When using marker training you build a stay into behaviors because the dog is not allowed to get up and come get their reward until released. So with one cue, sit for example, you are in fact teaching a sit/stay to your dog.

Another obedience time waster is the heel cue. Heeling is not a practical pet dog obedience behavior because heeling is a strict position (not walking on the left). Trainers who have made the “heel” part of their training programs usually just teach loose leash walking on the left side. It is far from what a real heel is. Which is, a strict static position the dog never changes.

Example, the dog holds a position where their right shoulder blade is next to your left knee. If you move backwards that position doesn’t change the dog walks backwards. If you take a big step with your right leg but do not move your left leg the dog stays by the left leg without moving.

In reality there is very little need for a pet dog to learn this. The heel is also quite stressful on a dog when it is taught correctly. They want to sniff and explore their world yet you are restricting their ability to do so because you want your dog to follow you. Or you want to show them who is the “pack leader” or whatever other reason that you use to restrict your dogs natural movement.

I’ll say it again so people don’t email with hate mail about how I’m crazy. The only time you would ever need a real heel is in high traffic areas where you need your dog close to you for a brief time. If you are walking down an empty street in suburbia why not let your dog have more freedom to sniff, pee, poo, and explore? Your dog is not going to see this limited freedom as a chance to over throw your household. That I guarantee you.

In short the best obedience behaviors are the ones you can actually use daily. Many classes are regimented to teach you a specific set of behaviors THEY feel is best for you and your dog. If you don’t need to teach a 30 minute down stay (way excessive in my view) then don’t worry about teaching it and don’t allow a trainer to mislead you into thinking that you really need to teach your dog the behavior.

Of course if you want to spend time teaching your dog more complicated behaviors by all means go for it. I’m not saying you should take what I wrote here today and ditch the obedience training. What you teach your dog is entirely up to you. However for those that want to cut right to the chase the simple behaviors like sit, down, leash manners, and coming when called will give you a lifetime of material to work on.

Thanks for reading and have a wonderful day!

Best Regards,
Jason Mann
http://www.PitBullTrainingHandbook.com

There is a 45 day, no hassle guarantee so I promptly refunded the purchase. In her email she said the reason why she wanted a refund was because she doesn’t believe in training with treats. Curious I emailed her back asking her why she didn’t believe in training with treats.

Her response was typical of people who do not understand the principles of dog training. She responded with the following …

“I don’t like treat training cause I want her to respond without always expecting a treat. Also, I don’t like having to carry treats all of the time.”

Early on in my dog training education I remember having a debate with a trainer that I was working with about the use of food rewards in dog training. They believed you should limit the use of food rewards and I was trying to figure out why that is.

Later in my training education a trainer that I respect and who trains dogs to the highest levels of competitive sports and working roles in law enforcement told me they believe in training with food because it makes training easier and more efficient.

Today I believe that if you are still trying to train your dog using praise or toys or some other form of reward you’re shooting yourself in the foot. Why? While a few dogs may indeed respond to toys and praise the vast majority of dogs will respond to food. Food makes training easier.

I am writing this today because this “no treat training” confuses me. Would you work without a paycheck? Seriously. That is exactly what you’re asking your dog to do. Hey, do it because I said so or else!

What if your boss walked in and said, “Hey, you’re not getting a check anymore, do it or else!” Would you respond, “Oh golly boss, thank you so so much for ya kindness boss!” They have name for this kind of thing, it’s called SLAVERY.

Dogs work because you pay them. Eventually the work becomes the reward and you don’t have to pay them as much, but you still have to give them their holiday bonus from time to time otherwise they will go on strike and walk out on you.

To expect a dog to listen to you “just because” is ridiculous.

Now you may have a dog that doesn’t respond to food, that’s all good, I am not saying they do not exist. What I am saying is you should not dismiss using food rewards because you “don’t want” your dog to “expect a treat.”

The lady also said …

I”ve been using the deep ” authoritative” voice followed by positive touch & voice. That technique only works sometimes

The reason it only works sometimes is because the dog is not receiving a motivational reward. Speaking to your dog in an “authoritative” voice does nothing. Why? Your dog doesn’t know what you are trying to convey to them. You could scream at them for an hour but unless you give them a reward at the proper time, your voice means diddly doo.

My advice to anyone reading this that thinks training with treats is not effective or they don’t want to use food because they don’t want their dogs expecting treats is to educate yourself about the principles of dog training before you start training your dog.

Learn from a professional dog trainer before you make up your mind.

Best Regards,
Jason Mann
The Most Complete Website About Pit Bulls Online

Emma has been trained to pick up trash and put it in the trash bins. Keeping the streets a little cleaner and providing a positive image for Pit Bulls. I ran across this story and I couldn’t help but share it with you. Just another example of the diversity of the American Pit Bull Terrier.

