Train N Treat: Doggy Life Skill #5 - Teaching "Stay"

Today, in our dog-friendly training tip for enlightened dog lovers - Chief Cheery Officer (CCO) Kiyo demonstrates his staying power!

"Stay and relax!", invites Kiyo.

A "stay" is a 2-part behaviour: "stay" means "don't move", and a release cue, e.g. "ok", "done", "free", or your dog's name, which means, "yes, you can move now". 

There are also 3 components to a good "stay": time, distance, distractions. Start in small steps with time, then work on distance, and finally distractions. You'll run into trouble if you mix them all up too soon.

In this video, Kiyo shows another trick of his trade!

From: Nee Kang (2013). "Survival Among Humans. A How To Guide To A Sociable Dog". In Apple iBookstore (select countries, e.g. USA, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland).

cheerfuldogs.com and SPCA Singapore Collaborate in our Canine Education @ SPCA Programme

SPCA Singapore and cheerfuldogs.com Partner to Help Shelter Dogs

Cosmo: a Mentee under our
"Train-to-Calm Dog Mentorship" Programme

cheerfuldogs.com designed the Canine Education @ SPCA Singapore programme which is a series of behaviour enrichment games and exercises for the dogs at SPCA. Through them, we hope to make the lives of the dogs better each day.

Our Chief Cheery Officer Kiyo, being an ex-resident of the SPCA, gives the paws'-up for this collaboration. 

Read about our Canine Education @ SPCA Singapore programme.

Bravo works his mind, playing "Find the Treat"

Dave (L) and Louise (R) enjoying some training time together

Train N Treat: Doggy Life Skill #4 - Teaching "Down"

Today, in our dog-friendly training tip for enlightened dog lovers - Chief Cheery Officer (CCO) Kiyo takes his next trick lying down!

Kiyo (L) and Rose (R) are comfortable enough 
to lie down in close proximity

We may not think or know it, but a dog will lie down only when it's comfortable in a particular situation. If there are many distractions that the dog hasn't learnt to cope with yet, you may see your dog lie down for a brief moment, then it bobs up again, and it's unable to settle for some time.

In this video, Kiyo, CCO (Chief Cheery Officer) of cheerfuldogs.com shows how you can teach "Down" to your dog in tiny steps until you get the full behaviour. Note that the verbal cue, "Down" is only said once each time and not repeatedly.

From: Nee Kang (2013). "Survival Among Humans. A How To Guide To A Sociable Dog". In Apple iBookstore (select countries, e.g. USA, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland).