Competition and Pet Handler

Important Points to Remember:

1. DO NOT train if you or your dog is unwell or if you are not in a relaxed frame of mind.

2. ALWAYS praise your dog gently when he responds to commands.

3. NEVER give a second command without taking action to make sure it is obeyed.

4. ALWAYS make sure the check chain/collar is on correctly.

5. ALWAYS make time to finish your training with games.

6. DO NOT expect your dog to obey commands he does not understand – keep all commands simple.

7. DO NOT mix the commands “stay” and “wait” – use “stay” when you are going to return to the dog – use “wait” when you are going to call him to you.

8. DO NOT think that by increasing the 5 minutes-a-day sessions to 10 minutes, your dog will progress faster. Too much training is not good for youngsters – they learn slowly and steadily. It is much more important to spend time PLAYING with your dog.

9. ALWAYS FINISH YOUR TRAINING SESSION ON A GOOD NOTE. If your dog can’t seem to get an exercise right, stop trying and get him to do a simple exercise, which you know he can do. That way you finish your training by giving him praise and he will look forward to the next session.

The most important 5 minutes a day for your dog:

These exercises do not have to be done in order but DO NOT practice a stay exercise before or after a static recall.

EXERCISE 1 – HEEL WORK: Approximately 1 minute.

EXERCISE 2 – SIT STAY: 30 seconds maximum.

EXERCISE 3 – HEEL WORK: Left and right hand circles, approximately 1 minute.

EXERCISE 4 – DOWN STAY: 30 seconds maximum.

EXERCISE 5 – HEEL WORK: Including recalls on the move, approximately 1 minute.

EXERCISE 6 – STATIC RECALL: Dog in sit position, command dog “wait”, handler only two paces forward, turn and face dog, call dog into present position, tell dog to “wait”, turn and stand by his side. ONLY DO THIS EXERCISE WHEN DOG IS RELIABLE IN THE SIT STAY.

EXERCISE 7 - WATCH ME: Attention exercises with Titbit or Toy 30 sec.