Sitting from a walk

The handler heels his dog on leash at a slow walk. When he is ready, he commands “Sit!” and corrects the animal into a sit with the leash. As he does so he stops walking, pausing just long enough to bring the dog fully into the sit, and then continues on past to the end of the leash. He stops, turns and faces the dog for a moment, then returns to it and praises it. Then he heels forward again and repeats the exercise.

As training progresses, the handler makes less and less of a complete stop while the dog sits down. Eventually he heels along at a fast walk, commands the dog to “Sit!” and continues without breaking stride. If the dog’s sit is still crisp and fast, he can begin dropping the leash on the ground and walking out an additional thirty or forty paces. As the dog progresses, the handler can finally omit the leash altogether.

GOAL 3: The dog will down out of motion instantly on command.

Only when the dog sits cleanly out of motion and still has a perfect stand do we introduce the down out of motion.

During basic training, the dog has already learned a strong “Down!” command. By strong we mean that the command has weight and power and that, if the handler raises his voice a little and glares at the dog as he utters it, it virtually crushes the animal to the ground.

For this reason, it is extremely easy to teach the down out of motion. In fact, it is by far the easiest of the three exercises out of motion and that is precisely why we teach it last–in order to avoid the straw‑that‑broke‑the‑camel’s‑back syndrome. Our main concern is to keep it from interfering with the sit and stand out of motion exercises.

Important Concepts for Meeting the Goal

1. Down from a walk

2. Down from a run

Down from a walk

The handler heels the dog slowly along and, with a sharp command and a somewhat threatening lunge toward it, he downs the animal. He pauses in his walk just long enough for the dog to hit the ground, and then he continues a pace or two to the end of the leash and turns to face the dog. He pauses, returns to the dog and praises it and then heels forward and repeats the exercise.

After just a few practice sessions the dog will begin to drop out of motion as if shot, and then the handler can begin

• pausing less and less as he says “Down!” so that soon he gives the command without breaking stride

• downing the dog from a faster and faster pace

• dropping the leash as he gives the command, and continuing up the field thirty or forty paces before stopping and turning to face his dog

Down from a run

If the handler increases his pace gradually enough, while always taking care that the dog’s down is quick and clean, the down from a run should be no problem. However, if the dog tends to lie down slowly or take a step or two after the command, this error is easily corrected with the leash. The handler uses it somewhat like a flail. As he heels the dog on the run he holds the loose end in his right hand, with about two feet hanging free. At the moment that he gives the command he swings the leash over and across to his left and slaps the dog very sharply on the withers with it.

We must be careful not to make the dog’s response to the down too strong, or overdo it with the leash correction, because then the sit and stand out of motion exercises would suffer. In addition, each training session begins and ends with a little practice of both the sit and the stand.

GOAL 4: The dog will run at top speed to the handler when recalled, sit close and perfectly straight in front and then finish quickly and precisely when commanded.

In the case of a willing dog that has been well reared and adores its handler, there should be no question of having to force it to come. Left behind by its master on the field in a down or a stand, the animal should be positively quivering to rejoin him. For the willing dog, the command “Come” is a release rather than an obligation. It means “You may come to me now,” not “You must come to me now.”

Precisely because the dog’s desire to recall is so strong (and we will make it even stronger with the ball), the main difficulty in this exercise is anticipation.

If we make a practice of recalling the dog frequently from the down out of motion and the running stand, we will cause the animal to be quite preoccupied with the recall even as it is performing its exercises out of motion. This anticipation of the recall, an exercise it enjoys a great deal, will “drag” it down the field after its handler, making the dog creep when it should be stopping instantly on command.

In precisely the same way, if we habitually recall the dog and then always finish it from the come‑fore position, we will also find the animal’s anticipation of the finish interfering with a good, straight sit in front. The dog may sit crooked, leaning toward its handler’s left, or it may even omit the come‑fore position altogether and instead recall straight to heel.

We can prevent these problems of anticipation by compartmentalizing the recall from the exercises out of motion, and the finish from the recall. In other words, we teach and practice all these skills separately.

^{For a willing dog, the command “Come” is a release rather than an obligation. It means “You may come to me now,” not “You must come to me now.”}

^{In order to keep the dog’s stand rock‑solid, we recall it from the stand out of motion only infrequently. This precaution prevents anticipation of the “Come” command and keeps the dog from creeping downfield.}

Important Concepts for Meeting the Goal

1. Motivating the dog for the recall and separating it from the sit, down and stand stays

2. Teaching a close, straight come‑fore position

3. Separating the finish from the recall