Helpful Commands To Teach
Commands should be taught on foot before hooking up the dog to your scooter. A dog not trained to lead will be hazardous to you and other trail users. The line should be taut at all times and the dog should know how to go on by all distractions before you hook up. Using another lead dog to help you train your dog is the fastest and easiest way to train a dog to lead. Use either a two dog line side by side or a single file line to train the novice dog. A single file line is a better line to use if the dogs are strangers to each other. Use the terms "gee" for right and "haw" for left. Teach these commands in ground work with the dog out in front of you, and a leash attached from the harness to your belt, and a leash on either side of the dog's collar. As you turn, say the command you choose, and pull on the leash to turn the dog in the correct direction. Use the command, "Straight" or "Straight Ahead" when you want the dog to go straight at an intersection. "Line out" teaches your dog to keep the line taut and not come back to you to say hi when you are stopped. To make a "U" turn, use the command "Come Around" gee or haw depending on the direction.
"Whoa" is essential to get down before hooking it up to the scooter. Having good brakes on the scooter is essential for stopping dogs. Most dogs consider the command "whoa" as only a suggestion.
"Hike" or "Pull".. the usual commands for your dog to begin to work. "Mush" is rarely used because it isn't a very sharp-sounding command, and can be hard to pay attention to. You can train this initially in ground work, and then when you hook up to a scooter, you might have to use a "rabbit" in the form of a friend on a bike riding ahead and calling your dog. Learning to pull is a difficult concept for some dogs. Pulling is most easily taught using another dog that is already trained.
"On-by" and "leave it".. teaches your dog to go by distractions such as other dogs, people, bikes, blowing leaves, pee breaks, and yummy smells. This command can take a long time to learn, but it is quite worthwhile. Gentle scolding is usually effective when training "on by" Most dogs know the word, "No". Say "No" and then "on by" when encouraging the dog to move ahead. This command is also more easily taught using another trained leader.
"Easy" or "Steady" is helpful to slow down the team when you're going down a hill on foot, and they're still ready to run. Often "easy" is a difficult command for even the most experienced dogs to learn. Use the brakes on the scooter to enforce the easy command.
A few other commands I've used with my dogs are "Sidewalk" to let them know that I want them on the sidewalk instead of the road or at least off of the road for safety. Another of my favorites is "Let's go home" and the dogs will take me home or back to the car. It prevents us from getting lost, and I'm glad they see the car as a way home, otherwise, I'd be in for trouble. If your dogs need to move over to the right or left to avoid traffic then "Gee Over" or Haw Over" are handy to know.
Read more about this topic: Dog Scootering
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