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   several months (6-8) to work through all of these distractions and
   care must be taken to not blow the dog's mind by putting him in a
   situation that he is not ready for or by never letting the dog "win"
   (i.e., successfully perform an exercise).
   
   Always let the dog "win" on the last exercise in the session. That is,
   end the sessions on positive notes, with much praise. This keeps your
   dog interested in the work.
     _________________________________________________________________
                                      
Using Food

   The use of food in training dogs has a long and contentious history.
   Many people dislike the use of food, feeling that a dog should do
   things because YOU ask him to, not in hope of a reward. They point to
   dogs that will refuse to do things when they know they won't get food
   for it. Others advocate the use of food in training, saying that for
   many dogs it is the best reward to use, that the use of food is a much
   more humane method of teaching dogs, and that it is an excellent way
   to motivate a dog.
   
   Certainly each side has some valid points. For example, the repeated
   use of food as a _bribe_ will quite often result in the dog refusing
   to do the expected exercise without the bribe being held out. However,
   this is considered and incorrect usage of food by food advocates.
   There is a difference between _bribing_ with food and _rewarding_ with
   food. Under the latter system, the dog never knows whether or not it
   will get food as a result of performing the exercise; the rules of
   variable reinforcement mean that the dog will try harder and harder
   for that reward. The problem is that many folks don't know how to
   reward intermittently, and it's also true that rewards are more
   frequent while the dog is learning the exercise and taper off when the
   dog understands it. Many people fail to notice the dog's progress, and
   fall into habits, and hence into bribery.
   
   On the other hand, not every dog becomes an enthusiastic performer for
   verbal praise or toys along. With some exceptions, almost every dog
   will view food as a good reward and modify his behavior accordingly to
   get more of it.
   
   The controversy is really rooted in more philosophical considerations
   than in actual performance (or not) from the use (or not) of food.
   Some people just plain don't like the idea of rewarding with food, and
   others do not mind using it.
   
   The bottom line is that, food or not, most dogs need a reward, a
   motivator, in order to put on their best effort in training. And the
   trainer needs to understand (and observe) how to apply the reward most
   effectively.
     _________________________________________________________________
                                      
Training and Corrective Collars

   There are several kinds of collars. There are the plain flat buckled
   ones for everyday use available in a wide variety of colors, sizes and
   fastners (from buckles to quick-release).
   
   Note that puppies do not need corrective collars.
   
   For training purposes, there are choke collars (also called training
   collars), pinch collars and prong collars. Used properly, there is
   nothing wrong with any of these collars, although they often look
   rather alarming. The point is that these collars are for control, not
   for pain infliction. Yanking savagely on these collars is
   counterproductive; firm corrections get the point across without
   injury. Try this experiment: wrap each of the collars around your arm
   in turn and have someone experienced with corrections give a
   correction to your arm.
   
   To prevent your dog from injury from corrective collars, do not leave
   them on when you are not around. Its usual collar should be a plain
   flat buckled collar; save the choke and prong collars for actual
   training and when you are around.
     _________________________________________________________________
                                      
Resources

   It is, of course, beyond the scope of this article to discuss any more
   advanced obedience exercises in any kind of detail. However, there are
   many resources if you are interested in further obedience training.
   
  Books
  
   There are many, _many_ books out there on training. A sample includes:
   
    Behavior Training, Shaping
    
   Benjamin, Carol Lea. _Mother Knows Best: The Natural Way To Train Your
   Dog_. Howell Book House, New York. 1985. ISBN 0-87605-666-4. $15.95
   hardcover.
   
     She uses praise, contact, play and toys to motivate puppies, but
     she does not recommend food training a young puppy. She does
     recommend crate training and she also recommends sleeping in the
     same room with the puppy. She provides methods to teach no, OK,
     good dog, bad dog, sit stay heel, come, down, stand, go, enough,
     over, out, cookie, speak, take it, wait and off to puppies. She
     talks about canine language and talks some about mental games you
     can play with your dog such as mirror games, and copying your dog
     and having him copy you, chase games and even playing rough with
     your puppy. Most training methods rely on the foundational
     relationship between an owner and his dog, and this book provides
     some ideas on establishing that relationship while the puppy is
     still young.
     
   Brahms, Ann and Paul. _Puppy Ed._. Ballantine Books. 1981.
   SBN:0-345-33512-0 (paperback).
   
     Describes how to start teaching your puppy commands. This is a
     thoughtful book that discusses in practical detail what you can and
     cannot expect to do with your puppy in training it. They stress
     that by expecting and improving good behavior from the start,
     later, more formal training goes much easier.
     
   Pryor, Karen. _Don't Shoot The Dog_
   
    Obedience Training
    
   Baer, Ted. _Communicating with Your Dog_. Barron's, New York. 1989.
   ISBN 0-8120-4203-4 (oversized paperback).
   
     Heavily illustrated with color photos. A sensible approach to
     laying a good foundation for extensive obedience training (even if
     you don't take the dog any further than what's outlined in here).
     Simple instructions for teaching a 20-word language, with emphasis
     on understanding and building on previous work.
     
   Bauman, Diane L. _Beyond Basic Dog Training_. New, updated edition.
   Howell Book House (Maxwell Maxmillan International), New York. 1991.
   ISBN: 0-87605-410-6.
   
     Emphasis is on training a "thinking" dog rather than a
     pattern-trained dog. Extensive manual on obedience training.
     Communication and understanding are discussed. A well known and
     often recommended book.
     
   Burnham, Patricia Gail. _Playtraining Your Dog_. St. Martin's Press,
   175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. c1980. ISBN 0-312-61691-0 (trade
   paperback).
   
     An excellent book that describes how to use play to motivate your
     dog through obedience training. She focuses on how to teach each
     exercise in the AKC Novice, Open, and Utility classes. Her
     philosophy, though, lends itself to any type of training. Well
     written and informative. For you greyhound lovers, all her dogs and
     inside photos are of greyhounds.
     
   Dildei, _Schutzhund Obedience: Training in Drive_.
   
     This book actually has far more applications than simply to
     Schutzhund, which is a three point German
     Protection/Obedience/Tracking program. This book discusses
     extensively how to increase your dog's drive and motivation for the
     activity at hand.
     
   Lewis, Janet. _Great Dogs, Brilliant Trainers_, 1997.
   
     This book explains all about learning theory, operant conditioning
     (both pos. and neg. reinforcement and pos. and neg. punishment),
     and classical conditioning. It's not a "how to" book in the sense
     that she doesn't explain how to teach a specific exercise. Instead,
     Janet uses dog training examples to illustrate the concepts of
     different schedules of reinforcement, when to use them, why
     positive and negative reinforcement work, when classical
     conditioning is helpful, etc.
     
  Magazines
  
     Front and Finish
     P.O. Box 333
     Galesburg, IL 61402-0333
     1-309-344-1333
     Obedience related information.
     
  Mailing list
  
   There are several mailing lists for the person interested in obedience
   training.
     _________________________________________________________________
                                      
   
    Training Your Dog FAQ
    Cindy Tittle Moore, rpd-info@netcom.com
    
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