Getting Your Dog To React Instantly

Quite often people comment on the fact that my dogs do what I tell them immediately. They lament the situation with their own dog where they'll often have to give the command 4 or 5 times before eliciting a response (and sometimes not elicitng a response at all!)

The way they talk it's as if they think I've got the gift of black magic or some sort of supernatural powers.

What a load of old hogwash! It's just that I teach my dogs that when I give a command I expect it to be carried out without the need for me to keep repeating myself. So long as you're consistent about it there's absolutely no reason why you shouldn't do the same with your dog as well.

I always make sure I've got a few edible treats in my pocket to use as rewards for suitable behaviour. I used not to like using edible treats, but over the years I've come to discover they can be powerful motivators if used in the right way.

Once your dog understands what any given command means, try giving it a treat in response to anything you ask it to do which it does immediately. But withold the treat for any response that's slower than immediate.

I don't think that came across terribly clearly, so let me elaborate....

If I ask my dog to 'sit' and it does so instantly, without any sort of hesitation whatsoever, I immediately give it plenty of verbal praise and an edible treat at the same time. As it eats the treat (still in the 'sit' position - it's not allowed to budge until I give it the release word) I continue to coo lovingly at it, while at the same time gently stroking it on the chest.

If I ask my dog to 'sit' and it looks up at me quizzically, as if to say "Who, me?" and then rather reluctantly, about 1 - 2 seconds later goes into position, it does not get the edible treat. I'll still praise it verbally, but not terribly enthusiastically.

You might be thinking that doing it after one second is pretty darn fantastic and you'd be delighted with that sort of response. But I suggest you hold back on the rapture because it can be a lot better than that. Watch a *really* good dog handler with a well trained charge and you'll see what I call a quick reaction. The command is hardly out the trainer's mouth and WHAM - the dog's dropped into position so fast if you'd blinked you would have missed it.

If I give my dogs a command they still haven't reacted to after 1 - 2 seconds I immediately bellow at them in an angry tone of voice, "DO as you're told - SIT". They usually know better than to ignore that (if they do, I immediately run to them and physically enforce the command. That doesn't mean I beat them up, simply that I use my hands to put them into the correct position, rather than relying on them to put themselves into position.)

So my dogs get probably a maximum of 2 seconds to do what I ask. If they do it instantly they get lavish praise and an edible treat. If they do it within 1 - 2 seconds they get mild praise and no edible treat. If they take longer than 2 seconds they get me bellowing at them in no uncertain terms and definitely no edible goodies or warmly lavished praise when they do get into position.

So I'm not giving the command over and over again. I give it once and expect it to be carried out. If it's not then I get cross and my second time of asking is in an angry tone of voice.

But it very rarely becomes necessary for me to give a command twice. By teaching things my way they learn that the best possible outcome (a yummy treat) always results from them reacting *instantly*, while the worst possible outcome (Dad getting cross) always results from them ignoring a command, even though it's only been given once.

Be consistent and your dog will soon learn the rules of this 'game'. Then you too will have people commenting on how well behaved your dog is.

Try it for yourself. You might be pleasantly surprised....

Recommended reading "Dog Training Blueprint To Success".

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