brochure, page 4, “come front”

Page 4 of 4, training concludes and remedial lessons

final lessons

 

You now have your dog running away from you to

find the tossed kibble then returning at a run to

assume a position in front of your legs when you call out “name, front!”

 

With the dog’s meal in the same bowl, play a little game of keep-away, tossing kibble to distract your dog, running away calling “name, front!” and allowing your dog to really drive into a nice, straight position in front of you. Because you’re standing and your dog is

working to make eye contact, she’ll automatically sit.

 

Help your dog understand the exercise by only feeding when she runs at you and sits straight in front. Slow, distracted work earns no reward. If you get a slow response toss another kibble nearby and give a huge serving of kibble for a more motivated response.

remedial work

 

If you find this skill gradually degenerating as your dog gets into more advanced training, spend a few days reinforcing “front” for breakfast and supper. When you train young dogs you often stop training fundamentals in favor of more complex behaviors. If you find your dog starting to ignore more advanced cues, return to your foundation training for a week or two to restore your strong working relationship.

 

All foundation training is conditioning the dog to

respond, reflexively, to a verbal or physical cue. When you call your dog’s name and “come” or “front” you want an immediate whipping around of the dog’s head and rapid assumption of a sit directly in front.

Tags: basic dog obedience, Marsha Houston, Shelter dogs, sport obedience