Dachshund Training Class #4

Posted at April 9, 2010 // Clicker Training

We only have two classes left in our 6 week session! Its gone by so fast.

We arrived at class a little early this week and were excited to meet another Dachshund. The woman who owned him apparently owns several Doxies that she shows and competes in various events. She told us about scent trials that sound just up the Dachshund’s Alley. Apparently they release a rabbit into a pen and let it travel a path (leaving behind its scent) then remove the rabbit and let each dog be released to follow the scent. I think the fastest time might win. She told me next week she’d bring me more information on it, and I’m excited to maybe try it with Ammo – I certainly know he has the nose for it!

This week at class we worked on hand targeting, something that I even do with the ponies. With the ponies I use a target stick to guide them to where I want them to be (works wonderfully for teaching self loading on a trailer). With the dogs we used out hand as a target and asked the dogs to touch their noses to our hand. The dachshund had a little confusion since I had taught him to give me a high-five – but eventually he caught on that this was something different.

We then worked on leave it. A command to ask your dog to leave something alone when you ask. I also use this technique with the ponies when I want them not to be grabby with food. With the ponies I stand infront of them with a big juicy apple, everytime they grab at it I snatch it away. If they offer me something else, a head turn, etc., then I will click and reward them with something different right under their mouth. This teaches them that they can only take something when I offer it to them, grabbing will get them nothing. With the dog we kept treats in a closed hands and put it within smelling level for the dog, as long as they were sniffing it and trying to get at it they got nothing, but if they looked or moved away they were rewarded with a different treat.

Next up was the stay command. Fortunately Ammo already knows this command (but shh! I didn’t tell anyone – made him look super advanced haha). With this command we want the dog to sit and not move (or stay in whatever position we put them in). We began by asking our dogs to sit, saying stay, stepping back one step that forward into our dog, clicking and rewarding. The important thing with stay is that to release your dog you should always return to them (rather than recalling them), because otherwise the dog will get confused and think they are being rewarded for a recall and not staying put. I was very impressed with the dachshund when he performed his stay amid the other dogs playing with squeaky toys. He was able to hold his position throughout all of it. What a smart boy.

Later we worked on recalls, this time off leash. Our instructor held our dogs while we stepped away and recalled our dogs. The recall has always been difficult for Ammo, but I have been practicing A LOT! It paid off because as soon as I stepped away from him Ammo’s eyes were glued on me, his recall was phenomenal too. Eventually we added a sit to the recall so that soon our dogs will associate the recall with a sit too. Ammo picked up that step pretty quickly too. Our instructor also mentioned jackpot treats. This is about giving your dog several pieces of food for a job well done when they do a command exceptionally well. I use this when I train the ponies too, giving them either a “special” treat or several treats when they do something I really like. Minnow especially is really in tune to jackpots, its part of the reason he can master a trick in mere minutes. One jackpot for a really good effort and you can see the light bulb going off in his head.

Overall I was very pleased with Ammo’s progress in class, he’s really starting to master a lot of the skills we are learning. The hardest part is for me to keep being consistent with him. But the more we practice the more it becomes second nature to me and Ammo.