Obedience Training
51 articles on obedience training from Scott Lovel and WorldWide K9 Academy.
Why Does My Adolescent Dog Suddenly Ignore Recall?
The long line goes back on today. Here is why recall breaks at ten months, how to rebuild it in six weeks, and what to s…
4 min read
How to Teach a Dog to Calm Down After Play
End with a cue, a stationary behavior, and ten minutes of sniffing. Coming down is a trained skill, and most dogs have n…
4 min read
Should Your Dog Walk Beside You or Is Walking Ahead Okay?
Ahead is fine when the leash is loose and he still responds to you. A formal heel is a skill for specific moments, not a…
4 min read
How to Teach a Dog to Check In With You on Walks
Pay the glances you did not ask for. Here is how to turn voluntary attention into a habit in two weeks, and why calling …
4 min read
How to Teach a Dog to Ignore People Who Want to Pet Them
Make greetings permission based, pay neutrality, and learn to say no to strangers. Here is the script, the helper drill,…
4 min read
How to Stop a Dog From Blocking Doorways and Hallways
Teach him to move on cue instead of stepping over him. Here is the yield drill, why nudging with your feet backfires, an…
4 min read
Should You Give an Adolescent Dog More Freedom or Less?
Less, temporarily. Freedom should follow proven reliability, not age. Here is how to tighten structure at ten months wit…
4 min read
Should You Take a Break From Training During Adolescence?
No. Change what you train, not whether you train. Here is what to drop, what to keep, and why pausing costs you far more…
4 min read
Why Does My Dog Break a Command as Soon as I Move?
Your movement became the release cue by accident. Here is the step by step fix that rebuilds a stay you can walk away fr…
4 min read
How to Fix a Dog That Anticipates Commands Instead of Listening
Your dog learned the pattern, not the words. Here is the drill that breaks predictable sequences and gets him waiting fo…
4 min read
How to Use Real Life Rewards Instead of Treats
Permission is payment. Here is how to pay a dog with sniffing, doors, and freedom, which reps should stay on food, and h…
4 min read
How to Teach a Dog Hand Signals
Dogs read hands faster than words. Here are the six signals worth teaching, the two second transfer drill, and how long …
4 min read
How to Keep Your Dog's Training From Falling Apart on Vacation
Trips wreck training because the rules quietly change. Here is the packing list, the daily minimum, and how to rebuild f…
4 min read
What to Do When Your Dog Ignores a Command He Knows
He probably does not know it as well as you think. Here is the three second rule, the fluency test, and how to rebuild a…
4 min read
Does Nothing in Life Is Free Actually Work for Dogs?
Partly. It builds structure for pushy dogs and does nothing for the dominance theory it came from. Here is what to keep,…
4 min read
How to Teach a Dog to Stop at Every Curb
An automatic curb stop takes about two weeks. Here is the full drill, the rep counts, and why the curb should be the cue…
4 min read
How to Teach a Dog the Quiet Command
Teach quiet by paying silence, not by shushing. Here is the full drill with rep counts, timing, and what to do when your…
5 min read
How Do You Stop a Big Dog From Pulling You Over?
Get safe first, then train. Here is the equipment and handling that stops a strong dog pulling you off your feet, plus t…
4 min read
How to Walk Two Dogs at Once Without Getting Tangled
Walk them separately for three weeks first. Here is the leash setup that stops the tangling, the side rule, and how to h…
4 min read
How to Teach a Dog to Accept a Collar Grab
Most dogs duck away when you reach for the collar, which is how dogs get lost. Here is the ten day conditioning plan tha…
4 min read
How to Teach a Dog to Get In and Out of the Car on Command
Teach load and wait as two separate cues, not one. Here is the two week progression, the height problem nobody mentions,…
4 min read
Should You Make Your Dog Wait Before Eating?
Mostly no. The bowl wait is a ritual that teaches almost nothing and adds tension around food. Here is what to train ins…
4 min read
How Many Commands Does a Dog Actually Need?
Seven. Here is the full list of commands a dog needs to live well in a normal home, why tricks do not count, and the ord…
4 min read
How to Teach a Dog to Walk Next to a Stroller or a Bike
Teach the position before you add the wheels. Here is the four week progression for strollers, the bike rules, and the a…
4 min read
Why Does My Dog Only Listen When the Leash Is On?
