Dog Training World Forums Obedience Training Phase 1 Obedience Peer Review Please! Reply To: Peer Review Please!

  • Michael D'Abruzzo

    Administrator
    May 17, 2026 at 7:52 pm
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    Hi Anjani,

    I checked out your instruction. Overall, this is very good. It is nice and simple, so most people should be able to clearly understand it.

    There are some inconsistencies across the different commands that, if adjusted, would make the instruction even smoother for clients.

    For example, in the sit and down instruction, you present the treat in front of the dog’s nose before giving the command and luring. That makes sense and should work well. However, in the climb exercise, the dog does not become aware of the treat until after the cue is given. This is also how you instruct heel. The come command gives no clear awareness of a reward, even for luring into position, and instead relies more on social attraction to prompt the dog to come close before being marked.

    All of these approaches make sense and are technically correct. However, if you choose the style that you think will work best for the most dogs and apply it consistently across all exercises, the instruction will likely be easier for clients to follow.

    For Phase 1, I do think there should be some awareness that a reward is available for the dog’s behavior. The main question is how you want that written into the instruction so that, even if the owner starts with any one command, the process is still clear and easy to follow.

    It may also help to think ahead to what will work best when teaching the next step, which is fading the lure.

    Personally, I like the way the instruction is written for climb and heel. I think most dogs will already be aware during a formal training session that treats are present, so the owner may not need to put the treat directly near the dog’s nose before starting the lure. That also makes the later fading instruction easier. The way sit and down are written can definitely work too, but it creates one extra thing that will eventually need to be changed or explained, which is no longer starting with the treat at the nose before the cue.

    For come, I strongly suggest presenting the treat after giving the cue “come,” then luring by backing up. That will make the instruction work better for the many dogs that are not yet comfortable responding to social prompting alone. That being said, you can certainly put footnotes that a treat could be substituted for the social prompting or anything else that will prompt the dog to come close.

    I hope this helps.