January: National Train Your Pet Month - Shewhisperer

What does 2015 hold for you and your dog around training? What have you been putting off that you now have a New Years Resolution for?

Here are some things you can be thinking about when designing a training program.

Teach Basic Obedience Cues: Sit, Stay, Down, Come, Heel
Teach Manners Cues: Leave it, Thank You, Out, Get in the Car, Wait, Hungry?, Cookie or Treat, Ready, Go, Get it, Place, Go Away, Water/Thirsty?, Swim, Walk, Outside, Go Potty, Hike, Run, Up, Toy (or name the toys), Where’s so and so? (name a family member), Find it, Who’s That?, Look, OK/Release, Show Me, In the back (of the car), Ride, We’re Home
Teach Tricks: Paw/Shake/Gimme 5, Roll Over, Crawl, Up, Hugs, Kisses, Play Dead/Go Nite Nite, Smile, Dance, Left or Right Foot, Head Down, Walk on hind legs, Twirl/Spin, Speak, Whisper, Hold it, Easy, Go Right, Go Left, This Way, Here, Bath Time, and many more.
Exercise: Running/Jogging (please consider breed, age, size, distance, weather and surface), hiking, play dates, swimming, fetch, herding, frisbee

I bring exercise into the training program because while you’re exercising your dog you’re also training. Remember, that every interaction we have with our dogs is a training session so it’s all an opportunity to train. Exercising your dog before you train takes the edge off, enabling her to have the mental capacity to focus and learn.

A tired dog is a happy dog and a trained dog is a happy and safe dog.

What are your New Years Resolutions with your dog?

ps: My dogs know all those words above. It was easy and part of our day. You can teach your dogs all these words too. Anything that you do routinely, give it a name and they will learn the word.

Have fun!!!