Babara Bush
Of course, a dog can stand. The task is to teach her to stand up on command when needed and stand as long as required. There are several ways in which you can teach your dog this skill.
A Method of Aiming With a Treat
To train a pet in this way, you will need a food target, its choice depends on the preferences of the dog. In order for the training to be as effective as possible, you should choose a treat that your pet will definitely not refuse.
First of all, it is necessary to teach the dog to stand up from a sitting position, this is the easiest version of the exercise. To do this, you need to take the starting position: the owner is standing, and the dog on a leash fastened to the collar sits at his left leg. Then you need to take a piece of delicacy in your right hand, command clearly and loudly “Stop!” and make a gesture that will make the dog stand up: first, bring the food to the very nose of the pet, and then move your hand away so that the dog reaches for it. This should be done very smoothly and slowly. When the dog gets up, you need to reward it with a well-deserved treat and give a couple more pieces, making sure that it does not change position and continues to stand. Now you need to plant it again and repeat the entire exercise 5 times, making short pauses between repetitions, and then play with the pet, give it a rest, take a free state.
Up to 5 of these exercise cycles can be done in an hour’s walk. When teaching at home, up to 20 sets can be done during the day until the dog is satisfied with the proposed treatment.
Approximately on the third day of regular and systematic training, the dog’s attention should be turned to the fact that it should not only stand up but also stay in the stance, that is, maintain the required posture. Now, as soon as the dog gets up, you need to give it up to 7 pieces of treats (making pauses of different lengths between them) and plant it. Over time, she should understand that it takes a long time to hold the rack. With each lesson, as the dog’s skill develops, the standing duration should increase, this is regulated by the feeding time of the food target: that is, the dog should stand for 5 seconds, then 15, then 25, then 40, then again 15, etc.
When the pet tries to sit down, it is necessary to gently support his stomach with his hand, thereby preventing him from changing his position. Do not forget about the leash, which you need to control so that the dog does not move.
If the pet does not sit, but lies, then the training algorithm remains the same, only one detail changes: at the very beginning, you need to bend over the lying dog, say the command, and raise it to all its paws with the help of a treat. Then everything is the same.
Aiming Method With a Toy
This method is suitable for active dogs who love to play. The principle of training is the same as when using tasty food as a target, only now the pet’s favorite toy is used instead of food. In the same way, it is brought to the nose of a sitting dog and then stretches forward, and the dog stretches after the toy and stands up. Immediately after that, you need to give her the toy and devote some time to the game. As you practice this exercise, gradually increase the time the dog stays in – it should increase slightly with each training day. Soon the pet realizes: only after he gets up and stands a little, the desired game begins.
By the time the dog begins to react to the target and gets up when it appears, it is necessary to gradually abandon its use, otherwise, the dog simply will not learn to execute the command without the desired goal. Try to start controlling your pet by making suggestive empty hand gestures, but be sure to reward your dog with a treat or play when he stands up.
It is possible that the dog will not react in any way to your empty hand, then repeat the gesture; if there is still no reaction, pull or support the pet with the leash. When, as a result of these actions, he gets up, give him the target. Gradually, the dog will become more and more responsive to your gestures without using the target, which means it is time to switch his attention to the command given by the voice. To do this, make the auxiliary gesture less and less pronounced and use the leash, sipping, or supporting the pet if he does not obey.
At the next stage of training, it is necessary to produce a positive reinforcement of the command execution not immediately, but with different time intervals. If the dog has done everything that was required of him, and you do not give him the desired toy or treat, then use affection: pet the dog, pat, and say pleasant words in a soft voice and with a calm intonation.
Also, when training the rack, the methods of pushing and passive flexion can be used. The first involves pushing the dog to perform a specific action, in this case – to put in a rack. This is done by pulling the collar with your hand or pulling on the leash. Otherwise, the principle of dog training is the same: as a result, it must respond not to physical stimulation, but to the owner’s command, given by voice.
The method of passive flexion is possible if the pet trusts the owner to such an extent that it does not at all resist any of his manipulations. This means that you can sculpt from it what the owner needs. First, you need to acquaint the dog with the action that you want to achieve from it: being in the starting position, you should take the dog by the collar, then give the command “Stand!” the opportunity to sit back. After that, you need to give your pet a few pieces of his favorite food.
Soon the dog will understand the meaning of the command you are giving it, then it is necessary to gradually reduce the severity of the actions with the help of which you achieve that the dog gets up on command, and to achieve that it takes a standing position on the command “Stop!”. As the skill develops, the frequency of reinforcement should also be reduced.