The Power of Touch: Hand-Target as a foundational cue + FREE DOWNLOAD

Touch is one of my favorite cues and just so happens to be one of the easiest cues to teach a dog too. Touch is a versatile, foundation behavior that will actually help you to teach other obedient cues later. For example, cues like Up/Off or Come are natural follow-ups to touch. When the dog is ready for a little more advanced cues, you can build onto this foundation to teach directions like front, right, or left for personalized activities like agility or skiing.

Furthermore, the Touch cue invites the dog to engage physically which is a treat in and of itself for most dogs. Shy or anxious dogs can overcome their hesitation to engage with strangers more easily by performing a trained and reinforced behavior.

In this video, you can see the different ways to utilize the Touch cue. Touch can be a simple target, then pivot as more directional to teach Up/off and finally to prompt and train the recall word Come. Download this free exercise sheet and start working on Touch now! Happy Training 🐾

touch - hand targeting

.pdf

Download PDF • 172KB

Teach your dog - Leave it!

Learn this training tip to disengage your dog with desired objects and people. Useful in your everyday life with any dog, and especially with a reactive dog.

Teach your dog how to disengage from something that interests them. The concept of delayed gratification might ring a bell! This exercise will help your dog to build impulse control. You can use this cue, for example, when your dog wants to run up to another human or dog. It can even be helpful for around the house like when they're about to pick up your favorite sock from the floor.

Like with every new behavior that sticks, learning "Leave it!" is all about slowly building up the capacity to disengage. Start with something that isn't too interesting. It could be something like your fist or your phone. The behavior we want to create and teach is that the dog is able to see an object but not move towards it, and instead to look back to you. After this behavior is learned successfully with not-so-desired objects, we will start to increase the difficulty level. Incrementally move up to the next level of a desired object, choosing something like a treat next for example.

Protecting Paws in the Snow with Booties Your Dog Will Actually Tolerate

In this video from Team Alaska, you can learn about booties made with sled dogs in mind and why you should get them for your dog.

How to Easily Put on Dog Booties: Front Paws

How you approach your dog when putting on booties on is very important. You want your dog to feel comfortable with their booties and this can be done without a battle. #TeamAlaska shows you how to do handle your dog gently and efficiently. Let's get started!

How to Easily Put on Dog Booties: Back Paws

on

Learn how to put booties on your dog's back feet plus tricks to keep the snow out of them. Now you're all set to go and play with your furry friend in the snow!