Training the Samoyed
Samoyeds are known to be a highly intelligent but stubborn breed of dog. They don't enjoy repetition without variation. Nukka has proven to be more of a challenge to train than my other two dogs because she is more opinionated and gets distracted easily. Before getting her, I had done my research on the breed and knew that she would be more of a challenge to train than my Border Collie mix, Ducati, and my Plott Hound mix, Ace. She didn't disappoint! But with her being more of a challenge, the reward is that much greater.
We have completed the Beginner Obedience at TOPS K9 Kennel in Grayslake, IL. In this class the dog learns how to sit, heel, lay down, come, stand, flip turn (or finish), sit stay for 1 minute and down stay for 3 minutes. TOPS is a facility that has successfully trained many police dogs to do their jobs. In doing so, they teach the owners how to properly use prong collars. I have found the prong collars are a wonderful training tool and would recommend it to anyone who would learn how to properly use it. The prong collar acts as a positive punishment tool because when the dog does something that you don't like, you give them a short pop of the leash which tightens the collar around their neck for a quick second. They learn that to avoid the slight uncomfortable pinch of the collar by doing what the trainer is looking for. For example, if the dog walks too far ahead of you when they are supposed to be heeling, you give them a quick correction and the dog is again walking back at your side. Since Samoyed's are such happy go lucky dogs, they don't appreciate only positive punishment training. So to keep Nukka motivated and willing to please me, I reward her with praise and tiny treats when she performs a string of commands correctly. For example, say we are walking down the street with her heeling at my side, I slow down and she stays with me. I stop and and say sit, she plops her butt on the ground and looks up at me. I smile and give an enthusiastic "Yes!" and then feed her a treat as a reward for doing what I wanted. If she had not sat when I asked, she would have received a quick correction up to make her sit, then she would have received praise but not a treat.
By using this balanced training method, it keeps her focus on me during training and reinforces what I want her to do very clearly. If she does what I want she gets a treat, if she doesn't then she gets a quick pinch of her collar. She has responded very well to this type of training and has become such a wonderful companion.
At the beginning of January, Nukka and I completed the Intermediate I Obedience class, where she learned to do all the commands mentioned above but off leash, along with sit on motion, down on motion, stand on motion, hand signals, sit on recall, down on recall and longer sit stays and down stays.
We had a week break between the end of Intermediate I and the start of Intermediate II. On March 11, 2017 Nukes tied for first place during our graduation test! I was so proud of the way she performed and couldn't be happier. In Intermediate II we learned stand on recall, stand with just a voice from many positions, come and stand at my feet, come and down at my feet, sit on recall with only a hand signal, down on recall with only a hand signal and stand on recall with only a hand signal among other commands!
Obedience training has turned Nukka into a wonderful dog and I couldn't be happier with her progress. We practiced six times a week for nine months. It takes a lot of dedication and time but the end result is definitely worth it! One thing that we are still working on is her recall off leash. When she is in training mode she listens fine but if I were to take her to a park or the beach to play fetch and she were to see something (i.e another dog, squirrel, children) the odds of her coming back to me are slim. So next week on Tuesday we have E-collar training so that I can have better control of her off leash and she learns that she has to listen to me 100% of the time! Click here to view the E-collar I bought from Dogtra.
Next up in training: Foundations Agility (Cudahy Kennel Club) & Advanced Class OB (TOPS K9)
We have completed the Beginner Obedience at TOPS K9 Kennel in Grayslake, IL. In this class the dog learns how to sit, heel, lay down, come, stand, flip turn (or finish), sit stay for 1 minute and down stay for 3 minutes. TOPS is a facility that has successfully trained many police dogs to do their jobs. In doing so, they teach the owners how to properly use prong collars. I have found the prong collars are a wonderful training tool and would recommend it to anyone who would learn how to properly use it. The prong collar acts as a positive punishment tool because when the dog does something that you don't like, you give them a short pop of the leash which tightens the collar around their neck for a quick second. They learn that to avoid the slight uncomfortable pinch of the collar by doing what the trainer is looking for. For example, if the dog walks too far ahead of you when they are supposed to be heeling, you give them a quick correction and the dog is again walking back at your side. Since Samoyed's are such happy go lucky dogs, they don't appreciate only positive punishment training. So to keep Nukka motivated and willing to please me, I reward her with praise and tiny treats when she performs a string of commands correctly. For example, say we are walking down the street with her heeling at my side, I slow down and she stays with me. I stop and and say sit, she plops her butt on the ground and looks up at me. I smile and give an enthusiastic "Yes!" and then feed her a treat as a reward for doing what I wanted. If she had not sat when I asked, she would have received a quick correction up to make her sit, then she would have received praise but not a treat.
By using this balanced training method, it keeps her focus on me during training and reinforces what I want her to do very clearly. If she does what I want she gets a treat, if she doesn't then she gets a quick pinch of her collar. She has responded very well to this type of training and has become such a wonderful companion.
At the beginning of January, Nukka and I completed the Intermediate I Obedience class, where she learned to do all the commands mentioned above but off leash, along with sit on motion, down on motion, stand on motion, hand signals, sit on recall, down on recall and longer sit stays and down stays.
We had a week break between the end of Intermediate I and the start of Intermediate II. On March 11, 2017 Nukes tied for first place during our graduation test! I was so proud of the way she performed and couldn't be happier. In Intermediate II we learned stand on recall, stand with just a voice from many positions, come and stand at my feet, come and down at my feet, sit on recall with only a hand signal, down on recall with only a hand signal and stand on recall with only a hand signal among other commands!
Obedience training has turned Nukka into a wonderful dog and I couldn't be happier with her progress. We practiced six times a week for nine months. It takes a lot of dedication and time but the end result is definitely worth it! One thing that we are still working on is her recall off leash. When she is in training mode she listens fine but if I were to take her to a park or the beach to play fetch and she were to see something (i.e another dog, squirrel, children) the odds of her coming back to me are slim. So next week on Tuesday we have E-collar training so that I can have better control of her off leash and she learns that she has to listen to me 100% of the time! Click here to view the E-collar I bought from Dogtra.
Next up in training: Foundations Agility (Cudahy Kennel Club) & Advanced Class OB (TOPS K9)
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