Dog Training News & Info

Tips on Training

Don't train when you are in a bad mood.

Keep training sessions short.(10 - 15 minutes, 1 or 2 times a day, 4 or 5 days a week).End on a positive note.

Make the sessions FUN! You want the time spent training to be the most fun your dog has with you, not the time he dreads.

Lots of praise vs. corrections...at least 2 to 1. Make sure you are CORRECTING behavior, NOT punishment. After all, this is learning time and it is totally unfair to punish a dog for something he does't know!!!

If the dog is confused, go back to something he does well so that you can praise him. Put him away and try again later.

Keep at it!! Remember, humans take 18 YEARS before we think they are adults.

Thank heavens most dogs start to mature at 18 months. Looks pretty good in comparison, hmmm?

Woof, woof: new recruits raring to go

Chitra Subramanyam
New Delhi, August 11: They are just waiting to be called out on their first case. But till then, Delhi Police’s new recruits practice sniffing out explosives with as much elan as they jump through hoops to keep fit. Amidst this hectic schedule, seven of the 50 new dogs — who have just returned from a six-month long training stint in Madhya Pradesh — are busy sanitising the entire Red Fort area for Independence Day celebrations.

At the Crime Branch’s dog squad office on Mandir Marg, a bunch of these new recruits are busy practising tracking down criminals and identifying scents. All this under the watchful eye of the experienced seven-year-old Don, a sleek chocolate-coloured Doberman.

‘‘He is the dada of the group. The rest are all interns, fresh from training,’’ a police official explains, adding rather proudly that Don has been responsible for ‘‘cracking a number of sensational cases’’.

Six-month-old Sheru, a black Labrador, watches the training from behind his handler’s legs. His tail between his legs, Sheru is learning the ‘‘sit and stay’’ commands.

‘‘He is still very young. But his seat has been confirmed at the National Dog Training School in the BSF Academy, Takenpur, MP. He will be leaving on September 15,’’ explains a senior officer.

For the first time, Delhi Police bought 50 new dogs — 30 Labradors, 10 Dobermans and 10 German Shepherds — last year. The recruits were replacing the older dogs, many of whom are now retired and spend ing their time at dog shelters run by NGOs.

The recruits are now waiting to move into their new homes in different parts of Delhi. Officials say that nine kennels have been sanctioned. So far, five dogs have already ‘‘taken possession’’ of the kennel at Pitampura.

‘‘This week, five more dogs will be accommodated at the kennel in R K Puram,’’ an official said, adding: ‘‘This will reduce the load considerably. The response time will also improve. Earlier, our two kennels at Mandir Marg and Model Town had to respond to calls from all over the city. Now that each district will have its own dog squad, they will be more effective.’’ An official said two dogs each will be given to the bomb detection teams and three bomb disposal squads.