Focus Exercises Level 1-8 Presented by NuDogK-9.com
- Prerequisite- Not only focus but head set is of prime importance.
- Let’s go, around, sit, watch, READY
- You will use this forever/once established you will use it through your dog’s entire life.
- As you all know a dog is a strong creature of habit.
- the lets go
- around
- sit
- watch
- will become ingrained in the dog as a very clear and positive cue to go into learned behavior.
- Keep in your mind Everything you do with your dog is training.
- but what are you training them?
- Level 1 Focus Exercises.
- We first must stack up.
- Get a proper grip on leash.
- Get 7 pieces of food in food hand.
- You can use ether Left or right hand.
- Use one piece of food to motivate the dog around the handler to the heel position do not pull on leash
- A leash’s sole purpose is to apply a leash correction not to communicate to the dog.
- This is the key to off leash control.
- A leash’s sole purpose is to apply a leash correction not to communicate to the dog.
- Do an around to get dog into a respectable heel position.
- 1. Handler says “Let’s go” Not Heel.
- 2. Dog and handler circle together using food, don’t pull
- Use the food to motivate dog around the arch.
- Handler circles around with dog in a clockwise manner to heel position.
- About 3/5th of the way around circle say sit to the dog.
- By the time your right foot stops moving the dog should be sitting.
- If not correct
- Apply a quick jerk and RELEASE of the leash associated with the sound NO! or Bhaa
- If correct praise.
- low tone, slow tempo, timed with the sit.
- If not correct
- Use the food to motivate dog around the arch.
- 3. About 3/5th of the way around the circle intone the sit COMMAND.
- 4. By the time your right foot comes to a stop the dog should be sitting.
- If not correct then re intone the sit command after about a heart beat.
- If a very young pup or doesn’t have any idea of sit use food to get the sit.
- If you are using the (log)
- Use food to motivate pup up on log, some butt lifting may be necessary!
- Once up on log allow pup a BRIEF look around and then Touch, base, ready, food.
- Do not allow pup to jump off. Use leash tension if necessary.
- Segments are the same as below.
- The break high is different.
- Don’t allow pup to jump off log (as in an attempt at flying)
- Instead tighten leash slightly and use food to direct the pup to step down, once down do a break high. (explanation follows)
- Don’t allow pup to jump off log (as in an attempt at flying)
- If not correct then re intone the sit command after about a heart beat.
- You should be stacked up at this point and ready to start level 1 focus exercises. (L1FE)
- (show diagram and Jimi) in basic (BASE) position.
- If and when the dog looks away do touch, base, ready and food.
- Touch-Touch dogs nose with the smelly food.
- Base- get the food hand to base position.
- As you make eye to eye contact, (coo to the dog)
- (coo)- is a slow, soft tone, timed with eye contact.
- The 3 (T’s) timing , tone, tempo.
- (coo)- is a slow, soft tone, timed with eye contact.
- As you make eye to eye contact, (coo to the dog)
- Ready- You say “ready” as you slowly take food to pay off point.
- (pay off point)-is a point in the center of your left leg slightly above dogs nose.
- DO NOT take the food to the dog!! EVER!
- Have the dog go to the food.
- DO NOT take the food to the dog!! EVER!
- (pay off point)-is a point in the center of your left leg slightly above dogs nose.
- Food- after dog has eaten the food, manipulate the next piece to position
- Then slowly return hand to base position.
- Make sure on the return to base that the food is visible all the way up. (this uses the second piece of food).
- Repeat 4 more times,
- If the dog is NOT looking awayand is maintaining eye-to-eye count to 3-5 seconds maintaining the dogs eye contact.
- Then reward when saying “ready” then present food in center line of left leg.
- and do segment 3 to 5 as above. (doing 5 segments total)
- We first must stack up.
- Then for the ending, it is BREAK HIGH!
Break high is a motion, which is the beginning of heeling.
- The handler’s physical motion is
- A. Lunge forward with the left leg.
- some use right leg as it opposes the left hand extension making for a more balanced handler.
- B. Extend the food hand to its fullest reach of your arm. Keeping it in the center line of the left leg and slightly above the dog’s head.
- C. While simultaneously intoning the sound “break.”
- Please do not use “OK” for the release word!
- A. Lunge forward with the left leg.
- The dog’s motion should be
- Briskly moving forward with their head up and turned to the right.
- Then jumping the front end up about 2-3 inches, (a little hop up) dog gets the treat.
- Praise for about 10 to 20 seconds. This part is often over looked and almost always to SHORT in duration. (time it)
- The handler should be establishing social dominance during this time of praising.
- You have now completed the first 7 SEGMENTS, that equals 1 set, you will do five (5) sets of 7 segments
- 1/5/1 = a set.
- a set consists of 7 SEGMENTS
- 1 piece of food for the stack up,
- Uses first piece of food.
- 5 pieces of food for the segments.
- Uses the next 5 pieces of food.
- 1 piece of food for the break high.
- This uses the 7th and final piece of food.
- Tell your students, “no matter what happens save the last piece of food for break high.”
- This uses the 7th and final piece of food.
- 1 piece of food for the stack up,
- Do at least 5 sets a day but do not exceed 25 sets in a day.A white paper by Roy Mashaney © 2021
- Presented to the Instructors and class assistants at P.O.T.C. “Peoria Obedience Training Club.” on May 29 2021.