Basic obedience
After you’ve “hopefully” taken our puppy kindergarten class, basic obedience is your next step!
And if you haven’t taken a puppy class or “our” basic obedience, and your dog is six months or older, then basic would be your first step with us.
Additionally, if your dog is 5 1/2 months of age, by the time we get your paperwork and get you scheduled, your dog would be good to go for basic.
Equipment you’ll need for Basic Obedience
The equipment you’ll need for Basic Obedience is a correctly fitted, proper gauge, slip collar, and a 6 foot leash.
Slip Collar
If your dog is still growing you will probably need to purchase several collars, don’t purchase a large one because you think he will grow into it. Fit him as he grows. You cannot achieve a proper correction if it is too long.
General guideline for the gauge…
- Toy/Small breed – 1.5mm – 2.0mm
- Small/Med. breed – 2.5mm
- Med./Large breeds – 3.0mm
The “mm” is how thick the chain is.
Don’t buy a 4mm !!!! Not even if you have a Great Dane, get a 3.0mm
How long should it be?
The easiest way to tell you how to measure for length, for the two types of slip collars…
If you are using the typical collar with two o-rings you want the collar to just fit over the dogs head. Example: if a 16″ won’t fit over the head at all (like it stops just above the eyes) but an 18″ fits, then you would not get a 20″, it would be too big. Use the 18″.
It’s best to try them on, but you can measure the biggest part of the head.
If you get a 19″ measurement, you’d buy a 20″ chain. If you get 18″ you might be better off getting a toggle than getting a 20″ chain as that may be too big.
This type of slip collar comes in 2″ increments, even numbers.
This type of collar goes over the dogs head. IT SHOULD BE SNUG GOING ON AND COMING OFF.
With a toggle collar you can get a different fit. Great when the regular slip collar is a bit too big. You can measure the dogs neck for this one, then add a couple inches.
Comes in 2″ increments, odd numbers (though they may not state it this way). This type of collar wraps around the neck and hooks. Because it does NOT go OVER the head you can use a shorter one, this can allows for a better fit.
The Herm Sprenger brand from Germany has been the best in my experience. You’ll have to order it. You can find the collar with two o-rings here and the toggle here.
PLEASE DO NOT BUY CHEAP EQUIPMENT!!! I HAVE SEEN SLIP COLLARS BREAK (ON SMALL AND LARGE BREEDS) WE DO NOT WANT TO LOSE YOUR DOG!!!! AND IF YOUR DOG IS AGGRESSIVE YOU COULD BE LOOKING AT A LAWSUIT IF IT GETS AWAY FROM YOU AND BITES SOMEONE!!!
Leash
A 6′ Flat Leather or Nylon leash. Leather is better on your hands. No chain or retractable leashes!!! You do not want to use rolled (round) leather or nylon leashes.
You’ll want a width, and the snap of the leash, breed appropriate. If the width is too thick (like a 1″) and you have a heavy snap on a smaller breed with a smaller millimeter slip collar, the leash will be too heavy and pull on your collar.
Use a thinner leash on a smaller dog (like a 3/8″ or 1/2″) and a thicker leash (like a 3/4″, 7/8″) on a larger dog.
You need to have the proper equipment before coming to your first class. If you have any questions about the equipment you need, please e-mail.
What if I currently use other equipment?
I understand some people may already use other equipment on their dogs, however, we start with this equipment. If we need to go to a prong/pinch collar later, we will do so. If you use any other equipment on your dog such as a harness or head halti, let us know and we will discuss it, but for this class the slip and 6 foot leash is required. No other equipment is needed to work a dog in this class.
About our Basic Class
All of our classes are private instruction. I have taught group classes and through doing so I know that one-on-one training, gives the client my undivided attention, which delivers superior results. You and your dog can concentrate on the task given, versus being distracted by other people and their dogs. A group class, where the dogs and people also have no training, can be a circus, not to mention the possible dog fighting, and other issues group sessions can bring.
What type of obedience do we teach?
Our obedience is for every day life, not competition type training, though I can do that too as I have competed in Schutzhund / IPO / IGP and AKC. But our obedience is based upon our police dog training. This training is for walking your dog in your neighborhood or at the park. Taking your dog to family functions, vacations, or even to the vet and not being embarrassed by it’s actions. But you must work the dog at these locations, using the exact same obedience as you were both taught in class. This way the dog understands exactly what you’re telling it to do and there is no confusion.
Not dealing with the areas where your dog acts up and doesn’t listen to you doesn’t fix the issues. You must work the dog in the locations where your dog has problems, that’s the only way they get better.
Basic is an on-leash class. You must learn to crawl before you can walk. If you want to have off-leash control of your dog, you want to do advanced obedience immediately following your basic obedience class.
Learn More
You can find out more about our basic class here.
Frequently asked questions here.
And to sign up for Basic Class, the contract will automatically be sent to you when you click “Request a Contract” near the bottom of this page which is on the “contract page” of the website!
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