Education is a huge part of the DSA mission. Education should start before the dog even arrives in the home. Learning about proper dog training and care can help you acurately assess if a dog will fit into your life. It may also help you learn what temperament and activity level you might want your dog to have. With some education, many behavior problems can be resolved because the miscommunication and misunderstanding between the dog and human is resolved. Once the dog understands exactly what the parent wants and is given motivation to comply through the use of rewards, behavior improves dramatically and so does the bond.
This page has links to articles that will help you expand the knowledge horizon for both yourself and your dog. Reprinting and sharing of this information is encouraged, but please give credit to the author and/or website.
Understanding how dogs learn - an explination of the laws of learning that you can use to help you teach your dog anything! If you work with these laws, training will be easy and fun, forget these laws and it will be much more difficult for you and the dog.
Clicker Class - If you are new to using a clicker (or other memory marker) read through this page to get a better understanding of how it works so you can use it properly.
How to be the "smart end of the leash" - All the information the parent needs to know for the Dog Scout test as well as being a guide to responsible parenting.
Rewards? What Rewards? - Do you get tired of using the same ol' treats? I bet your dog does too! Do you want to train without treats or find other treats that might motivate your dog?
Safe Travel - Valuable information that can help keep you and your dog safe during travel and how to put your best foot and paw forward during visits to friends homes and hotels. It explains how your behavior and your dog's behavior can effect dog access rules and laws positively or negatively.
Games and activities for bored dogs - ways to keep your dog busy while you are away or while you are home. Tired dogs are GOOD dogs!
Beyond basic targeting - Many dog's learn to touch the paret's hand or a target stick on cue. This can lead to ways to teach many different behaviors. But there is SO much more you can do with targeting! Includes some really adorable video clips.
Door Manners! - Does your dog bolt out the door as soon as it's open an inch? This can be a very dangerous behavior, especially if the dog is off-leash. This page teaches you how to help the dog understand that door bolting is not what you want. Written by Tammy Hilberg and re-printed with permission.
10 Tips for dealing with any problem behaviors - Use these tips to help you change any unwanted behavior your dog has.
107+ Tricks - Great activities for cold winter days or rainy days or extra hot summer days or even if you are confined to a chair or bed! These are just ideas. The training steps are outlined in several different tricks books, just be sure they use reward based methods.
"Bad Dog" Retrieve - By Beth Duman. Does your dog play keep away when he finds something on the floor? Don't you wish he would calmly bring you those things instead? This helps you learn how to get that message across to him.
Emergency recall - Teach your dog to respond to an emergency recall sound that will stop him in his tracks and get him flying back to you, regardless of the distraction! Includes a story at the end of how it saved the troop leaders beagle!
Body Language 101 - Ever wonder what your dog is trying to tell you? Read through this list of body language that dogs use to communicate how they are feeling. Some might surprize you!
Teaching your dog the Dog Scout behaviors - The "how-to" guide for training each of the basic manners required for the Dog Scout test using all positive reward based methods.
The "Dog Scout Way" - What it means to be a Dog Scouts of America member and to have a dog with the Dog Scout title.
The Dog Scout Laws - All parents of Dog Scouts and Cadet Scouts (all dogs, really) should strive to uphold these laws.
The Dog Scout Laws explained (also known as "How to be a responsible parent." It's a large .pdf file so give it a moment to load. Just about everything you need to know about dogs!
Training Steps in detail:
Leave It
Another method to teach Leave It
Heel position
More methods for heel (images and video link)
Stay
