In This Chapter
- Understanding the benefits and purpose of obedience classes
- Teaching your pup the good-dog basics
- Giving leash lessons
- Addressing your training problems
- Remembering the importance of fun
But training isn’t all about fun
and games. It can also be a matter of life and death. If your untrained
Dachshund slips out the front door between the legs of someone who isn’t paying
attention and then dashes for a squirrel across the street, all you can do is
hope a car isn’t coming. But, in the case of a well-trained Dachshund, you just
may be able to get her to stop before she hits the street. Unfortunately, you
may not be successful either way, because the instinct to give chase is strong
in the Dachshund. But the better trained your Dachshund is, the greater her
chances for survival.
Add to that the fact that most
Dachshunds abandoned to shelters aren’t trained and you have more than enough
reasons to start teaching your Dachshund some basics today. This chapter is
here to help.
Considering Obedience Classes
You may be fully committed to
training your Dachshund at home. Good for you. But that doesn’t mean you and
your friend won’t both benefit from a good obedience class. One of the biggest
advantages to an obedience class is the socialization. Obedience classes expose
your Dachshund to other dogs and humans so that your Dachsie learns more about
the world. This is important for molding a stable and mature adult dog.
Technical Stuff
Socialization is the process of teaching an animal about the social world humans live in: what all kinds of other people and animals are about. This process helps puppies become well-adjusted and confident, less likely to be fearful or aggressive, and able to make smart decisions about which people and animals are friendly and which are threats. Knowledge is power, and that’s exactly what socialization delivers to your Dachshund.
Obedience classes also teach your
pup that you make the rules and that he must follow your lead no matter where
you are. Classes give you some great new tips and tricks that you may not find
in training books. Plus, I know how it feels to read something about training that
makes perfect sense, only to start training and think, “Now, why isn’t this
working on my dog?” Professional teachers can address specific problems
and see what you may be doing wrong.
Even if you register for nothing
more than a puppy kindergarten or puppy socialization class, you’ll be glad you
did. You and your Dachshund both need training and a structure for your daily sessions.
Technical Stuff
Puppy kindergarten describes classes for young puppies or dogs that have never had any obedience training. These classes focus on socialization, and you may also learn how to teach your puppy some basic skills. You may even get help with housetraining and other new-puppy problems you may be experiencing.
Finding a teacher
If you find a teacher with a
method you love whose style really works for you, you may find that you and
your Dachshund can go up, up, up to the highest echelons of obedience
competition. Or, if you’re not into competition, you’ll still have fun and
learn a lot.
Finding a good teacher is
important. Your veterinarian and/or breeder can probably recommend an obedience
instructor or two. Also, ask other pet-owning friends which instructors they
like and
Look for someone who teaches and
uses positive training techniques (like praising good behavior) rather than
negative techniques (like leash jerking). Also, look for someone you feel comfortable
with and whose style you can relate to. Ask to watch a class, and talk to the
trainer about his or her methods. Cost and location may also be factors for
you, but don’t settle on a teacher who doesn’t make you feel comfortable just
because the class is cheaper or closer.
Continuing your work at home
Obedience classes work best when
you work every day with your Dachshund at home. Consider it homework. In fact,
most obedience instructors really will give you homework assignments. When your
teacher tells you to practice twice a day for 10 to 20 minutes, she means it.
Otherwise, you’ll find that obedience classes have little if any effect on your
Dachshund’s behavior. Beyond the essential element of a positive and fun
approach, obedience training is all about two key concepts: consistency and
persistency.
Remember
The ideal situation is holding two training sessions each day, but even one 5- or 10-minute session per day (adult dogs usually can’t concentrate for much longer, and puppy sessions may be much shorter) goes a long way toward establishing a training ritual for you and your Dachshund. Make training just as important as brushing your teeth (and brushing your Dachshund’s teeth!). Do it every day; you won’t regret it.
But what do you do every
day? A good obedience instructor will give you plenty of suggestions — maybe
even a detailed format for your homework. The training she gives you may
resemble some of the exercises in the following section. And if you haven’t
registered for your classes yet or you just want some variation, the puppy
lessons in the following section are just what you need.
