When I was in junior primary school, Sister Cyril used to make us fold our arms and put a finger on our lips before she let us out for lunch.
The quicker you did this, the quicker you got permission to go outside and play.
Permission to do what you enjoy is a powerful form of positive reinforcement and it works really well for dogs too.
One of my favourite dog trainers is Susan Garrett, the Canadian dog trainer, who has won world championships in agility with most of her dogs.
Susan lives on quite a large rural property and her dogs work hard for permission to go swimming in her large pond.
But you do not need a pond to take advantage of this training tip.
There are lots of opportunities in daily life with your dog – let’s start with doorways.
When your dog wants to go outside to play ball, ask him to sit before you open the door.
If the sit is slow, ask him to do it again and before long, you will be getting faster and steadier sits in doorways and may not even have to ask.
Cars have doors too so if your dog loves car rides, ask for a sit before you let him in.
More importantly, ask for a sit and attach the leash before you let him out again.
A related behaviour that I have been teaching my dog Robbie when we visit a park or the beach is to spin around and make eye contact when he has jumped out of the car.
It is only when he has maintained eye contact for a few seconds that I give him permission to run free.
Meal times are also a good time to practise permission.
Ask your dog to hold a sit stay or a down stay while you prepare his meal.
After you place the bowl on the ground, ask the dog to wait a few seconds for permission to eat.
Susan has two programs that will assist in teaching your dog self-control.
‘Crate Games’ is very good for teaching threshold control so dogs do not dash through doorways or leap out of vehicles without permission.
‘It’s Yer Choice’ teaches self-restraint around food and toys.
Both programs are easy to find on Facebook and are highly recommended.
Before you go, I would like to let you know that I have decided to start a ‘Dog Breed of the Month’ segment on our ‘Old Dog New Tricks, Australia’ Facebook page.
The first breed featured will be the greyhound.
