QUESTION:
I have a two years old Norwegian Lundehund, and unfortunately I haven’t worked enough with him during his puppyhood. He’s a lovely male dog with a wonderful personality, but he has become quite opinionated along the way. Now I’d like to correct some of the mistakes I made and teach him to behave somewhat differently. He knows sit and down. His recall is pretty good most of the time, but it depends on whether there are more interesting things to do when I call him. I’d like his recall to be better, it would be good if he would come even when there are other dogs around. He’s used to being off leash around the house and when we go for walks in an off leash area nearby. During the last few weeks, we have been practicing remaining sitting nicely in the back seat until I open the door and tell him that it’s OK to come out. This is working fine, so now I know that it’s not too late for him to learn new habits. I’ve bought several books, but I haven’t found exactly what I’m looking for; how to teach him to walk nicely on a leash, to come and sit down by my left side and to heel by my left side. I’ve read about these exercises in several of the books, but I need more thorough descriptions. I’d appreciate it if you could help me with some advice or perhaps suggest a book for me?

ANSWER:
You’re absolutely right, it’s never too late to teach a dog new tricks! I must admit that I’m not too interested in the typical competition obedience exercises – I find them uninteresting and boring (and so do the dogs often, too). With an independent breeds as yours, you will find that you need to make any activity fun and meaningful in order for him to obey. I suggest that you rather spend time on teaching him fun exercises he will enjoy, such as nose and mental activities, and this will indirectly give you the obedience you need. I know of several ways to teach recall, the one that worked best on my own GSD was to praise and reward him every time he came running in my direction when out on walks. He’s got a great recall now and practically turns in mid-air when I call him. I don’t think that it’s necessary to teach a dog to heel, but it’s practical if you can teach him to stay near you. If I were you, I’d find a class with nice and friendly methods where you can get help to activate your dog in a fun way.

Turid Rugaas