Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by REB on April 12, 2008 at 11:19pm

Bright little guy! It might be fun to teach him to speak and come when called. You could start introducing Enzo to hand signals.

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Permalink Reply by Kate on April 12, 2008 at 11:59pm

I like the shake command. It comes pretty easily after you get sit and down.

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Permalink Reply by CorgiLove on April 13, 2008 at 12:27am

Smart little guy! How about roll-over :)
Some other ideas: shake, play dead, crawl, sit from laying down rather that standing, stand (get up from sitting or laying down)

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Permalink Reply by Charlie on April 13, 2008 at 9:47am

Yeah for Enzo! I would work on having him Wait (from Down) or Wait (from Sit) next. Have him Sit or Down, then Wait for his food bowl. Just a few seconds at first, then add a few seconds a day to the length of time. Then he should be able to Wait at doorways or gates for you to go through first. This will prepare him for Down/Stay without food later.

Stand is also good...though it is seldom needed in a normal household setting, it is useful for grooming his back legs and for vet exams.

Have him drag his leash around to get used to the weight, and pick it up from time to time to get him used to being "tethered to his human" without pulling the leash tight.

Here is a short list of basic obedience commands you might find fun to work on:
http://www.jkdassoc.com/obedience.html

There are also lots of training videos to show you how to teach different commands on youtube.com

Have fun! Isn't it great when they learn stuff!

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Permalink Reply by Sam on April 13, 2008 at 4:45pm

Stay is a great command to teach. Have him sit stay before meals, treats or when you play retrieve games. Also play the "find me" game. Make him do a sit stay then hide and call him to "find me" This is a great way to reinforce the come command as well as him to exercise his brain. Have fun with your smart baby.

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Permalink Reply by Lauren on April 13, 2008 at 6:43pm

yay, another smart corgi pup!

what about: stay, shake, sit pretty (were they sit on there butt), come, go, roll over, back up, heal, speak, wisper (were they talk or growl quietly). this is wat both my pups learned fairly easily

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Permalink Reply by Cindi on April 14, 2008 at 10:33am

In my classes, I put a good bit of emphasis on the "life savers." Teaching your dog to come when called, leave things alone, and drop them if we get ahold of them are real biggies.

I teach "come" by using a long leash (usually 20' or so). Let them wander, then call them to come. If they resist, use your long leash as an encouragement. Be sure to give them LOTS of reward for coming, even if you have to encourage them!

"Leave it" and "Drop it" are vitally important. I'll give you an example. We have 7 dogs. I was home one day because I hurt my knee. Had a great script for Lortab. (LOVE those things! Wow!) Anyway, I got up from the couch to get more to drink. I was loopy thanks to the meds and left the bottle on the table. While in the kitchen, I heard "CRUNCH." I hollered "leave it!" from the kitchen and sure enough all 7 dogs backed away and I didn't lose a single pill. It could have been a horrible accident, but "leave it" saved the day.

Good luck in puppy school! You'll have a great time!

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Permalink Reply by Ju Lo on April 14, 2008 at 2:42pm

I definitely agree with the "life savers". Come and stay are essential, as well as leave it and drop it, and "look" or "watch me" are good too. Also, try basic manners. For instance, your pup should never walk through doorways in front of you. I make Theo sit, look, stay, and then I let him "cross" whenever we go outside together to do his business.

You could also make some commands into a game. If you get another person in another room and call Enzo back and forth between you for treats, it enforces the command nicely.

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Permalink Reply by Enzo on April 14, 2008 at 10:59pm

thank you guys for all the help :)

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