THE ORVEDAHL METHOD
OF TRAINING A PUPPY

Copyright © 1950 by Ger Orvedahl,
Effingham, Illinois

Introduction

The dog-training method set forth here has stood the most critical test to which any system can be put. It took a common cow-dog, Tuffy, and brought him into such prominence that he was featured by Hollywood in more than a score of motion pictures.

By this same system, you can train your own dog so that he will be as "intelligent" as Tuffy, or any other movie or show dog.

The reason for this statement--which still surprises many--is that movie dogs are produced by training and nothing else. The idea of Rin-Tin-Tin or other such dog stars being "a dog in a million" is nonsense promoted by movie press agents.

In plain words, a "genius" dog is made, not born. Every dog is a potential genius, if given the proper training. What is passed off as a rare case of intelligence is 100 percent the result of training.

This doesn't mean that dogs aren't intelligent. They are, amazingly so, as you will learn by following the Orvedahl method.

Every dog--including your pup at home--has the intelligence and ability to do the things you have seen Tuffy and other dogs do on the screen.

Clearing the Ground

There are a number of popular ideas about dogs that are not only wrong but harmful. Much nonsense has been written and broadcast about dog training. It is important that you do not clutter your training with any of these mistaken theories, so first we must do a little debunking.

Many experts say you shouldn't start training your dog too early. Forget this. You can start training a pup as soon as he can lap milk. The earlier you begin, the easier and more thorough the training will be.

Forget all that you have heard about a trained dog fearing his master. A dog can be taught by fear, but with the proper training he will do the same things and a hundred more joyously. A dog must respect his master, but a well-trained dog is not cowed.

Another bad idea is that dog training "takes an awful lot of patience." This is true of some methods that depend upon drilling a dog over and over on one thing at a time. There is none of this drilling in the Orvedahl method. Good dog training takes time, but it is a varied, enjoyable experience that you and the dog work out together.

Another wrong theory is that you have to keep training a dog to keep him from forgetting his "routine." This may be true of "drilled" dogs. It does not apply to a dog taught to think by the Orvedahl system. Once he learns a command, he will remember it for years without hearing it.

Basis of the Method

Before beginning to train your dog there are two basic ideas you must have firmly in mind.

Successful training by the Orvedahl method is based on your dog's love and respect for you. He must think that you are some sort of god. He learns to do what people call "tricks" because he wants to help you. Whatever he does, he should do it because he thinks he is being of assistance to his boss and companion. You and your dog work things out together, and his highest reward is a friendly pat and a few words that tell him, "Thanks, fellow."

At the same time, your dog must recognize you as his complete master. He must never fail to carry out an order that you give him. Throughout his life, he must realize that when you ask him to do something, it must be done. This cannot be emphasized too strongly. For this reason, you must follow these two rules:

• Never command the dog to do the impossible.
• Never give the dog a command unless you are in a position to enforce it. This is explained fully under the heading "Control."

Starting the Pup

There is no better time to start training a pup than when he is ready to take his first pan of milk. When he starts to lap it, give him a little pat on the jaw and say "Don't touch it." With a sensitive pup, just a sharp word may stop him. More stubborn pups will require a little slap. Regulate your treatment to your dog's makeup; they vary considerably. The important thing is that the pup must stop at your command. (Note: This command, like all others, should be given in a soft voice. Barking commands at a young dog will only frighten him.)

The pup will look up at you in bewilderment, trying to figure out what is wrong. If he continues lapping the milk, pull his head up from it, repeating the command "Don't touch it."

Don't keep him away from the milk very long. After just a little hesitation, tell him "You can have it."

Let him drink a few laps and then tell him "That's all." For a while it will probably take a stiff little slap to make him stop.

Feed him yourself, and feed him by commands at all times. Use the same words each time, so that he will learn what they mean. Above all, don't just put some food down and let the pup go to it. He must always be under control.

Within a few days the pup will be looking up to you for instructions before he takes any milk. Make him wait a little before giving him the "You can have it" command. If he drinks before the command, he gets a little slap.

When he obeys a command, he should be "bragged up" a little. This is his only reward.

Never under any circumstances coax or bribe your dog with food or anything else, as a pup or older. You may get him to do a few things more easily at first this way, but in no time he'll switch his interest from you to your bribes. More important, coaxing and bribing violate the fundamental principles of this training method.

The importance of these first "feeding" commands is obvious. They lay the groundwork for all that comes after. From them the pup first learns to think, rather than react instinctively. This training teaches him to look to you for instructions, and it firmly implants in his mind that what you tell him means something.

From the above it is plain that you can't train a pup correctly by devoting a certain time each day to the job. There shouldn't be a set training period, after which the pup is forgotten.

Neither should the pup be rushed along with his training for the first month or so. Don't try so many things that he gets confused.

So many people have the idea that dog training consists of drilling, that it is difficult to get them to understand that "training" should be going on whenever you are around the pup.

Secondary Steps

By now you have your pup thinking. He realizes that when you speak to him, you mean for him to do or not to do something, and he is learning to listen for the words he knows.

