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“Stay” means I do not want you to move until it is safe and when it is safe, I do not want you to bolt or run somewhere, I want you to get up and stay with me. I completely separate the “come” and “stay” commands as they are opposites, used at different times and really very rarely used together for my dogs. One word of advice or caution on this command is not to teach it in combination with the “Stay” command. This is a command that must be mastered before a blind dog can be off leash. This is a command that can be lifesaving for any dog but even more so for a blind dog. I try to make this a fun and energetic command so that the dog associates “come” with good and positive things and I reward heavily – treats praise and every now and then I give an “Out of this World”/High Value treat like liver. I then run backward so they are chasing me and I continue to say “come” in a very fun, energetic manner. When they are distracted, I turn away from the dog to the end of the lead and say “come”. I teach this command by walking with the dog to a distraction such as a person or a treat on the ground. These two commands have made me think about getting a vibrating collar so I have a backup method. Touch: No touch command on this one either. The key is to make the bounce/bump gentle so they do not get hurt but they learn how to navigate.
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That is really how they learn where things are. Your dog will bump into and bounce off of things so you have to get used to it. You must be careful to not overuse the panicked, loud tone or the dog will begin to ignore it. If he is running towards the tree or post and he needs to react quickly and abruptly, I will say it louder and with more inflection in my voice. If he is walking towards a tree or post, I will just say “careful” in a normal relaxed tone. I find that the word along with the tone in which I deliver it lets Radar know how critical or dangerous the situation is. This is to alert the dog as they are approaching an obstacle or hazard. It is a command that your blind puppy/dog will become extremely dependent on you to give. This is almost or sometimes more important than “sit”. Touch: No touch command on this one as I am rarely near him when I use it. This is my goal and I find the more obnoxious, anxious or hyper the dog, the more I use the sit command for please. Granted I am not as much of stickler as I would like to be but do try. Before they get their meal, a treat, the door opened to go outside or inside, before petting, before I open the crate door, etc. I teach all of my dogs that they must sit or “say please” before I will do anything for them. I actually use the “sit” command as a “Please……”. The key here is “touch” not push or force, just a quick, light tap with 2-3 fingers. Touch: Fingers tips touch on highest point of his rump. Touch Command for Sit – two fingers lightly touching the high point on top of dog’s hips. The following is a list of commands and the corresponding touch command that I am using. Unfortunately for Radar, he had to learn along with me on what touch commands would be effective. Obviously hand signals were not going to be an option for Radar but I wanted a backup command method so I decided to devise touch signals.
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