Distance control or Change of position

Introduction

This training article will take you through the steps to achieve what is referred to in Obedience Competition trials as “change of position” – but it might also be called “distance control” when used with your companion dog out on a walk in the park or on the beach. Not only does this have application in competition dog sports, but also in safety and “control” in an open area with the dog off-leash.

The objective is simply to teach your canine companion to sit, down/drop or stand (still) on cue when you are some distance from it – let’s say several meters away – either with the dog facing you or behind/in front of you without eye contact. The dog learns to stay in that cued position until either released or given the next cue for an alternate behavior response.

Method

So – we will clearly need cues for the actions of both hand signals, in case there is an impediment to them hearing your cue (distance or, say, road traffic noise) and voice cues (when the dog can’t see you).

1.     Step 1 is the basic position training with the dog in the heel position – to the point that you have a high level of confidence that your dog understands your verbal and hand signal cues for the basic Sit, Drop/Down (choose either word that suits you and remain consistent) and Stand exercises – just in the stationary at-heel position.

If don’t have those cues in place yet, just quickly, here is how they are taught using the luring method, possibly with the addition of a hand touch if the dog is struggling to understand what you want or changes unprompted from the required position – but never resorting to any leash jerking or pushing the dog into position.

Remember – there is no such thing as a dog which doesn’t know how to sit, stand or lie down – we are just trying to time and direct these dog positions.

Note that in initial training, it is generally best to start with just a hand signal aided by the treat lure in hand – and when that is cemented, add in the verbal cue. The logic is that dog’s comprehend body language better than verbal cues (especially as the body language includes a treat lure when you start out) and you add the verbal cue just after the hand signal – then they can become coincident once the dog “gets it”. Now – if you have started training and you are using both the hand signal and verbal cues together – don’t panic – dogs are smart and will figure it out.

Either way, the objective is that the dog will eventually respond to either the hand signal or the verbal cue, together or separately. Note that you can use the verbal marker or bridge of “yes” or a clicker.

·        For the “Sit”- move the treat lure up and slightly back over the dog’s head – as its nose/head follows the treat its backside goes down – bridge and reward as soon as the butt hits the ground.

·        For the “Down/Drop” start with dog in the Sit position and move the treat lure from the dog’s nose towards the ground between its front feet and then forward, describing an L-shape (note that small pups which don’t catch on are covered in the Junior Puppy Home Training articles on this website).

·        For the “Stand” exercise, again start from the Sit position and move a treat lure horizontally forward from the dog’s nose just enough so that it stands to reach it. Try to stop the movement before the dog takes a step forward (a very common occurrence when you start this exercise) – not to worry – that can be corrected over time with better lure management.

Be sure to make your “lure movements” slow so the dog follows them – a common mistake is to move too fast and the dog is left wondering “what happened to that treat that just flashed past my eyes?”

Then, each of the “lure/hand movements” will actually grade into body language cues.

2.     Step 2 is that you extend these cues to be delivered from the front of the dog – so you start with the dog in a Sit at heel position, step away (right foot first) to the front of the dog and deliver, for example, the Drop/Down cue from just in front.

This may require that you deliver a Stay cue just before you step to the front – or – depending on how advanced your heeling training is – you might simply step forward with the right foot, because your dog has already learned that if you step forward with your left foot, they should come with you at heel– but if you step away with the right foot they should remain in place (those are the body language cues you have taught them).

Now, as each of the “lure/hand movements” actually grade into body language cues – let’s see how these appear if you are standing in front of the dog, instead of beside it (when the dog was in the “heel position”).

The Sit is easy – it becomes an open palm-up hand gesture from your knee to chest/head level movement. When you first do this from in front, you can use a treat lure to show the dog it is really the same gesture it already knows, then phase out the lure to become a reward (then grade that to intermittent rewards).

The Down/Drop is also quite simple, as it becomes an open palm-down movement of your hand from your chest, head or waist level down to your knee level. From the front position – just immediately in front of your dog – or nor more than a meter in front (a half or full leash distance) – starting with the dog in a Sit - use the Down hand signal (and here again you can still use a treat lure to help if the dog seems unclear). Once the dog Drops/Downs, mark with your “yes” marker (or whatever you use) reward and return to the heel position.

What is tricky, for when we switch from the dog beside you over to distance control, is that the hand gesture for Stand started as a lure movement away from the dog’s nose to a point in front of the dog (or for some training methods, a sweep laterally across in front of the dog’s eyes, away from your body, using the other – usually the right – hand to move the lure in front). This will no longer make sense when you are standing away from the dog (in front, behind or beside it). So, if the dog can see you, you will need to devise another separate hand gesture for the Stand cue. There are lots of options – some trainers just use a small flex of their hand to one side or a clenching of their fist (looks cool – but very subtle) – but you can choose a more distance visible cue, such as raising both hands vertically above your head (the Sit signal will only be one hand). Devise a cue that works for you, as long as you are consistent and the hand signal is sufficiently differentiated from other signals you use. Clearly, you use a different hand signal for the Recall/Come cue – for which many trainers use a two hands vertical signal. For example, for a recall, an alternative is to use two arms swung out to each side – accompanied by the auditory “Fido – Come” in an upbeat happy voice and yes, dogs can easily differentiate these two gestures. They are really good at body language. Obviously, for occasions when the dog is not looking directly at you (because you are behind it) then you will have cemented the audible word cues synchronous with the hand gestures.

One challenge, especially with, the Stand exercise, is that the dog will step forward as they stand. Various preventions are offered to counteract this, such as only cueing a Stand from one position (not really very practical) – or using a platform for the dog to remain on as you practice the changes of position – the dog quickly understands that the game is to remain on the platform whatever else you cue it to do (see pictures below). You can also use a “positioning box”- a ground level box with side and a front which are just high enough to deter movement. You may also find that initially taking a step towards the dog as you give the Stand cue from out in front, discourages the dog from stepping forward towards you. You just do this for a time, until the dog stops moving on the Stand and you now no longer need to make the small movement.

3.     Step 3 is expanding the dog’s repertoire to include, say, a Drop/Down from a Sit, then a return to the Sit position. Then, say, a Drop, then Sit, then Stand, then Drop, etc. – mixing up the sequence and the duration of holding each position. Make sure to vary the order and the duration the dog holds each position and don’t mark and treat every single change as the dog’s understanding develops, but wait until after, say, three or four repetitions, just so that the dog does not learn a sequence and duration so it can anticipate the timing of the next move. At the end of the sequence, walk calmly to the dog, bridge and reward – and go a little crazy with the praise.

4.     Step 4 now that you have these distance control/change of position cues in place, practice them at random when out walking your dog. If you have your dog on a long leash or off-lead in a safe environment, randomly call the dog’s name to attract its attention and cue a Sit or Drop/Down – then either recall the dog or walk to its position to mark and reward.

Conclusion

Now – obviously, this training takes time, patience and perseverance – don’t rush it. All training works best if you set the dog up to understand the cue and succeed in the exercise. Avoid tricking or testing the dog into failure – which can too easily become programmed in as an acceptable response.

Just remember - these exercises are great fun for you and your dog to master – so always enjoy brief training sessions and rejoice in developing this extra communication link of distance control – and, as always, reward your dog with a walk, swim, play or dinner – or at least a happy frolic and cuddle - after training.