How Long Should You Run Your Dog For?Written by Adam G. Katz
Dear Adam:I have a Shepherd/Malamute "Newt." She's great. I have a couple of problems with her but I won't waste your time with them as I have found them addressed at your site and in your book. I "run" Newt in bush, she is either in front of truck or behind it, running as fast as she can. I stop when she slows down and we take a 5-10 minute break. Each time we stop, I open door to truck and let her decide if she's had enough. Lately it's been me who has had enough (she wants to run for longer and longer periods of time) and I tell her to get into truck. My question: Should I limit how far she runs (for her own good) and can it be too cold for a long run? Regards, Sally. Dear Sally: Thanks for question. To be honest... I don't know.
| | The Pro's Never Yell Or Scream Commands At Their DogWritten by Adam G. Katz
I never yell at my dog. Never. Well, okay. There's one exception. And that exception is if: I'm already working with dog at such a far distance that he can't audibly hear me. And usually this is case only if I'm teaching dog to respond to hand signals. Why don't I ever raise my voice if I'm working with my dog, otherwise? Because only thing that raising your voice achieves is to communicate to your dog that you really DO NOT have control. And since I train with a modified working dog approach, I want my dog to know that I'm ALWAYS in control. Because I'm "Alpha dog."Now, if I issue a command, and dog I'm training does not respond to that command... then I will stop to figure out why he didn't respond. If it's because he didn't understand command, then I need to go back to basics and do more repetitions. If dog is simply not responding because he's being stubborn or head-strong, then I'll make my correction more motivational. But one thing that many observers will realize about way I work with animals is that my commands are practically whispered. Never yelled or screamed. In fact, your commands should only be loud enough for your dog to hear. No louder. So... do you want to know how to spot an amateur dog trainer? He's one yelling at his dog. A word or two on consistency and teaching your dog to "come." If I'm teaching a dog to come on command, it's my job to convince dog that he MUST come EVERY time I call him. But if he thinks that I'm only going to make him come every other time... or only under certain conditions... then I'll never get dog to be 100% reliable.
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