's okay but as soon as your first greeting together is over, the training starts.

Does this seem too soon?

No way. You should start on the basics of positive-reinforcement training right away, if your want to give your pup a safe, positive, loving home. Always have dog treats on hand for rewarding good behavior. 

Here's a little chart outlining what your puppy should learn during his first year. This is not written in stone. Remember that all dogs learn at their own pace, so use this as just a guideline.

The golden rule of training your puppy is that patience is the key. If you get frustrated at any time, stop the training session. It's better to end on a happy note, so your puppy looks forward to his next lesson.

What Your Puppy Should Learn during the First Year

These guidelines are broken down by the age of your puppy. Don't get stressed if your puppy's training milestones are different from this outline. He'll progress in his own time because all he want to do is please you.

Two to Four Months Old

This is a time for introductions and behavior in your home. These are the social graces that your puppy needs to learn. If he master these basics, you'll have a relaxed and happy puppy wherever you go.

• Meet and greet people without jumping
• Introduce your puppy to the veterinarian and groomer
• Begin socializing him with other dogs
• Positive crate training
• Answer to his name
• Housebreaking
• Learn to walk without tugging. A harness or head halter helps a lot with tugging issues.

Five to Seven Months Old

This is the time to get into basic obedience training. Clicker training can help a lot with positive training and marking your puppy's success.

If you put if off training for too long, your puppy will develop bad habits that are hard to break. Your puppy is never too young to learn.

• Come when called from 10 to 15 feet away.
• Sit

• 

  Four months old learning 'sit'

  Zen – this is learning not to grab food out of anyone's hand or not taking it until you say it's okay. It's basically learning self-control, which continues as your puppy grows.
• Stay (working up from a few seconds to a few minutes)
• Down
• Continue with loose-leash walking

Eight to 11 months

Now that your puppy knows the basic commands, just continue reinforcing them. You can add extra distance and time to what he already knows.

• Come – gradually work up to a distance of 40 feet for the recall
• Sit, Down and Stay – combine all of these commands, adding extra time for all of them. You can tell your puppy to sit and stay, or down and stay. Walk a short distance away to start, then come right back. Work on this daily until your puppy will stay until you tell him to get up.
• Zen – continue working on your pup's self-control. You'll be glad you did as he gets older.

  

  Eight months practicing 'down and stay

Twelve Months Old and Beyond

If you've been consistent with your puppy's training, he should get a gold star at this point. He should know all the basic commands down pat.

You can also teach your puppy some tricks along the way. Many tricks are based on obedience commands. Take a look at YouTube for some trick ideas. It's full of well-renowned trainers that can help you teach your puppy some tricks.

Training is a lifetime commitment, but it's worth the effort. You and your puppy will have fun, frustration, triumphs and form a loving bond that never ends. Just when you think your dog knows everything you've worked on, he might regress. Just remember, your puppy isn't perfect and just like you, he can have a bad day. Use baby steps when training your puppy and enjoy those moments of success when they happen. Just make sure your puppy training is positive and fun.

How to Train a Dog to Walk up a Ramp into a Vehicle

If your senior dog has trouble jumping into the back of your SUV or truck, then a dog ramp might help. My 10-year-old collie started refusing to jump into the back of my SUV about one year ago. I had to lift his front paws up into the back of the car and then pick up his back end under his belly.

I’ve done that for about one year, but he’s 80 pounds and it’s getting harder for me to lift him. Plus, he doesn’t like it. Another problem is that when he jumps out of my car, his front leg always comes up lame. I think it’s too much pressure on his paws and knees when he jumps. Afterward, he limps for about two days before his leg feels better again.

Finally, I decided to buy a ramp for the car. I checked them out, read the reviews and figured it was worth a try. There are also extra-wide and extra-long ramps for larger dogs available. I actually got lucky when my daughter found a ramp for free listed in the area Facebook page.

Well, I brought the ramp home and started training my dog to walk on it. You can’t expect your dog to just start walking up and down the ramp as soon as you get it. I’d say it takes about two weeks to get a dog used to the ramp. If you decide to try it, be patient, giving your dog plenty of time to get used to the incline.

If he has a bad experience going up the ramp, you may never be able to get him to use it again. Here are a few tips on training your dog to use a ramp.

Learning how to use a dog ramp

Training Your Dog to Walk Up and Down a Ramp  

Here are the steps to train your dog how to use a ramp for getting in and out of the car: (If you trained your dog to target objects, that could help train this also.)

•  Have some of your dog’s favorite treats on hand.
•  Put the ramp opened flat on the ground.
•  Bring your dog up to the ramp, letting him sniff it.
•  If he touches the ramp in any way, give him a treat.
• When he’s comfortable touching the ramp, put a treat on the ramp, so he can reach over and get it.
• Gradually, move the treats further along the ramp, so he has to step on it.
• Do this until he’s comfortable with his paws on the ramp.
•  Keep luring him with treats until he walks onto the ramp.
•  At this point, you should be able to lure him across the ramp.
•  When he’s walking across the ramp successfully, you can add a verbal cue that he doesn’t know yet.
• The next step is to add elevation very slowly.
•  Put a brick or piece of wood under one end, so the ramp is elevated slightly.  Use the same method to get your dog to walk across the ramp.
• Slowly increase the incline of the ramp until it’s the height of your car, SUV or truck. Just make sure there’s a surface for your dog to step onto when he reaches the top, such as a deck or platform.

·         When you’re sure that he’s 100 percent comfortable climbing the ramp, you can put it against the back of your SUV.

Your dog might still get nervous when it comes time to try to use the dog ramp to get into your SUV. Just be patient and continue using the treats. If he seems scared or nervous, don’t force him. Go back and keep practicing from the point when he was comfortable.

Eventually, he will get it and you won’t have to worry about lifting your dog or having him hurt himself jumping out of the vehicle. I hope this helps you get your dog used to using a ramp.