Important Lessons for You and Your Puppy
Training your Dachshund keeps her
life interesting, keeps her safe, and keeps her out of the local shelters. This
section covers some
Tip
For every lesson, be sure that you have a ready store of your dog’s food (taken from her daily allowance) or very small treats so you can immediately reinforce good behavior.
Remember
No matter how consistent and persistent you are in your training sessions, if you don’t make training fun for your Dachshund, you can forget the learning. A positive attitude, plenty of happy praise, and a sense of excitement are all essential elements to any Dachshund training session. If you have an old-fashioned notion of discipline, it’s time to get modern. The old adage “No pain, no gain” doesn’t serve you or your Dachshund well. The surest way to tell whether your Dachshund is having a blast is to consider whether you’re having a blast. If the training is fun for you, it’s probably fun for your Dachsie.
Getting a puppy’s attention
Puppies are notoriously
distractible. How on Earth are you going to teach your puppy to sit, let alone
get her to pay attention to you long enough to hear you say the cue “Sit”?
First, you teach your puppy when it’s time to listen:
1. Pick up your puppy and look
her in the eye while saying her name.
Some puppies will look you in the eye immediately — even hold your gaze for a few seconds before twisting around to see what else is going on that may be of interest. Others will look anywhere but your eyes.
2. Follow with one of these
actions:
• If she looks at you when you say her name, praise her and give her a treat.
• If she won’t look you in the eye, start making funny (nonthreatening) sounds.
Whistle, click your tongue, and say “Beep beep!” or “Toodleoodleoodle” or whatever other funny sound amuses you. (Remember, this should be fun for you, too.) Note: Don’t use your puppy’s name for this one yet. She probably hears it all the time, and you want to emit a new sound that will capture her attention.
As soon as she looks at you, smile happily, say “Good dog!” and give her a treat.
3. Repeat Steps 1 and 2 a
couple more times.
4. Try the exercise with the
puppy on the floor and you sitting in front of her.
When she gives you her attention, be enthusiastic. Play with her joyfully, give her a treat, pet her gently — whatever she really loves.
If, in Step 2, you had to go with the second option — making funny sounds — continue with the rest of these steps.
5. After your Dachsie reliably
turns her attention to you when you make your funny sound, add her name to the sound.
Do this, for example: “[whistle] Hans!” or “Beep beep, Hans!” Continue to reward your dog enthusiastically every time she gives you her attention.
6. Repeat Steps 4 and 5
several times every day.
7. After several days, begin
to drop the funny sound every other time. After a few more days, use only your Dachshund’s
name to grab her attention.
Continue to reward her whenever she gives you her full attention.
You can practice this lesson
during walks, in the car, in the park, or wherever else you are with your
Dachshund. Eventually, she’ll learn that when you say her name, it’s in her
best interest to pay attention to you because something great is sure to
happen.
Tip
Another way you can get a dog’s attention is by showing her a treat and then holding it at arm’s length to your side. The dog will stare at your hand and the treat. The instant she looks you in the eye, give her the treat. This will establish great eye contact and command; your Dachshund is listening. What will you tell her to do next?
Remember
You can, of course, name your dog whatever you like. Short names (or short nicknames of long names) that are fun and easy to say are most effective for training, however. Peter, Max, Trixie, and Sport make better choices than Bartholomew, Zachariah, Veronica, and Mary Margaret (although Bart, Zach, Vicky, and Meg would all work well).
Teaching “Come”
“Come” is the most essential cue
in your Dachshund’s repertoire. That doesn’t mean she’ll always obey it,
though. You’re doing pretty well if she usually obeys it. However, she
must learn it because it can save her life someday.
The good news? It’s easy to get
most puppies to come. Puppies are curious, and they love people. If you squat
down or lie down on the floor, open your arms wide, and look excited while
calling for your puppy, she’s bound to come, well, bounding over.
The older a puppy gets, however,
and the more familiar you get, the less likely it is that you’ll seem
like the most interesting thing in the room. (Don’t take it personally!) Your
puppy may think, “Oh, yeah. That guy. But hey, I’ve never seen that new shoe
over there before!” And when you get some serious competition, like a rabbit in
the garden or a robin on the driveway, forget it.
So how do you teach your puppy
that “Come!” means come and always means come, whether she feels like it or
not? Habit, pure and simple. Dogs thrive on habit and routine. Practice the
“Come” cue every day, again and again, whenever you get the chance. Always
reward it. If you do it often enough, it will become second nature, and your
Dachshund will come without even thinking about it. If your Dachshund sincerely
believes that every time she comes to you, something great will happen, you’ve
made yourself more interesting than that new shoe — at least for a few moments.
