09.11.2019

Dog Training tips, the good and the not so good…Training the ‘Sit’. Resource Guarding.

There are good and not as good ways of doing things right.
Some examples I can think of in the dog training world that are happening right now include -
Teaching the ‘Sit’ by applying pressure around/on the rear end of your dog, whilst saying “Sit”.
You do not need nor should physically touch your dog, to train a sit in my opinion as 1. You will not always be close by to cue this action. 2. Your dog is not necessarily undertaking the ‘Sit’- you are manipulating his or her body.
3. When training, if indoors, you can walk your dog backwards towards a corner of a room, offering treats up above the nose and back towards the top of the head and he or she usually sits. If out and about, step in front of your dog with your body, offer the treat in the same way, whilst asking for the ‘Sit.’ Also then, no touch cue is needed here once taught 🙂

When teaching pups about ‘resource guarding’, some advice circulating is to regularly take your pups treats etc. away whilst he or she is eating them. In my opinion and experience in this consultancy, this can increase a guarding tendency as dogs become protective that you are going to come and take items away and quite frankly, fair enough, it seems like a scarcity of resources is in place. Instead, you must train with ’swapsies’ with other desirable objects from the get go… Selina McIntyre, Dog Behavioural Consultant & Dog Trainer, Dogs Best Friend.