Your dog has learned the leash predicts consequences. Here is how to break the pattern with a long line and fade the lin…
4 min read
How to Teach Sit and Down When Luring Stops Working
Your dog sits for a treat but ignores you empty handed. Here is how to get sit and down off the lure in about two weeks …
4 min read
Why You Should Only Say a Command Once
Repeating a command teaches your dog that the first one is optional. Here is how to break the habit and what to do inste…
4 min read
Why Your Dog Needs a Release Word and How to Teach It
Without a release word, every stay you teach is a guess. Here is how to pick one, teach it in three days, and fix a dog …
4 min read
How to Teach a Dog to Leave It
Teach leave it in about two weeks with short daily reps. A trainer of 3,000 dogs walks through the exact drill, the time…
5 min read
How to Teach a Dog to Settle at a Restaurant Patio or Brewery
Train your dog to lie down under the table for an hour. The eight week build, what to bring, and the honest test of whet…
4 min read
How to Teach a Dog to Drop It Without Turning It Into a Chase
Stop chasing your dog around the couch. Here is the trade based drop it drill, the exact reps, and how to handle a dog w…
4 min read
Wait vs Stay, What Is the Difference and When to Use Each
Wait means pause until released. Stay means hold this position. Here is why keeping both is worth it, how to train each,…
4 min read
When Should You Stop Using the E-Collar
You do not stop cold. You fade it. Here is the four stage plan for taking an e-collar from teaching tool to maintenance,…
4 min read
How to Teach a Dog Their Name So It Actually Means Something
Your dog knows their name and ignores it. Here is how to rebuild it into an attention cue in five days, plus the mistake…
4 min read
How to Teach a Dog to Settle in Public
Settling at a cafe or a kid's game is a trained skill, not a personality trait. Here is the six week progression from yo…
4 min read
Can You Train Out Prey Drive?
No, you cannot remove prey drive, but you can control it. Here is what actually works: recall under drive, an interrupt,…
4 min read
How to Teach a Dog to Stay
Build duration before distance, and distance before distraction. Here are the three stages with rep counts, plus how to …
4 min read
How Do I Teach My Dog to Heel?
Reward the position before you add any movement at all. Here is the step by step, the rep counts, and how heel differs f…
5 min read
How to Teach Leave It and Drop It (They Are Two Different Skills)
Leave it and drop it are two separate skills. Here is how to teach both, how many reps it takes, and why using one word …
5 min read
When Can I Let My Dog Off Leash?
When he has had roughly a thousand successful recalls across many places. Here are the honest checkpoints and the five p…
5 min read
Why Won't My Puppy Walk on the Leash?
Puppies plant, freeze, or bite the leash for two reasons. Here is how to tell which one you have and a five day fix that…
4 min read
How to Stop a Dog From Bolting Out the Front Door
Teach a threshold rule, not a door command. Here is the 3 week protocol that stops door dashing, with rep counts and wha…
5 min read
How to Use a Marker Word in Dog Training
A marker word tells your dog the exact moment he got it right. Here is how to charge one in 3 days, plus the timing rule…
4 min read
Do You Have to Use Treats Forever in Dog Training?
No. Most dogs can be off food rewards for known behaviors in 6 to 10 weeks. Here is the fading schedule that gets you th…
4 min read
Why Does My Dog Listen at Home But Not Outside?
Your dog listens inside but ignores you outside because dogs do not generalize. Here is the exact process to make obedie…
5 min read
Are E-Collars Cruel? An Honest Look At Both Sides
Search this question and you will find two kinds of articles: ones saying remote collars are barbaric and should be ille…
4 min read
How To Teach Place (And Give Your Dog An Off Switch)
Place teaches your dog to settle instead of hover. Learn how to build a solid place command and give your dog a real off…
5 min read
How To Use A Long Line (The Most Underrated Tool In Dog Training)
The long line bridges the gap between leash and off leash freedom. Here is how to use one to build recall and confidence…
5 min read
E-Collar Training For Beginners: An Honest Guide
An honest look at e-collar training: how the tool actually works, when it helps, when it does not, and how to introduce …
5 min read
How To Train A Dog To Come When Called (Every Time)
A reliable recall is built, not commanded. Here is how to train your dog to come when called every time, even around rea…
4 min read
How To Stop A Dog From Pulling On The Leash
Leash pulling is a communication problem, not a strength problem. Learn how to teach loose leash walking that holds up o…
5 min readYour best dog is closer than you think.
Every drill in these articles comes from the WorldWide K9 Academy course library. Start today.
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