Here are the steps you must
repeat for teaching the “Come” cue:
1. Get down close to your
Dachshund’s eye level, about 5 or 6 feet away.
2. Open your arms wide and,
with as much excitement and joy as you can muster, say “[puppy’s name], Come!”
Wave a treat in the air, if necessary. If she comes without seeing the treat, give her one anyway to reward her.
3. When she comes to you, heap
on the praise.
Really heap it on — this is the big one. “Whatta good good good doggie! What a well-behaved perfect little puppy! She can come, yes she can!” Pet, kiss, play, and offer a treat — make it worth your Dachshund’s while.
If your puppy follows you before you’ve said “Come,” say “Come” as she’s following you. “Come, Spot! Whatta good Spot! Come! Thatta girl! Come, Spot!”
5. Do it again and again,
until your Dachshund loses interest.
Probably five times is the most you’ll get in at once. Work through the lesson again later. And again and again and again in the days after.
Tip
After your Dachshund understands “Sit” and “Wait” (see the following section), you can combine them with “Come.” Have your Dachshund sit, tell her to wait, and then walk away. Then say “[puppy’s name], Come!” Three cues for the price of one!
Remember
Here are two very important things to remember, so read up:
- Never go for one day without practicing “Come” a few times. Your goal is to have the sound of the word “Come” induce such a familiar and practiced response in your Dachshund that she obeys without even thinking about it.
- If you use food rewards for only one cue, “Come” should be the one. If you reward your Dachshund in a way that makes a big impression every single time she comes when you call her, she’ll be more likely to obey you every single time you call her.
Teaching “Sit”
When your Dachshund has learned
to pay attention to you when you address her (see the previous section), you
can begin to add words to her name to signify different behaviors. But how do
you get your Dachshund to know what you want her to do? Through the magic of
lure-and-reward training.
Even before your Dachshund knows
her name, you can lure her into a sit with a piece of kibble or a treat. You
can even try the following lesson with puppies that you’re visiting at the
breeder’s house to see which ones are most responsive to you:
1. Put your puppy in front of
you — preferably up on a table so that you can be close to her eye level.
2. If she isn’t standing, lift
her up to a standing position.
3. Pick up a piece of kibble
and hold it in front of her nose, as shown in Figure 14-1.
Put it just close enough for her to see and smell it but not close enough for her to grab it.
Figure 14-1: Let your
Dachsie see and sniff the kibble before having her sit.
4. When your puppy notices the
treat, slowly raise the treat up in the air and slightly over your puppy’s
head.
How can she resist? She must try to follow it. But to do so, she has to raise her head, and to raise her head, she has to sit.
5. As your Dachshund sits, say
“Sit” in a relaxed and friendly manner and then immediately praise her.
“Good sit! Whatta good dog!”
6. When she’s fully seated,
give her the treat without delay.
“Whatta good dog! Whatta good little Gretel!”
7. Repeat Steps 1 through 6
once or twice, and then try the exercise on the floor.
Eventually, your puppy will associate the action with the word, but don’t rush to get rid of the treat. Keep practicing for at least a couple of weeks, and if she doesn’t get it, keep using the lure for a while longer.
In other words, after she’s in the sit, don’t give her the food immediately. Hold it over her head while you say “Wait” in a friendly and relaxed tone. Wait for two seconds to give her the treat.
9. Gradually, over the course
of several weeks, increase the time between the sit and the reward.
Go from 2 seconds to 5, 10, 20, and 30 seconds, and then go for a minute. Vary the wait so she never knows how long it will be. Sit, wait, reward.
Later on down the road, when you want your Dachshund to sit for longer periods of time — say, while you get her dinner prepared or when you have to take a phone call — you can say “Sit, Wait” and then go about your business. When you give your pup a treat, you release her. You should also practice the extended stay by using “Down” rather than “Sit”; it will be more comfortable for your Dachshund. Find out how to teach “Down” later in this chapter.
