Training the command "Crate"

In my last post I was talking about getting the dog used to the crate.I want to make a very important point now.When your puppy goes in the crate on command(when you give the command "crate"),you want the puppy to go in the crate,and then use that calm voice that I've spoken about in previous posts.Tell your puppy "good dog crate",and then reward the puppy with a treat or his favorite toy.Now let me clarify something very important,what we want the dog to do is go in the crate on command.First have the puppy stay in the crate for a few minutes,then slowly start giving the crate command and have the puppy stay longer and longer,and finally have the puppy come out on command,rewarding the puppy and using that calm voice telling the puppy "good dog here".

Getting your puppy to come when called is also a very easy thing to teach.What I do with my dogs are to have the dog on the leash,throw a ball,or just let the puppy run around,and then give the puppy the command "here".As soon as the puppy starts coming to you praise the puppy again by saying "good dog here",and give the puppy a reward or a ball and repeat.Remember to only do this a couple of times a day,then as time goes on do this while other people are around you and the puppy.This will start a very important habit with your puppy.The dog will learn to come to you when called,even when there is a lot of distractions going on around the dog.

I would also like to make another point,not all dogs have the calm nerves to work under distractions.There are some dogs that genetically dont have this trait to work under distractions.I dont know how many times I've seen people trying to train a dog for service work or other kinds of work and they have a dog that genetically is not capable of working under distractions.A good example of this is a Police dog that sits still in his partners squad car and does not get distracted by whats going on around him.We have all seen this and can recognize that Police dogs are trained to only pay attention to their partner,and not pay attention to anything else.If you are looking to buy a puppy for this kind of work there are some great trainers and breeders around that can help you pick the right puppy.I will post more info on picking the right dog in my next post.

Another point to make is that teaching the dog to come when called is one of the most important lessons to teach the dog from day one.The reason for this is that we want the dog to allways pay attention to the handler and his commands,not the enviroment around them.This is a very important concept.If you would like a training video showing you these methods,I would suggest that you visit leerburg.com,where you can purchase some of the best training videos that I've ever found on Puppy training.Check out the video"How to raise a working puppy",in the training video section.This video is good to use with non-working dogs also.The amount of imformation in leerburg videos is uncompromised and I've yet to find better videos on the subject anywhere.These videos are filled with the best advice for someone serious about training any kind of dog for just about anykind of work you want to train.These videos are from a very qualified trainer that has the kind of experience that you can trust.