You can read the full story at: Little Litter Dog: Pit Bull Doing Its Part to Keep City Clean

Hope you enjoy the story as much as I did.

Best Regards,
Jason Mann
The Most Complete Pit Bull Website Online
The Pit Bull Training Handbook

I get a ton of training questions on a daily basis. Unfortunately I have very little time to answer each and every one of those questions so in an effort to help Pit Bull owners I put together a free 5 day training lesson package.

For more information visit Pit Bull University.

Like I said before, these are 5 free training lessons. Enjoy.

Best Regards,
Jason, Angel CGC/CTD, Honey and Patch CGC
The Most Complete Pit Bull Information Site Online

What is this “dirty little secret?”

I’ll tell you more about that in a moment. First I would like to tell you about my book, The Pit Bull Training Handbook. I wrote this book for Pit Bull owners because there are a growing number of dog trainers in the world that will not work with Pit Bulls.

I know, amazing right, these people are stupid. I get referrals from other dog trainers in my area all the time because they refuse to work with Pit Bulls. It boggles my mind. But that’s besides the point.

I also wrote the book because I personally believe that basic training is the single most powerful way to build a bond with your dog.

The Pit Bull Training Handbook covers basic obedience, puppy manners, leadership, and more. What makes the handbook different is that it truly is Pit Bull specific. This is not a cookie cutter breed book that would work for any breed.

Many of the training concepts are well known but the focus on how to apply them to Pit Bulls is 100% unique.

You will also find things like how to train for the spring pole, how to build drive, and how to develop focus and attention quickly and effectively.

The techniques work for puppies and adult Pit Bulls.

You will also have the opportunity to become part of a growing community of Pit Bull owners by joining the Pit Bull Lovers Private forum. The forum is private, exclusive, and only customers of the Pit Bull Training Handbook have access to it. It is moderated and you will not find a bunch of “game dog” posts or people there. It is full of like minded people who simply want to train their dogs and present a great image of the Pit Bull to the general public.

I guarantee satisfaction and reveal all the steps that I use to train my own dogs and use in my professional dog training business to get results.

For more information about what is inside the handbook visit The Pit Bull Training Handbook website here.

What about that dirty little secret?

The dirty little secret is motivation. Yes, motiviation. As I said before you may have heard about getting your Pit Bull motivated but I guarantee you have never been told how to do that exactly. Well, I’m going to tell you right now.

There are many ways to do this. Pit Bulls, being “gripping dogs” are for the most part driven dogs. Most Pit Bulls have good prey drive and it is this drive you want to tap into. You want to tap into the drive to chase, catch, and grip things.

How do you do that?

Playing games!

Okay, stay with me here because this is the thing that separates the methods I use from the ones you’ve probably read about or heard about from others. One example of how well this works is in my own dog Angel.

As a puppy Angel was not much of anything in regards to drive. She was a “normal” puppy with a decent amount of drive but nothing to special. I started playing fetch with her using a specific ball. Each time we played it was the same exact ball.

Over a period of just a few days she started getting really excited for that ball. As I was teaching her basic obedience I used that ball as a reward. Her desire to fetch and hold the ball grew and grew.

Angel is 9 years old now and her drive for the ball is super intense and her focus is laser pointed. I can get her to recall instantly, get her to sit instantly, lay down instantly, and learning new behaviors is a snap because she is motivated to work for her toy.

You may be thinking, “Jason, this isn’t a secret! Motivation is all over the web in dog training books and well, it’s not nothing special.”

My friend, I guarantee you that you have not seen the exact motivational method that I am talking about here and while it is easy to dismiss, don’t. It is powerful. I talk about this method even further in the Pit Bull Lovers Private Forum which you will be able to access after purchasing The Pit Bull Training Handbook.

When you use a specific toy or type of food to build drive in your Pit Bull, motivation and attention are simple as apple pie!

Without drive you can not get motivation. Without motivation you can not get focus. Without focus you can not get solid obedience. I use this secret daily to “wow” dog training clients and to show them how their dogs, once thought, “untrainable” are in fact, very trainable and within a few minutes of seeing the results they are excited to train their dogs.

The key is to isolate the toy/food. In other words, it is the only toy or food you use while training. They do not get the toy/food at any other time. Your dog will start to crave their favorite toy/food and as a result you will be able to train without conflict.

Try this experiment…

1. Decide on a toy. A tug, a ball, or whatever. Tugs and balls are best from my experience.

2. Only play with your dog using that toy for 7 days. Play for a few minutes at a time.

3. Do not let the dog keep the toy. Once you are done, put the toy up.

4. Watch your dogs behavior over the next 7 days. I’m not a betting man but if I were I would bet you will see a change (for the good) in their motivation for the toy.

If you want to use food, follow the same process as above but instead of a toy, use your “secret” food.

Until Next Time,
Jason, Angel CGC/CTD, Honey and Patch CGC
The Most Complete Pit Bull Web Site Online