How to Train a Dog to Be Balanced

To HAVE what others don’t, you’ve got to DO what others won’t.

GEO or Good Enough Obedience is what many owners experience with their dogs. Does this sound familiar? You put your dog in a down and they stay there for a few minutes maybe longer. Then they begin to scratch, stretch, sniff, reach for a toy etc. You don’t do anything because technically they are still in the down. Then they begin to creep ever so slightly but still you are okay with that because they haven’t gotten up. Now we are in the GEO zone. If you’re happy with that, okay. But remember this, the small stuff matters! What you don’t disagree with, you are agreeing with. And if you are agreeing with less than true obedience, you’ll get more of the same.
Uncertainty and fear are relieved by authority. Training is authority. It’s a release valve. -Ryan Holiday Basic obedience foundation work.
When I say foundation work I’m talking about basic obedience such as:
Down with implied stay
Place with implied stay (teaches calm on command)
(The above three commands are taught with an implied stay because, what good is sit, down or place if your dog doesn’t stay in them???)
Heel (tight structured walk)
Recall (Come/Here Command)
Name Game (looking when you call their name)
Thresholds-Respectfully moving through doorways (including in/out of the crate)
We all want a well trained dog, and we all talk to our dogs, don’t we? I know I do! However, when giving my dog a command, I typically only use one word (the command). I may also call her name first to get her attention if she is not looking at me, but I pause in between her name and the command until she is looking at me. Want that well trained dog?
When just beginning the training process with clients I notice that