Gee and Haw Are Obedience Training

Are Gee and Haw considered obedience training?

Gee is the command for going to the right.

Haw is the command for going to the left.

That is how a dog team knows which way to turn on the trail.

It might not be what comes to mind when you think obedience training, but they are the words used to cue a direction. The word SIT is the cue for your dog to put his butt on the ground.

Maybe you are not worried about getting down a remote alaskan trail with a dog team. Maybe obedience training for you is teaching your husky to come.

Let's think about words for a minute. A dog team hears the cue Gee and goes right, but the word Gee isn't what taught the dogs to go right. The dogs had to learn that going right was the behavior the musher wanted when she said Gee. Then the word Gee was attached to the behavior of going right.

When you drive a car, a red light means stop and a green light means go. The red light is not what stops the car, it's the cue for you to hit the brakes. The green light is the cue for you to move, but the car won't move until you press on the gas. Obedience training works like that too.

Take the word COME. The recall is the last stage of obedience training. A common mistake is to try to train a dog the recall too early.

Why?

Running free is natural for a dog. We need to convince our dog that sticking around us is better than chasing rabbits. There is a time and a place to chase rabbits. Near a busy road is not one of them (the middle of the wilderness isn't one of them either). Being tied to the human through a leash is one of those things dogs must deal with. We can make that experience pleasant or hurtful, it's our choice.

Obedience Training Tip Don't let your husky off leash for 6 months (yep, your read that right, 6 months). If you let your husky off leash, and she runs pal mal all over the place, she has just learned that off leash is much better than on leash, and more fun than sticking around you!

Obedience Training Tip Keep your husky on a 20-50 foot (6-15 meter) long lead at first.

For your first attempts, don't let her completely run free. The goal is to earn trust (of each other) in small increments.

After a few months of using a long lead, you may drop YOUR end of the lead. LEAVE the other end of the long lead attached to your dog. This is so you have something to grab if your dog decides to test the waters. If your dog DOES decide to run out of range, go back to holding the long lead and practice making yourself someone your dog wants to listen to.

Obedience Training Tip Keep it on the down low. If your dog bolts don't make a scene (yes, it is VERY hard not to panic and yell). When humans freak out dogs react. You don't want her to react when she is off leash because you have NO control of her at that moment and she may run further away.

Off leash training is the LAST thing you teach your dog. If you let your husky run free from the start, she will be increasingly harder to recall as she becomes secure in her environment.

Obedience training a husky works best through exercise. Unless you are a runner, chances are your dog won't get enough exercise through daily walks. If you can't let your husky run free how will your dog get enough controlled exercise? The articles below will show you how.