Tip
For long sits, accompany the treat reward with a release cue, such as “Okay!” or “Go Play!” Eventually, you won’t even need the treat. Your Dachshund will be happy to sit and wait for you. Of course, she’ll always be happy to take a treat off your hands, too, so you needn’t abandon the treat if you enjoy offering it occasionally. Keep her guessing to keep her paying attention!
Teaching “Stand”
The “Stand” cue is great for
grooming sessions, for dog shows, or for pauses during walks when you want to
chat with a neighbor. Follow the same steps that you use for teaching “Sit” (in
the section “Teaching ‘Sit’”), except that you lure your puppy into position in
the following way:
1. Put your puppy into a
sitting position or have her sit by giving her the “Sit” cue.
2. After she’s sitting, hold a
piece of kibble in front of her nose until she notices it.
3. Pull the kibble in a
straight line, parallel to the floor, away from her nose.
To follow it, she’ll have to stand up.
4. As she stands, say “Stand”
in a relaxed and friendly manner.
5. When she’s fully standing,
praise her and immediately give her the treat.
Heap on the praise. “Good stand! Whatta good Butch! Whatta good stand!”
6. Add the “Wait” cue, as
described in the “Sit” cue section, and then the release cue.
What a well-behaved Dachshund you have!
Teaching “Down”
The “Down” cue is good for getting
your Dachshund under control. It’s a more submissive position than the sit and
can help to calm your Dachshund when she’s getting overexuberant. Down also is an
excellent position for extended waits. You can practice the long down when you
watch television, have to work at your computer, when the family is having
dinner, or when friends are visiting and are ready for adult conversation.
(Life can’t be about your Dachshund all the time!)
Teach the Down cue after your
Dachshund has mastered Sit with the following steps:
1. Tell your Dachshund to sit,
reward her when she does, and then bring another piece of kibble into view.
Hold the new kibble just in front of your Dachshund’s nose.
2. When you have her
attention, slowly lower the kibble to the floor in a diagonal line, away from
your puppy’s nose.
If she follows it with her nose but doesn’t lie down, move it slightly away from her so that she has to lie down to reach it. If your Dachshund stands up to follow the kibble, moving out of the sit, take the treat away and start over with the “Sit” cue.
3. As she goes down to follow
the treat, say “Down” in a friendly and relaxed tone.
4. When she lies down, give
her the treat and pile on the praise.
It may take a few tries for your Dachshund to figure out what you mean. Plus, some Dachsies just don’t like to lie down. They’d rather be up and at ’em. But when she gets it, make lying down super rewarding; if you do, even the most active Dachsie will probably be willing to do it . . . on occasion.
Tip
It may help to train for “Down” when your Dachshund is tired — like after a walk or play session.
5. When your Dachshund
understands “Down” and reliably lies down on cue, add the Wait cue.
Gradually extend the time between the down and the reward — the same procedure you use for the long sit (see “Teaching ‘Sit’” for details).
You can add a release cue (like
“Okay!”) after a long down and practice it often. Whenever you plan to be in
one place for more than five minutes, practice the long down.
Warning!
You can practice the long down during pauses on your daily walk, but don’t make your Dachshund lie down on hot pavement. Let her practice the “Down” cue on the grass.
Mastering the Leash
This section’s set of cues are
for when you and your Dachshund are walking together — you on one end of the
leash and your Dachshund on the other. You may ask “Just who’s walking who?” as
your Dachsie drags you down the sidewalk. The daily Dachshund walk can be an
immensely enjoyable experience, provided that your Dachshund is well-behaved.
If not, it can become an irritating and trying task that you’ll probably soon
abandon.
Lure-and-reward training doesn’t
work with leash lessons because they involve behaviors or actions that you
can’t really lure your Dachshund into. However, a few simple, alternative
strategies will make your Dachshund’s walk all it should be.
See every walk with your
Dachshund as a training opportunity. Practice the following lessons each and
every time you and your puppy venture outside.
Warning!
A collar is more likely to strain and even injure your Dachshund’s neck than a harness that fits around her shoulders and torso. A harness can give you more control over your puppy and may be more comfortable for your Dachshund. Check your local pet stores, online pet supply companies, and mail-order pet supply catalogs for available harnesses. (See Chapter Purchasing Your Dachshund Essentials for more on leashes, collars, and harnesses.)
