HOW TO TEACH THE “SEND AWAY”!

Hello Adam. I would firstly like very much to thank you for fantastic information in book! Wow! It has made training of our new dog so much easier than I could possibly expect! I live on a small farm in Victoria Australia and am currently in process of training our new dog "Toby"(a border collie). I think we maybe have a head start as he is quite smart and soft natured but techniques in you book work a treat and I find I hardly have to do anything to maintain a healthy working relationship with him. I do however get frustrated at people who I try to explain why he is so well behaved and happy etc.. .etc... when they think I am some kind of dog basher!?? The comments have even been "He is a lovely well behaved dog but I've heard about your training techniques (with negative intonation!)." I don’t understand why people can’t see that this way you can train a behavior in minutes and with only one or two corrections rather than months or years of yelling at dog for same problem with monotonous inconsistency! (What they also don’t know is that a correction for Toby doesn’t need to be much to be motivational) At least dog knows! He is happy-- well behaved-- he can be inside safely without worry of disasters. He is quiet and confident-house trained--does sit/down (and stays down)/paw/crawl/bow/find/ and come from as far away as he can hear me(well come+down anyway, I haven’t tried others). He also is safe around our horses when we work them, as we have boundary trained him to arena and will hold a down stay if needed elsewhere. And he is only five months old!! It is almost like magic! Now for Question. I struggled to come up with one as basic principles seem to solve pretty much everything. I would like to know a good way to teach him to go away/back or to go left or right in a controlled way(sort of working dog stuff really). I don’t know if this makes sense and it may sound unusual but it would be quite useful on farm as well as fun and interesting for me and him (He seems to like jobs to do!)

The Right Leash and Collar for Your Dog

In past, when people spoke of training collars, they really generally were referring to “choke chains.” A choke chain is a metal chain with a sliding ring that is attached to your dog’s nylon or leather leash. There’s a reason it’s called a choke chain. Because there is no limit on how tight training collar can pull against your dog’s neck, there exists a very real possibility it can choke him, as well as cause other injuries, such as:

• Severely sprained necks

• Tracheal and esophageal damage

• Injured ocular vessels

• Cases of fainting

• Transient foreleg paralysis

• Laryngeal nerve paralysis • • Hind leg ataxia

And if you think I’m kidding about any of these injuries: I’m not; they’re all well-documented cases taken from hundreds of veterinary practices who have treated dogs injured by choke chains. Bottom line? In hands of an experienced trainer, a choke chain can be used appropriately, but for most part, your average person has no idea what an appropriate use of a choke chain entails. My own personal preference is for a flat buckle collar, either nylon or leather, which can be used for training and everyday use. It should fit snugly, but leave room enough for you to slide two fingers between collar and your dog’s neck. Any looser than that, and it may slide off over your dog’s head. Any tighter and it may cause chafing and discomfort. The choice of nylon or leather is simply a matter of personal preference – nylon comes in a variety of bright colors, and is a good choice for dogs that spend a lot of time in water (or mud!) Leather is durable and will absorb oils from your dog’s coat, making it more flexible over time. The width of collar should be appropriate to your dog’s size. For example, a wide, heavy or thick collar just won’t work on a Chihuahua, in fact, it would look ridiculous. By same token, if you have a Rottweiler, a diamond- or rhine-stone-studded poodle collar is going to look pretty silly. And don’t forget an identification tag – if your dog is lost or stolen, this is a quick way for authorities to notify you when your pet is located.