Pairing compulsion with the ball

As training progresses the dog will learn to switch from a frenzy of leaping and barking in one instant to a tightly coiled and energized sit in the next. The animal will begin gaining the ability to hold its energy in check, guiding it into the behaviors its handler indicates in order to obtain the object of its desire–the ball in its master’s hand.

However, the dog’s excitement will interfere with precision. It will frequently make errors, such as jumping at the ball after the command has been given instead of sitting immediately, or breaking the sit on those occasions when it is carried away by its enthusiasm.

We clean up these errors and polish the sit and the stay by pairing compulsion with the ball. The handler uses a leash in one hand to correct the dog into a quick, clean sit and then make it stay perfectly in place. At the same time, he shows the dog the ball with the other hand in order to preoccupy it so that it is not upset or inhibited by the corrections. As soon as he has what he wants from the animal, the handler releases it with an “OK!” while simultaneously dropping the leash and throwing the ball for the dog.

GOAL 3: The dog will down on command.

Along with the recall, the down is one of the most important commands in obedience. Through the course of training, the down takes on a very powerful character. It is the command we use as the last resort to control the animal. If it wants to fight another dog, we down it. If it refuses to let one of our guests into the house, we down it. If the dog habitually rebites after the out, we teach it to release the sleeve and then automatically lie down at the agitator’s feet.

Although it is to become a very compelling command, we must introduce the down inducively, rather than with force.

Important Concepts for Meeting the Goal

1. Downing for food

2. Downing for the ball

3. Pairing compulsion with the ball

Downing for food

In the beginning, we always down the dog from a sit, never from a standing position. Once the dog is sitting, the handler does not feed it but instead encloses a few tidbits in his hand so that the animal cannot take the food but only smell it, and then places his hand on the end of the dog’s nose to call its attention to it. A hungry dog will “glue” itself to the hand, snuffling and licking at the food. The handler then lowers his hand very slowly to a spot on the ground about six inches in front of the dog’s forefeet. The animal will follow with its head and, in the effort to get the food, crouch so that its elbows touch the ground. If it stands instead, the handler merely lifts his hand up high so that the dog sits again, and then he tries again to get the animal to lie down by lowering his hand to the ground. When, eventually, the dog downs, the handler feeds it several pieces of food in a row and then releases it with the “OK!” command.

^{The handler begins by stimulating the dog with the ball.}

^{Suddenly the handler commands “Sit” and corrects the animal sharply, if necessary. The dog’s excitement and preoccupation with the ball will prevent any inhibition or upset as a result of the correction.}

^{The instant the dog sits, the handler throws the ball.}

In order to get a stay the handler, rather than trying to stand up, which will almost certainly attract the dog up out of its down, instead remains kneeling. He downs the animal and feeds it one piece of food and then, with the command “Stay!” he very quickly shifts his hand and the food it contains away from the dog. Keeping the hand near the ground, he holds it at arm’s length out in front of the dog in order to provide a focal point and keep the animal still. He pauses for one instant and then, before the dog breaks the down and moves toward the food, he quickly shifts his hand back to the animal’s head and feeds it.

The dog will soon learn that the down, like the sit, must be held until its handler releases it.