#1 Using soccer cones in training
Set up 10-15 cones, 2-4 feet apart (depending on the size of your dog) and heel through them. This helps obedience and agility. Your dog must pay attention to your body language, esp. shoulders. They learn to turn with your shoulder positioning. It also will help with obedience figure 8's- your dog learns to speed up when on the outside and slow down on the inside and keep up with you.
#2 Jackpot Method
-I learned this at an obedience seminar I went to a few years back. It has been really successful with heeling for my dogs.
Pick a small container/bowl that can consistently be used. Put it up on a table or crate where you are training with lots of treats (this is will also work at shows, put it up on your crate or close to the ring). Do a small heeling pattern, and then run back to the bowl of treats saying "Jack pot!!!!" Give your dog a treat. Then do another heeling pattern (remember you will not have treats on you, the treats only come from the "jack pot") and then again run back to the jackpot. Repeat with several small/short heeling patterns. YOU WILL NOT USE TREATS ON YOU WHEN USING THIS METHOD. Your dog learns that they get treats randomly when hey do something correct. This is a really good technique that helps you in the ring with every exercise. Your dog no longer relies on a treat every 5 seconds from your pocket, but a treat randomly after exercises and when you happily run to the bowl saying "Jack pot, good dog!"... It makes it fun and unpredictable. This method is what has gotten me and my dog Dingo so far in Obedience. I couldn't have done it without the jack pot method.
#3 Throw the treat and....DOWN!
-Trains the Drop on Recall, I learned this when I was first training Dingo in his Beginner 2 class at EOC about 4 or 5 years ago.
This is a fun game with lots of treats. Sit on the floor with your dog and have lots of treats with you. Throw a treat (5-20 feet away from you) and tell your dog to "get it", once they eat the treat and are coming back to you say "down" or their command to drop (about 2-10 feet from you). When your dog is down, then throw another treat and tell them to "get it" again. Keep repeating, remember this is a fun game for you to train your dog the drop on recall.
#4 Retrieving the Dumbbell Game
-This is a game to play after your dog already knows the dumbbell and can retrieve it, this just makes it fun for your dog and a different and exciting way to train
Sit in the floor with your dog, lots of treats, and the dumbbell. Do not have your dog on a stay, just have them sitting, laying down, or standing beside you. Simultaneously throw the dumbbell and tell them to take it. Have them to bring it back to you and once you tell them to release it to you, give them lots of treats and praise. Do the same thing again, throw the dumbbell and at the same time tell them to take it. Once they bring it back to you, give them lots of treats. Do this several times. Switch up how far you throw the dumbbell and how long they have to hold it before you take it (once they bring it back to you and are sitting)
And on a side note...
Dingo, Sassy, and I spent this after noon training... It was really nice to get some good training time in.... We worked on heeling, retrieving the dumbbell, recalls, drop on recalls, fronts and finishes, figure 8's, agility, and a lot more!
Sassy is getting really good at her weave poles!!! :)
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