All dogs new to the BlueDog program begin in Elementary School. Manners, clear communication between handler and dog, and cooperation are all taught in this level. Additionally, students are provided with tools for working through distractions using both training and management.
When playing with your dog it is helpful to remember that play derives from our dog’s desire to chase and hunt things. This means when you are playing with your dog with a toy you want to move the toy so it behaves like it’s trying to get away from Read More
Heel position is when your dog is sitting or standing on your left side in line with your hip facing the same direction as you. Ideally your dog is within 1 foot of your leg. Teaching your dog this position helps make loose leash walking and polite greetings easier for Read More
Once your dog knows how to down using a verbal cue, we want to teach them that your arm overhead is an another cue that means down. The benefit to the overhead signal for down is your dog can see it at a distance which is especially important for safety Read More
A default behavior is a behavior you and your dog choose (usually sit or down) as a way for your dog to politely communicate with you a request for something they want such as going outside, saying hello to a person, or a special toy you need to get for Read More
When you first taught your dog a new behavior (e.g. touch, sit, or down) you clicked as soon as your dog did the behavior. Once your dog has the behavior on cue, you can add duration to it. To add duration to a behavior we change the timing of the Read More
A ‘whiplash turn’ teaches our dogs to automatically turn towards us quickly. Over time the distractions out in the world become the cue for your dog to turn back to you with their whiplash turn. Some examples of the “distractions” include the door to go outside, at the top of Read More
We teach our dogs a release word to let them know that they can get up from whatever position we left them waiting in. You can make your release word anything you want. At BlueDog, we recommend that you use the word ‘free’ but you can get creative if you Read More
Teaching our dogs to follow us as we walk backwards (and then pivot) is one of the beginning steps for training loose leash walking. Additionally, having your dog understanding to walk towards you as you walk backwards can be a useful tool for getting your dog to move from the Read More