Teach your dog that an open space, such as a door, a gate, a car door or whatever, means they are to look to you for instruction can and will save your dogs life. We call this exercise teaching a dog to "Honor the Boundary".
Here is how you teach your dog to honor an open door or gate or whatever. Do this outside initially. Stand on the Longe Line, very close to the dog so it can't move much, in front of a closed gate. Have the Longe Line correctly held in your hand, the extra between you and the dog. Open the gate (or have someone else open it) as you take your foot off the Longe Line. Say nothing to the dog.
At that moment your dog has the choice to wait beside you or bolt through the open gate. If the dog chooses to wait patiently beside you, then step off on your LEFT foot and walk through the gate. Again, say nothing to the dog and continue with your Longe Line workout. However, if, like most dogs, your dog chooses to seize the golden opportunity to bolt through the open gate, do an immediate 180 degree turn (go the opposite direction) and let the dog learn the consequences of running through an open space.
The Longe Line will tighten and the dog will get a collar correction, a direction and have the time to refocus on you moving away from it. The dog will not be able to figure out how you are many steps away from it and still, mystically, magically have the ability to reach out and without words, correct the dog and bring it back where it needs to be...close to you. This is dog training psychology at its best and we are using it to teach your dog you are the leader, a worthy leader, one they need to pay attention to AT ALL TIMES, and a leader they can respect. And we are letting the Longe Line and that wonderful safety loop do the leverage work for you.
Again, as I explained , this is how even a small person, can work a much bigger and stronger dog and teach it to pay attention to me....as all of this is being taught in a language your dog clearly understands. Do the above Honor the Boundary exercise correctly (it usually only takes a few times) and your dog will learn quickly an open space means they need to look to you for instruction. All of this is done without words and all of this is done on a Longe Line. Why on a Longe Line and not on a leash? Because the length of the Longe Line gives your dog the choice to pay attention to you...or not.
If the dog chooses wisely, the reward is a slack collar telling your dog it has made the right choice. If the dog chooses unwisely (and they all do initally) the tightening 'pop' of the collar provides the dog a correction telling the dog that was a very unwise choice. Either way, your dog gets to choose. At this point in the training, your natural instinct is to either gather up the Longe Line, or switch to the leash, and do the above Honor the Boundary exercise.
When you do that, you are managing the dog and thus conveying to the dog that it can't think, it doesn't have to take responsibility for its choices, and you MUST manage (control) the dog as it is not capable. That is a commonly held human dog owner belief. That belief is false and degrading to the dog. Your dog can think, it can take responsibility for its behavior, and it can and will learn emotional and physical self-control here at Applewoods if you follow this program.
The result is a dog you enjoy living with, one who is a genuine companion to you in your life, and dog that brings you joy. So, go watch the gate etiquette video to see how this is done. Find someplace to practice where you can turn and move easily away from your dog. And remember, the only bad question is the one you didn't ask. We're delighted with an opportunity to educate you on the ways to help your dog to succeed, but equally delighted to educate you on the reasons our methods work so very well.
Results of teaching your dog to "Honor the Boundary"?
Roxanne
Here is how you teach your dog to honor an open door or gate or whatever. Do this outside initially. Stand on the Longe Line, very close to the dog so it can't move much, in front of a closed gate. Have the Longe Line correctly held in your hand, the extra between you and the dog. Open the gate (or have someone else open it) as you take your foot off the Longe Line. Say nothing to the dog.
At that moment your dog has the choice to wait beside you or bolt through the open gate. If the dog chooses to wait patiently beside you, then step off on your LEFT foot and walk through the gate. Again, say nothing to the dog and continue with your Longe Line workout. However, if, like most dogs, your dog chooses to seize the golden opportunity to bolt through the open gate, do an immediate 180 degree turn (go the opposite direction) and let the dog learn the consequences of running through an open space.
The Longe Line will tighten and the dog will get a collar correction, a direction and have the time to refocus on you moving away from it. The dog will not be able to figure out how you are many steps away from it and still, mystically, magically have the ability to reach out and without words, correct the dog and bring it back where it needs to be...close to you. This is dog training psychology at its best and we are using it to teach your dog you are the leader, a worthy leader, one they need to pay attention to AT ALL TIMES, and a leader they can respect. And we are letting the Longe Line and that wonderful safety loop do the leverage work for you.
Again, as I explained , this is how even a small person, can work a much bigger and stronger dog and teach it to pay attention to me....as all of this is being taught in a language your dog clearly understands. Do the above Honor the Boundary exercise correctly (it usually only takes a few times) and your dog will learn quickly an open space means they need to look to you for instruction. All of this is done without words and all of this is done on a Longe Line. Why on a Longe Line and not on a leash? Because the length of the Longe Line gives your dog the choice to pay attention to you...or not.
If the dog chooses wisely, the reward is a slack collar telling your dog it has made the right choice. If the dog chooses unwisely (and they all do initally) the tightening 'pop' of the collar provides the dog a correction telling the dog that was a very unwise choice. Either way, your dog gets to choose. At this point in the training, your natural instinct is to either gather up the Longe Line, or switch to the leash, and do the above Honor the Boundary exercise.
When you do that, you are managing the dog and thus conveying to the dog that it can't think, it doesn't have to take responsibility for its choices, and you MUST manage (control) the dog as it is not capable. That is a commonly held human dog owner belief. That belief is false and degrading to the dog. Your dog can think, it can take responsibility for its behavior, and it can and will learn emotional and physical self-control here at Applewoods if you follow this program.
The result is a dog you enjoy living with, one who is a genuine companion to you in your life, and dog that brings you joy. So, go watch the gate etiquette video to see how this is done. Find someplace to practice where you can turn and move easily away from your dog. And remember, the only bad question is the one you didn't ask. We're delighted with an opportunity to educate you on the ways to help your dog to succeed, but equally delighted to educate you on the reasons our methods work so very well.
Results of teaching your dog to "Honor the Boundary"?
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| My dogs won't cross the 'boundary' of front door without being told. I once left my front door open, unknowlingly, as my husband and I went on errands for nearly 2 hours. My dogs were in this same position as I drove up. Wow! |
Roxanne
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