Standing Still Jumping

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I. STANDING STILL

AUDITORY signal: 'Stay'. Visual signal: sudden presentation of the palm of the hand in front of the dog's eyes. Service requirement: when both signals are given together, or the auditory one alone, the dog is at once to stand still, and neither sit nor lie down. The duration of the posture will be determined by the object of training. This exercise is not performed in conjunction with heel work. The primary inducements to standing still begin by alarming the animal, and if this happened while it was doing heel work the dog would be rendered uneasy.

This undesirable association is accordingly prevented. Standing still is taught without the dog expecting it, e.g. while the trainer is taking a rather long walk straight ahead, with the animal on the lead and it is pressing forward, possibly in anticipation of forthcoming man work. On such an occasion the trainer will suddenly stop, jerking the lead, thus bringing the dog to a standstill, saying at the same time in a commanding and long drawn out tone 'Stay' and presenting the palm of the right hand to the animal's nose. Immediately after these inducements the trainer will turn slowly round, by the left, so as to stand directly in front of the dog, facing it.

If the animal changes its attitude in any way, the trainer must at once catch hold of it. He then retires very slowly to a point at which he can still touch the dog at arm's length and induces the animal, by the means already described, to stand still, each time it attempts to move, uttering a simultaneous 'Stay' and making the prescribed hand movement. Repetitions of the exercise in rapid succession are only undertaken if the dog shows no sign of fear. It may try, several times, to sit or to lie. The trainer must then raise it with the palm of the hand tin it stands up again.

The exercises are intensified by the trainer going farther and farther away from the dog, which is still on the lead. He will walk slowly away to begin with, keeping the dog under continuous observation and immediately applying compulsion, at long range, by a threatening 'Stay' or, at an advanced stage of training, by a flick at the lead, the moment the dog does not behave as desired.

As in the case of teaching the down, the sound of encouragement is not used when the dog behaves as desired. The maintenance of a submissive mood is as desirable in this exercise as in that of the down.

Training is intensified until the trainer moves out of the standing dog's line of vision and even out of range of its scent. But he must still keep the animal under continuous observation, so as to be able to intervene at once if necessary.

It will be a particular temptation for the dog to move if the trainer runs away quickly or throws himself to the ground or runs about at a distance. But the training must include these movements.

Finally, work is undertaken in the presence of distractions, e.g. in places where people and vehicles are passing and other dogs or similar disturbing factors are in the neighborhood.

2. JUMPING

Auditory signal: 'Up, up'.

We are here concerned with long jumps over brooks and ditches, high jumps over hedges and low lying obstacles, and scale jumps over walls and fences. The height of the latter prescribes the height of the scale jump. A dog may be able to attain considerably higher levels, but every owner or trainer should be too fond of his dog and value it too highly to subject it to dangerous exercises which would serve no practical purpose on active service.

The scale jump, which we shall treat first, imposes a quite exceptional strain on most dogs, particularly those with physical shortcomings or those which are not yet full grown. With the latter the scale jump should either not be taught at all or else be restricted at most to slight elevations. The ground from which the animal takes off and that on which it lands should always be soft. If training takes place in a room, thick mats are an absolutely necessity. jumping should never be practiced for very long. The best plan is to make the dog jump two or three times at the start and after the end of each day's training , or once or twice in the case of more considerable 9 heights.

Far less resistance will be encountered if jumping practice is allotted as advised. If exercises last a long time the dog would not be able to see his advantage in continuing them, whereas he will recognize it at once if he is always left in peace after a few jumps.

Training can proceed, from the start, with the dog jumping forwards and backwards across the obstacle, uninterruptedly. The animal will soon get used to it and regularly execute the return jump of its own accord. A start may be made with a jump of one and a half feet and for some considerable time the dog must be kept on the lead, so that it remains under control' and thus more amenable to compulsion. If at a later stage of training the animal is released from the lead and then refuses to take the jump, it must always be put on the lead again, till resistance to the exercise comes to an end. An easily adjustable jump is advisable in teaching this exercise.

One should get into the habit, from the start, of walking up to the jump and stepping over it. Otherwise the dog may well decline to make the necessary effort.

To begin with the trainer steps over the jump and as a rule the dog will follow him at once, clearing the obstacle with a high leap if it is a low one. The dog must immediately be induced to make the return jump in the same way. Each time the animal makes the leap the sound 'Up, up' is to be uttered. (See Fig. 9.)

Soon afterwards an attempt may be made to get the dog to jump without the trainer stepping over. A run is taken up to the jump with the dog to one's left, the signal being given just as one reaches it. If the dog refuses, the trainer must immediately step over the obstacle again.

The height of the jump must be increased very gradually. When it is high enough to prevent the trainer stepping over it, the dog is made to sit down a few paces away, or given to an assistant to hold, while the trainer walks round to the other side of the jump and utters the jumping call, with a simultaneous jerk at the lead. But one should never pull the dog right up to or over the jump with the lead. On the contrary, an effort should be made to get the animal to retire a little from the obstacle, so that he can take a run at it.

Whenever the dog refuses, we must find out whether it does so because it is overtired, has sustained some injury or is instinctively averse to an unfamiliar movement.

The skin between the toes of the forepaws is often exposed to injury and should be closely examined; if injuries are found, jumping should be stopped. If the dog is seen to be overtired, the jump is lowered and the exercise then renewed. The animal is thus rendered more submissive than if the training is broken off without further jumping. If resistance occurs, a few more attempts at inducement should be made by running at the obstacle with the dog on the lead and giving a really urgent shout of 'Up, up', at the right moment, or by going round to the other side of the jump as already described.

If, after a number of such attempts, the dog Stilt refuses, the obstacle is lowered and jumping begun again. In all cases in which resistance has occurred but the dog has, nevertheless, by making an effort finally made the jump, even when lowered, the training is at once stopped, as this action will cause the dog to perceive clearly the advantage to be gained by jumping.

The taking of higher jumps by the dog on the auditory signal alone indicates that resistance has been overcome. He is then made to sit before jumping and not to get ready to jump till he hears the 'Up, up' call.

Retrieving over a jump does not begin until the dog has shown he enjoys jumping and has become reliable on the retrieve. A fresh start is made at quite a low level, say one and a half feet, which is gradually raised.