Leash Training

I decided to write this and show how we teach our schnauzers to walk on a lead. Do not expect a puppy that you got at 8 weeks old to not throw a temper tantrum if you decide to put him/her on a leash at 4 or 5 months old for the first time.

You have to start when they are young so they will not fear the leash. Use a non-choking type collar (we use the harness) and leash.

Step 1.

Put the leash on your dog each day for a few minutes and allow your schnauzer the freedom of wandering around on a "loose leash" at first.

Step 2.

 Begin to restrict your dog's ability to wander and require your dog to walk the direction you want to go. Encourage and praise. Do not terrify your miniature schnauzer. Practice this 2 to 3 times a day.

Step 3.

THE SIT EXERCISE: When your schnauzer is secure with the leash, begin to teach it how to sit on command. He/she should always sits on the left hand side of you!

Take the entire leash in your right hand. Place your left hand on your schnauzer's rear. Now, (all at the same time) jerk up on the collar and leash with your right hand; push down on the dog's rear with your left hand while giving the command "sit". Give praise after your dog sits. Repeat each time you stop walking. Do this gentle not hard!!

Step 4.

Lay down on command

Hold the leash in your right hand; start with your schnauzer in the sitting position. Give the command "down" and straight down. With your right hand on the leash and collar; apply pressure to your dog's shoulders with your left hand. Give praise after your schnauzer lies down. Repeat several times. Everything is done gently as possibly without hurting your schnauzer.

I might have forgotten a few, as I am remembering as I type. But this is the basics of what we have done and do for our schnauzers. Come back often since we have some that will be in training this season.

Just remember you are in CONTROL not the schnauzer.

Do not allow the schnauzer to pull you. If this is happening, wait and tell him NO, if this doesn't work turn him around and go back the other way.

How do you get the puppies to take pictures every week?  The answer is part of beginner’s training. Basic commands are,

      Sit

      Stay

      Down

      Up

Poorly trained and unruly dogs often suffer abandonment or abuse, as their owners become unable to cope with the dog's bad behavior. Who is to blame? The OWNER of course! Proper training will help ensure that your new family member becomes an asset, rather than a liability.

The key to proper training is to find the method that works for your puppy’s particular temperament and to be CONSISTENT.

The first step is to check the puppy’s personality out.

Outgoing and adventurous, or shy and reserved

Easily excited or calm and quiet.

Quiet or shy dogs will do best with a short, calm training session. Rewards should be given without too much commotion, and conversely, corrections should be mild.

A more rambunctious pup will do well with a stronger voice and more excited praise to keep their attention. Stronger corrections may be necessary to have the proper effect on a disruptive dog

After identifying how you will interact with your puppy during training, pick a behavior that you want to modify or teach.

Sit
Sit is taught by taking a piece of kibble and slowly moving your hand above the dog's head and slightly back while saying, "Sit." If your dog tries to take the treat by standing on its hind legs, simply pull the treat farther away and say, "No". Once the dog sits, hand him the kibble and praise him with, "Good boy/girl!"

Stay (older) with leash; I do not use the leash on puppies while teaching them the stay method.  I just repeat the word “stay” over and over with my hand out flat.

Teaching stay is often done with a long leash attached to your dog's collar. Standing in front of your dog, hold your hand out flat, like a traffic cop, and firmly say, "Stay." Walk away from your dog while repeating, "Stay." If your dog moves toward you, simply put them back where you started and re-issue the stay command. Return to your dog, and praise them for staying. Say, "Good stay," and give him a piece of kibble. Start with moving a couple of feet away before returning, and then gradually work your way up to the end of the six-foot leash. Once you have mastered a particular distance, you can set the leash down if you are indoors or in a fenced area and increase the distance.

Down
Starting from a sit position with a piece of kibble, move the kibble to the floor while saying, "Down." Your dog's nose will follow, and if you move the kibble slightly toward their body, they will automatically go into a down position. If you move the kibble away from the body, the dog will crawl, so push it toward the body until the dog is in the correct position. "Good down!"

If you keep the training sessions short and positive, your Miniature Schnauzer will look forward to training and be eager to learn, and you will be rewarded with a well-behaved Miniature Schnauzer.

**Please note that under no circumstance should a dog be treated harshly or struck. This will undermine the dog's trust in you and make the dog fearful rather than eager to learn**.

Training a Schnauzer to Roll over.

Step 1 - "Down"

Teach your schnauzer "down" from a sitting position. This is simple. Say "down", hold a piece of kibble out in front of the dog and, if needed, physically move the dog by pushing down on the shoulders or tugging on the collar. When the schnauzer lays down, give the kibble as soon as possible and praise with an enthusiastic "good down!".

Step 2. "Over"

Teach your schnauzer "over". (You can also use the command "bang, bang" or "play dead") To teach "play dead", say "play dead", hold the kibble to the left or right of the schnauzer, and gently shove on the opposite shoulder and urge your schnauzer to roll onto his or her side and relax. Give him/her a piece of kibble immediately and scratch his/her shoulder. When your schnauzer "plays dead" well, move on to step 3.

Step 3. "Back"

From the roll over position, give your schnauzer a command that means to roll over onto their back. This could be "on your back", "show me your belly" or " play dead". This is a fun trick to sass up.

Position your schnauzer in the "play dead" position and say "on your back" while at the same time beginning a rather intense belly rub. As the leg lifts to allow access to the belly roll the schnauzer *barely* onto her/his back and immediately give a piece of kibble and praise her/him saying "Good back, good back". As this trick progress, he/she should immediately roll onto his/her back expecting a belly rub. Slowly, slowly, slowly phase out the belly rub and substitute a piece of kibble.

Step 4. "Roll Over"

The idea is to get the schnauzer to roll upright again on the opposite side he/she rolled from. This is easily done by holding a treat in front of his/her face while he/she is upside down, and moving it to the side you'd like him/her to roll up on. The command for this movement is the actual "Roll Over".

If you follow all these steps you have a schnauzer who can, roll over. The trick then is to string the behaviors together. Always train these commands in this order: down, play dead, belly up, roll over. Once this routine is set in the schnauzer's mind it's easy to jump one command and get the desired results Eventually, you should be able to say simply "down", "roll over" and with diligent work, you can train the dog to "roll over" from any position at all.

Shake Hands

Start by having your schnauzer sit. Say, "Shake hands," and take his/her paw with your hand. Hold his/her paw and say, "Good dog!" Let go of his/her paw. Do this a few times every day.

Crawl

Start by having your schnauzer lie down. Hold a piece just in front of his/her nose and say, "Crawl." If he/she starts to stand up, say, "No, down...crawl." Pull the kibble away, keeping it low, near the ground and say, "Craaawl." When your schnauzer moves even an inch or two without standing up, praise him/her and say, "Good dog! Craaawl."  He/she must know Down before he/she can learn to crawl.

Beg 

Have your schnauzer sit, facing you. Hold his/her favorite treat just above his/her head and tell him/her, "Say please." Your schnauzer will probably lift his/her front feet off the ground to reach the treat. As soon as the feet are lifted, even a little bit, give him/her the kibble.