The Old Trainer: A dog never forgets its favorite bad habit

Dear Old Trainer: Your training tips worked great with Annie, my 1-year old Weimaraner, but she still has one bad habit. If I relax at the dog park, she grabs anything on the ground and takes off. The other day she grabbed a woman’s purse and ran around the park for five minutes. What do I do?

A: Be patient and keep working with her. She’s still a teenager. A game of “catch me if you can” with everyone chasing her is so much fun, she can’t resist a walk on the wild side now and then.

It’s tricky when a dog runs off instead of coming to you because if you punish her when she does return, she thinks you are punishing her for coming back.

There is a fine Spanish saying: “Cosa mala nunca muere” – a bad thing never dies. Anyone watching weeds flourish while tomato plants die knows the truth of that saying, and it’s true in dog training, too. A dog never forgets her favorite bad habit. She just quits doing it when the desire to please you becomes stronger than the habit.

So you have to outsmart her.

One way is to break her concentration before she runs. She will tip her hand when she is about to fall off the wagon. Her ears will come up, her eyes will get bright and she will assume the “play position,” spreading her front legs and dropping her chest close to the ground.

Interrupt her at that point by calling her name and touching her neck and you break her focus and remind her you are the boss.

But a better way is to teach her the “hold” command (see next letter). Once Annie learns it, you can put a stop to her snatch-and-run habit.

Dear Old Trainer: Your advice on teaching “sit,” “stay” and “come” has worked miracles with Agua, our year-old Lab. What should we teach him next?

A: The next command to teach is “hold.” It means stop right now and don’t move until I tell you to. I consider it the most important command because it may save your dog’s life. Every dog should know it.

You teach it during your daily walk after Agua has burned off a little energy. Stop, say “hold,” and pull the leash just hard enough to make him stop. If he stops for even an instant, pet him and love on him, then tell him “go.” Walk 10 feet and repeat the process. Do 10 repetitions. Walk 200 yards and do another 10.

Do 30 reps in your daily walk. Remember, pet and love on him each time he stops, but he must come to a complete stop. Keep him in “hold” until you give the order to proceed. Work on it every day, even after he masters it.

Once Agua learns it, take him to a fenced area, take the leash off and practice. If he ignores the command, put the leash on and go back to basics.

In a few days you will be able to control him on or off the leash, no matter how far away he is when he hears the command.

This story was originally published August 28, 2015 at 2:46 PM with the headline "The Old Trainer: A dog never forgets its favorite bad habit."