Yesterday after I posted my blog, one of my friends left me a comment on my facebook page asking if I wanted to come and train her dogs.  Of course I would love to!  But at the moment finances prevent that.  The fact of the matter is that my dogs are fairly well-trained, but we are constantly, constantly training them.

This doesn’t mean that we do nothing but train our dogs; what it does mean is that when we are in the kitchen cooking something and the dogs are hanging around, we make them sit.  While we are preparing our plates, they are on their mats in the living room in a down position (at least Sampson is.)  When we are on the trail, we will call them to us and have them sit.  When someone comes to the door we (try) to have them sit at the top of the stairs to allow our guests inside.  Practicing your commands is also good if you are struggling with training your dog to do something in particular.

One of my friends has a dog that jumps on them, specifically when the dog wants to go out and they are trying to rise from their chairs.  I suggested she have the dog sit while she attempts to rise; if the dog jumps up, then my friend should sit back down and repeat her command.  Trust me; it won’t take long for the dog to realize “Hey…this isn’t working for me.”

Case in point, Delilah is a jumper, normally she doesn’t jump on people but when she gets excited (like when we are feeding her or coming to the door to let her inside) she jumps up and down like a Jack Russell Terrier!  Truthfully, we think its funny because she bounces backwards when we are bringing her food to her; but it really irritates me at the door, so I’ve started making her sit when I start to open the door.  If she starts jumping, I bring my hand back to my side and wait until she sits and then we try again.  I did this for about a week and this morning; she sat while I opened the door.

In my opinion, training is physically as well as mentally stimulating to your dog; and they should be stimulated both mentally and physically.  Besides…the more you train them the better they listen. Then in an emergency situation when you say, “Come” or “Sit” it will be automatic for your dog, and less stress on you.

That's right, I'm sitting; you got something to say about it?

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