Great Dane

"A dog is truly man's best friend. A trained dog is not only a pleasure to live with but a companion for life"

There are many training methods to choose from. The key word is "gentle!" It is NEVER necessary to hit a dog or otherwise force him into doing something. When the bond between master and dog exists, the dog will want to please. "Gentle" training, "gentle" corrections, "love" and the ability to "read" your dog will prove in the end that "quality time" spent together pays off!
Ivy is shown on the following pages at 6 1/2 months old. Our training sessions are about 15 minutes a day. She has never been hit, never heard a harsh word, and has proven once again if you give love, you will get it in return.

SHAKE HANDS IVY!

shake

To teach Ivy to "shake" she first had to learn to "sit" on command. See Dog Training Easy as ABC to learn how to teach simple obedience. This is where it all starts!

Once Ivy is in the "sit" position, she is given the command "IVY SHAKE" and then immediately I would lift her paw, say Good Girl and give her a piece of a biscuit. All her tricks are taught using treats in tiny pieces. As we progressed, rather than physically taking her paw, I would hold my hand close to it until she moved it. If it moved the slightest bit, I would praise a LOT and give the treat. At this stage you want to wait a second to see if the dog will move her paw, if not, go ahead and lift it, but DO NOT repeat the command! It is given ONCE and only ONCE. Eventually she picked her paw up on the command "IVY SHAKE." I have taught this trick to dogs in as little as 10 minutes. Timing is very important. Give the command, show them how to do it, then praise!

WAVE!

wave wave wave

Once Ivy knew how to shake, it was a simple matter to teach the wave. I give the command "IVY WAVE" while holding my hand as if I were going to take it as in a "shake" command, but instead I close my fingers and move only pointer finger as in a "come here" movement. The hand is held higher than in the shake to get the dog to lift up more. As soon as the dog keeps the paw up for any length of time waiting for you to take it, PRAISE her and give the treat. The more you work on this the longer the dog will hold the paw up "pawing" at the air. The above pictures show Ivy's progression in lifting her paw. She amazed me as to how "high" she can actually lift her leg! The more I praised her, the higher the leg went! I should probably change this trick to SALUTE!!!

**Coming soon**More of Ivy's "cute" tricks and HOW to teach them!
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