Focus and Reliability Training Program
This unique 6 week program builds on the basic manners and skills training and advances your dog’s responsiveness.
We’ll teach your canine companion to practise their foundation skills in various on and off leash locations. This progresses your dog to greater reliability in new environments with novel sights, smells and sounds and proofs their responses to our cues.
Dogs do not generalize learned skills like humans.
Therefore, it’s important for them to practise around other animals, people, wheeled conveyances, on different surfaces and in a variety of locations.
In addition to food rewards, we’ll use life rewards such as sniff walks, playing with other dogs, scent games and playing fetch during training. This also provides mental enrichment and fun.
To facilitate their learning, we’ll train your dog in natural environments including Heritage Park, Bow Valley Ranch, Fish Creek Park, River Park, Chapparal Valley, Carburn Park and Sue Higgins Park.
We also move the training to dog-friendly pet and retail stores such as Petland, Winners, Home Depot and Canadian Tire.
Once a week, we will meet for 60-90 minutes of training. The location for each lesson will be determined as appropriate.
After each lesson, you will receive emailed notes from me to help you practise the skills. I recommend 10-15 minutes of practice per day.
At the sixth lesson, you’ll receive a framed graduation certificate with your dog’s picture to proudly display in your home. The graduate will also receive a new toy for completing the program.
Please note, basic manners and skills are a pre-requisite for this program.
The reliability of your dog’s responsiveness to your cues in distractive environments depends on a variety of learned skills.
The Following Proofing Methods Represent the Program’s Core Teachings and Enable Your Canine Companion to Acquire These Skills
1) Practising Skills While Being Distracted
Dogs revert to the first thing they have learned, for example, sitting, when they’re unsure or stressed. We will practise the position cues such as sit, down, stand, wait and stay in distracting environments.
2) Incorporating Inherited Breed Traits
Depending on the breed or cross, dogs inherit certain default drives and behaviours. I will show you how to incorporate such behaviours into the training.
3) Training Duration, Distance and Distractions
We’ll counteract your dog’s impulse to chase moving objects by training them to stay in their position for 30 seconds.
To add reliability, we cue your dog to stay while we remain 6-12 feet away.
Finally, we add various owner and environmental distractions while having your dog maintain their position until released.
4) Being Exposed to Different Surfaces and Objects
We have your dog practise position skills on various surfaces like cement sidewalks, grass, sand, gravel, river banks, etc.
In addition, we’ll teach your puppy to engage in “doggy parkour” by jumping up on and sitting on human-made and natural obstacles such as picnic benches, low walls, logs, large boulders, etc.
5) Responding to a Changed Order of Cues
Dogs learn patterns quickly and will offer certain behaviours to coax a treat from us. We will vary the order of cues to challenge them, and also to make it fun.
6) Training at Different Times of the Day
Training your dog at different times of the day, especially during dusk and night time hours, challenges your puppy. Since a dog’s vision is not as good at night, your puppy may be hesitant to respond to our cues.
7) Using Various Body Positions When Cueing
So far, your dog has learned skills with you cueing while standing in front of them. We will request responses from your dog with you, for example, at their side, sitting on furniture or laying on the floor.
8) Using Different Volumes and Tones of Voice When Cueing
Dogs have excellent hearing. We’re used to speaking clearly while requesting behaviours. We will practise cueing in a whisper or with a loud, moderate, squeaky, grumbly or singing voice.
9) Disappearing After Giving a Verbal Cue
You will cue your dog to down-stay and then leave the room for 10 seconds. We’ll gradually increase the time you’re out of the room, as long as your dog stays in the position.
10) Disappearing Before Giving a Verbal Cue
I will keep your dog in a sit/stay position while you leave the room for 10 seconds. Then, you’ll call your puppy to find you using their recall cue. This will help your dog come to you in any real world setting when they can’t see you—out-of-sight recall.
Dogs continue to learn throughout their lives.
The focus and reliability training can be done at any age. The sooner your dog acquires these skills, the better your puppy is able to calmly respond to your cues while experiencing our busy, urban environment.