Teaching “Walk”
Few things are more irritating
than a dog that continuously pulls on her leash throughout an entire walk, and
few things are more humiliating than being dragged around the block by a
9-pound wiener dog. Teach your Dachshund how to heel — walk nicely beside
you without pulling — by positively reinforcing heeling behavior. Soon, your
walks will be a joy. Just follow these steps:
1. Put on your Dachshund’s
harness (or collar, if you choose) and leash and then take her outside.
2. Stand next to your
Dachshund with the leash in your right hand and the Dachshund to your left.
The leash should hang loosely in front of you. Stand still. Don’t talk to or look at your Dachshund. She’ll probably pull a little, wander around a little, and sniff a little. Eventually, she’ll get bored. (If she doesn’t, move to a more boring location — say, the middle of a wide cement driveway.)
3. When she quits moving
around and stands or sits next to you, look down happily and say “[puppy
name], Walk” and begin walking.
“Oh, joy!” your Dachshund thinks. “A walk! Hooray!” Off she dashes.
4. The moment — no, the instant
— you feel the tension on that leash tighten, stop.
Stand perfectly still. Don’t look at or talk to your Dachshund. Don’t even say “No.” Just stop.
But this isn’t what your Dachshund expected. She thought you were going for a walk. What gives? “C’MON!” she’s thinking. Don’t budge. Finally, your Dachshund will give up and come back to you.
5. When she comes back to you,
praise her and begin walking.
“Good dog! Let’s walk!” “Hooray!” She’ll lunge ahead again.
6. When she lunges ahead
again, stop again.
Remain dead still. Now your Dachshund may be getting pretty frustrated, but let her figure this one out. When she stays by your side, you move, and the two of you get to walk. Yippee! But when she pulls and lunges on the leash, you stop. No walk. Boring!
If she doesn’t get it today, she’ll get it soon. Every time she stays at your side, say “Walk” and then walk. That’s the big reward — one of the biggest in your Dachshund’s mind.
Tip
Here are a few more “Walk” tips:
- Never move when your Dachshund pulls on the leash, no matter how old and experienced she gets. Never make an exception. Even when she’s 10 years old, stop. Ignore her and don’t move until she’s back at your side in a mannerly way. As long as she stays at your side, the two of you can stroll as long as you like. But if you give a Dachshund an inch, she’ll drag you a mile.
- After your Dachshund has learned to stay by your side on walks, you can throw in a few curves — literally. Walk in an arc to the right and to the left, walk backward, walk in a circle, walk in a zigzag. See how well she can learn to tune in to your movements — even anticipate them. If, at any time, she makes a wrong move or puts any tension in that leash, always stop.
When your Dachshund has figured out the game, the “Walk” cue can become great fun — kind of like a challenging guessing game (and Dachsies love a challenge). It can also serve as an excellent foundation for more advanced obedience work, including the fun and creative freestyle competition (for more on freestyle, see Chapter Advanced Training and Competing for Fun).
- After your Dachshund has mastered the “Walk” cue, you can pick up the pace and change the cue to “Run.” But don’t run too fast or for very long with your Dachshund. Because their legs are so short, Dachshunds have to work twice as hard as other dogs to keep up with you.
Teaching “Wait”
If you’ve been working on the
long sit and long down, which I cover earlier in this chapter, your Dachshund
is probably already familiar with the cue “Wait.” You can use this cue on your
walks, too — at crosswalks or when you stop to chat with a neighbor. Positively
reinforce your Dachshund when she waits patiently at your side in a sit or a
down.
Practice “Wait” on a walk only
after your Dachshund has mastered “Walk”:
1. While on your daily walk,
whenever you approach a crosswalk or any other stopping point, say “[puppy
name], Wait” and then stop walking.
If your Dachshund keeps moving, stand completely still and ignore her, just like you do when teaching the “Walk” cue in the previous section.
2. As soon as she figures out
that you’ve stopped and comes to wait at your side, tell her to sit or lie
down.
3. When she sits or lies down,
praise her and offer her a treat.
4. When you’re ready to move
again, give the “Walk” cue and start walking as before. (You can throw in a
“Stand” first if you want to.)
Practice “Wait” a few times on
every walk, in conjunction with “Sit” or “Down” each time. Your neighbors will
be so impressed!
Troubleshooting 101: Conquering Training Problems
It’s easy to read about dog
training. It sounds so simple, so obvious, and so effortless. Then you sit down
and try it, and it doesn’t always go the way the book says.
