Dog Obedience Training Equipment

The best dog obedience training equipment includes basic items like collars and leashes. Obedience training dogs can be hard but practicing with your dog regularly will result in effective basic dog obedience training.

Dog obedience training equipment can be obtained from many sources online or in stores. Good equipment will be durable, with rolled edges to protect dog paws, solid colored and flexible to help you with many different phases of training.

Remember that your voice (sound and tone) is a great training tool. If you sound excited and happy about your dog's progress, then your dog will understand that from the sound of your voice and from your tone. If you are trying to train your dog to not do something, reflect that in your voice too!

Additionally, your hand and body needs to be part of the training 'equipment' you use for working with your dog.

Teach your dog hand signals with voice commands: particularly sit, stay, come, heel or walk, down, and more. With each voice command, a hand signal can provide good reinforcement and training hand signals at a young age (and using those signals throughout your dog's life) will mean that that if your dog's hearing ever weakens or fails, your dog will still be able to follow your commands.

Use your body language to communicate with your dog. If your dog wants to play and jump up, and you don't, turn your back to your dog until he or she settles down. Train your dog to closely watch and track what you do, and what you want your dog to do - dogs are highly capable of learning.

Basic Collars

Collars and leashes are the most common equipment used in obedience training dogs. These can be a buckle style (like a belt) for standard correction with a yank on the leash. For a looser fit or to correct without yanking on the neck, choose a chin lead or loose harness for the dog’s upper body. A martingale collar is made of loops and can tighten on a dog’s neck but not as much as a choke collar.

Harnesses come in gentle models that go loosely over the front legs to discourage pulling - as if on a sled. Standard harnesses are used for a wide variety of dogs that do not pull too much. Pinch collars with protruding metal points are only used by serious professional dog trainers under specific situations. Choke collars can infinitely tighten on an animal’s neck and are considered dangerous. Avoid pinch and choke collars.

Leashes and Leads

Leashes and leads are the same thing, but some people use one item over the other. Both are used to give a dog direction and correction during training. For basic dog obedience training you will be guiding the dogs in a particular path, so the lead is probably the better item. These leads come in many varieties but the standard lead has about a six foot length of rope or webbing with a clip on one end and a loop for your hand.

Shorter leads are used for working closely in training dogs with quick and simple corrections. Long lines of about 25’ or more are used to tether a dog for more freedom; for example, when you are training your dog to 'come' to you. Retractable leashes are good for training dogs to do tricks where some control and some freedom are needed.

Dog obedience training equipment is not limited to just collars and leashes. A whole range of lightweight, portable, easy to clean and durable equipment exists to assist in basic dog obedience training. When purchasing such items, make sure that it is intended specifically as training equipment. Parts should not fall off easily or be sharp against any part of the dog.

• Jumps, ramps, tunnels and low tables will be helpful for agility training.
• Treats and bait bags for carrying treats are helpful with positive reinforcement training.
• Clicker training requires a small clicker box that you use to train your dog in connection with treats and rewards (each time your dog does something 'right' you click, reward (could be with a 'yes', a hug, and/or a treat).
• Crates are helpful in many kinds of training as a home base and safety for both owner and pet.
• Games with batons and other items to toss will help with fetch training.

The kind of animals you train and what the dogs need to learn will determine what kind of dog obedience training equipment you will need. Also remember that basic dog obedience training is focused on anticipating your dog's actions (right or wrong), correcting the behavior, reinforcing, and repeating.

Return to top of Dog Obedience Training Equipment.

Return to Dog Training Tips.

Return from Dog Obedience Training Equipment to The Dog Biscuit Home Page.