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Motion memory refers to those things that your body has become habituated to movement and/or action to the point it can override how you are trying to change movement and/or action. As an example, often I click my mouse twice over things on my computer even as I realize I don't need to do that anymore. In fact, it usually makes a whole bunch of useless windows open up that I don't need, and slows downs processes on my computer. My habit of motion is overriding what I already know that I need to do.  Where do these things show up in dog training? · When a handler wraps the leash around their hands or puts their whole hand through the handle loop. The correct way to hold the leash, which takes awhile and practice to set into the conscience of the handler, is to put your thumb through the loop of the leash, and then wrap your fingers around the whole handle. · During the training of the heel, when the leash hand floats into the air. I don’t know why this ...

So many people do not train their dogs.   Some humans don't want to.   Some humans feel their dog is already well mannered as it is.   Some people have gone to training classes but not left with a trained dog (trained to a standard, and I will discuss that in another article).  However, living with a trained dog makes life so much easier.   I only wish people knew that once the work was put in, living with your dog is a delight NOT a chore. Here are some reasons to train your dog that benefit both members of the team: · Your dog is happier because he/she understands what you want. What are people thinking when they ask an untrained dog to sit? I know the dog is thinking “Whattttt??????” Dogs are not born with an innate ability to understand English, even if to us those words are the most common commands used. If your dog isn’t trained, he/she has no idea what you want of him/her. They will try to figure it out, and try out a few options...

I don't know if most of the dog owning public is aware of the levels that we pass through when teaching a dog a certain command. Here are the four levels that I usually think of: 1) Demonstrate to the dog what you want him to do .You can do this by positioning or luring your dog into position. Dogs need to be shown what to do, because they don’t naturally know the things we take for granted that older dogs have already been taught. Obviously they don't understand our verbal cues, and need to be shown what they will correspond to in the future. In the Demonstration phase, the command is verbalized in conjunction with the luring or placing the dog into correct position. 2) Teach your dog what you want him/her to do (consistency and repetition). Let them know this is not a one-time command performance. There are rewards for the correct completion of a task Be consistent. Don’t tell your dog to “sit” unless you are ready to help him/her into a sit if they don’t quite understand i...

Novice is the first non-optional level of the American Kennel Club's obedience trials. Three different judges must at least qualify a team with a score of 170 or higher in order for the participants to move onto the next levels, if they would like to. You can move onto open and utility trials after that. When people see these dogs in the ring, they think it's all about "pretty walking". It's actually about a lot more than that. Here are some exercises from the Novice trials, and their real life HEEL ON LEAD: Heel is a moving command and an exact position. The dog turns with the handler , and exhibits that their job is to move with and pay attention to the handler. Uses for this include, but are not limited to walking safely down city streets (teaches your dog to not be concerned with distractions), bringing groceries and dog from car to house, walking through unexpected distractions, taking a dog out of a situation that is about to become volatile, and just the ...

The two Dobermans are Jackie and Leon, who have unfortunately passed away.   The training they recieved allowed them to enjoy their life in this way. My philosophy on dog training is based on the idea of providing dogs the best and most full lives available in their domesticated situation with humans.    Training is a means to create a communication between two species, which do not share a common language.     Communication in the form of commands, body language, and demeanor are needed to develop through teaching and learning between the canine and canine owner.   It is more effective and efficient to be able to guide the dog what to do in situations, rather than have them guess what you would like them not to do, in my personal opinion.   In order for dogs to have the most freedom and exercise, commands must be able to be performed reliably in distracting real life situations in which they are likely to accompany their owners.   There...

Through my experiences, readings, and discussions; these are the definitions that I have been coming up with to define terms that I use in dog training. It's important to note that other dog trainers or canine professionals may mean different things when these same terms are used. However, I try to remain true to these definitions, such as these, when I speak on dog subjects. Aggression ( I tend to untangle my definition from overlapping with fear or dominant as to the best of my ability) A canine with the confidence of forward moving action in order to further a goal. Associative Learning - As per wikipedia "Associative learning is the process by which an element is learned through association with a separate, pre-occurring element." Behavior Modification In dog training this is a series of steps and exercises that seek to improve a behavior in the domesticated canine that is seen as unsuitable to the human family or handler's purpose. (IE being a pet dog, a police d...