Often, the problem is that you
aren’t in the right mood. Or you just don’t have the energy to enforce certain
rules consistently. Or you don’t train as regularly as you should, so your
Dachshund forgets. Following are a few common training problems and how to address
them.
Tip
If you’re really having problems, go to obedience class or just give your trainer a call (see the earlier section “Considering Obedience Classes”). Many trainers will even come to your house to conduct training sessions for your dog and for you, too! You’ll soon be back on track.
- Your Dachshund won’t listen. Don’t be impatient with training. Go back to Lesson #1 — getting your dog’s attention. If you don’t have your Dachshund’s attention, you can’t get anything else done. Don’t proceed until she learns that when she hears her name, something fun and good will come from your direction. Move up slowly from there.
You can always go back to square one. And remember, your Dachshund won’t listen to anything you have to say if you say it like you’re extremely annoyed or bored. But if you have something fun to say? Something great? Something so exciting that no Dachshund would ever want to miss out on it? Now you’re talking. (And your Dachshund is listening!)
- Your Dachshund won’t follow the lure. Impatience on your part may be the culprit. You hold the treat in front of your Dachshund and raise it up. Your Dachshund looks up, sits halfway, and then stands. Do you say, “Close enough!” and give her the treat? Sitting halfway isn’t close enough, however, and you’ve just rewarded your Dachshund for doing something incorrectly. Don’t give her a treat, not even once, unless she does something the way she’s supposed to. If she doesn’t get it on the first few tries, try again tomorrow. And the next day. Some Dachshunds are slower to learn, but yours really does want that treat, so keep trying until she understands.
Tip
Another reason for not following the lure could be that your Dachshund just isn’t very hungry right now. It may help to train her before her meal, when she’s hungrier; the treat will be a more interesting motivation then.
- Your Dachshund has a very short attention span. Of course she does, especially if she’s a puppy. Have you ever met a human toddler? You get the point. Don’t worry if your training sessions are effective for no longer than a couple minutes at first. A few tries at “Come,” a play break, and one or two “Sits” makes for a perfectly respectable training session for a young puppy.
- Your Dachshund refuses to come. Try training in an area with fewer distractions. You have to be the most exciting thing around for “Come” to work. If your backyard has many other yards, dogs, and wildlife in view, forget it. You can practice “Come” in the bathroom (put the trash away) or other relatively empty room, with no other people or pets around. Also, try training before a meal when your Dachshund may be hungrier or just after a nap when your Dachshund may be more alert and well-rested.
Tip
If you’re really having a hard time with this cue, don’t use the word “Come” unless your puppy is on a leash so you can slowly and gently pull him toward you. Then give him a treat. This tactic will keep your puppy from getting confused about what exactly you mean by Come.
- Kibble treats aren’t good enough. Different Dachshunds are food-motivated to varying degrees. If pieces of your Dachshund’s regular kibble just aren’t motivation enough, try healthy, homemade or store-bought treats broken into small bits. Or try small pieces of healthy people food, like baby carrots, blueberries, oat cereal circles, or, for the Dachshund that needs an extra push, very small slivers of cooked poultry or meat (avoid processed meat like hot dogs and lunchmeat) or low-fat shredded cheese.
- You keep getting angry. Puppies can be so frustrating. If you can’t keep your cool, though, training simply won’t work. Anger will only hurt your relationship with your Dachshund. Try training at a different time of day, when you’ll be in a better mood. Also, maybe your training sessions are too long. Start with sessions that are only a couple minutes long. How irritated can you get in two minutes? If you’re still having problems, you may need to get to the root of your irritation. If something else is bothering you, don’t take out your human troubles on your innocent, if rambunctious, little Dachshund.
Keep working, keep trying, and
never lose your sense of humor. Most training traumas can be resolved if you
stay creative and ask for professional help when you need it.
Recognizing the Importance of Play
I can’t emphasize enough how
important it is for you to keep training sessions cleverly disguised as play.
Whatever you do with your Dachshund should be fun. If you get bored, your
Dachshund is probably getting bored. If you get angry, your Dachshund is probably
getting frightened or at least thinking she’d like to put some distance between
herself and that big grumpy human.
by Eve Adamson
0 comments:
Post a Comment