Down to the Ground

I know it's been a long time since we've written. Mom has been in Thailand meeting tigers and elephants, and we were at home feeling neglected. I had to meet all these new people and be nice to them. It was awful, but Mom said I did perfectly. My reward is apparently a new training project.

My mom just recently read an article about a dog who had such a good recall that she ran in front of train because her owner misjudged the distance when calling and she died as a result. Any time my mom thinks about my death, she freaks out and takes on a new training project. That's exactly what this guy did, too. He realized that teaching his dog an emergency down would have solved the problem. My mom has never really focused on this but is thinking of adding it to her training repertoire and has decided to use me as a guinea pig.

To teach the emergency down, you first must teach your dog a down, obviously. I am already a pro at this. I learned it to perfection when she was trying to teach Chubbs, and I wanted to prove how much smarter I am (mission accomplished).

Once your dog can easily down, begin giving the command after taking one step further back. When your dog can do that, move back another step and then another.

Change the environment, such as practicing outside with a 30-foot long line.

Then, teach it from the heel. Tell your dog to down in mid-stride. If your has accomplished all the other steps, he should be able to do this quickly. Then, begin practicing when your dog is ahead of you. Then when he's running around the yard. If you practice in enough situations, you should be able to get your dog to drop in any environment for any reason.

This will keep your dog from running into traffic, running off a cliff while chasing a bird or running in front of a train because you're too slow on your recall command. Obviously, this could save his life. Thus, my mom has made it a 2011 goal. Here's hoping your parents aren't so crazy.

Love, Muggsy