He has learned that violating a known command results in punishment every time, whereas obedience is followed by a pat and some good-natured words.

Punishment is important, not to make the dog fear you continually, but to make him know that you are a person of your word. A dog's love for his master is much greater if it is based on respect. The only fear that he needs to have is fear of disobeying your command. He will soon learn that so long as he obeys, there will be no punishment.

Therefore, when he disobeys a command that he has once learned, he is telling you in dog language "go to hell." He must be punished immediately. The dog owner who goes soft then because the pup is cute is ruining his dog instead of being kind to him. The dog will know very well what the punishment is for.

Punish your dog with your hand, not with a switch or a folded newspaper. Much has been written about punishing with a folded newspaper, and while it sounds good, this is as good as no punishment at all. Punishment should follow disobedience immediately. When the dog sees that you have to go and find a paper and fold it before punishing him, he loses respect for you.

Many "experts" claim that punishing a dog with your hand causes him to fear your hand; this is an absurd theory. You pet your dog with your hand much more than you punish him with it. He soon learns that the hand punishes him only when he has provoked punishment. A dog that would cringe from your hand just because you punished him with it for disobedience would be so stupid he wouldn't take training anyway. This cowing theory sounds good, but facts don't bear it out.

Once he has learned the elementary feeding commands, he is ready for more schooling. Begin training him now on "Go outside."

For a while when you give him this command, you'll have to push him outside, but he'll soon understand what the words mean. Again, never give the command without seeing that it is immediately obeyed.

Let him stay outside a while before bringing him in. When he comes in, make him wait until you give the command "Come in." This will emphasize in his mind that he is to keep his attention focussed on you, and it will also teach him a new command.

None of these commands should be repeated over and over, senselessly, or the pup will "stall" on you.

Dog Talk

Get in the habit early of talking to your dog. It keeps his attention, and he likes to know that you are interested in him. This is pretty elemental, but a lot of people fail to realize its importance. The habit of a little foolish "dog talk" will do more than anything to strengthen the important bond between you. Brag him up when he obeys readily, and speak sharply when he starts to ignore you. Your tone of voice soon becomes important to the pup.

More Commands

As soon as the pup has learned "Go outside," he can be taught the simple but very important command "Come here."

A good time to teach this is when he has defied your order to "go outside." He'll probably go skulking off and try to hide. Get him right away, even if you have to crawl under the bed or behind the piano after him. It is all right to use a broom or similar object to brush him out. It is important that the pup comes to you, and he should be scared. Bluster when you go after him, so he is convinced that he has done something terrible. And don't waste any time about this. Don't let him hide out on you and don't coax him.

At around three months he can start on "Go and get on your box," and from this point his training will begin to expand rapidly.

You will have to put him on the box a few times at first, and for a while he won't want to stay there. When he gets off, put him back with the command "Stay there"--another new command.

This method of teaching him to stay put--using a box--is much better than trying to get him to hold a place on the floor, where he will "scootch" off as soon as your attention wanders.

He now knows and obeys the following commands: "Don't touch it," "You can have it," "That's all," "Go outside," "Come in," "Come here," "Get on your box," and "Stay there." Few grown dogs will obey that many orders.

A few words about an important subject, and then we'll take up more advanced training--the sort that makes your neighbor say "How did you teach your dog that?"

House Breaking

The best method of house breaking a pup is to avoid having to do it at all.

You can avoid it by letting him sleep on the porch, where he can have access to the outside. When you have him indoors during the day, keep him in mind and take him out every little while. A pup's instinct is to "go" where he's gone before. In a little while, of his own accord, he'll hold until he's let outside. Once he's in the habit of going outside, it's all right to bear down on him a little for letting go indoors. But don't expect to keep a young dog indoors constantly and have him respect your rugs.

A dog is much healthier if he's outside most of the time any way.

Rubbing a dog's nose in his dirt is a senseless punishment. You can't rub it enough to make him understand why you're doing it.

Now for High School

About the time the pup is learning to stay put on a box, teach him also "sit down" and "lie down." He'll get confused a few times and lie down when you tell him to sit. Correct this by lifting him to a sitting position while you repeat the command.

(Note: Don't fall into the common error of teaching a pup to sit up on his hind legs too soon. This stunt is extremely easy once the pup has been schooled in this system. But his back should be strong before he learns to sit up straight. Besides, if he learns "sit up" too soon, he's likely to do it whenever he gets a command and is a little confused.)

Once the dog will get up on a box and stay put, he's ready for more advanced commands--the "high school" of his education. Now you can take up "hold the keys" (or some other simple object).

Get the pup on his box and give him the keys or other easily held object by name. Close his mouth around them with the command "Hold the keys." He'll drop them quite a few times at first. Don't try to get him to hold them for a very long period at the beginning--just long enough that he actually has held them. When he's about ready to let them go, hold your hand out and ask for them by name--"Give me the keys, Tuffy." This method will teach him both to hold and relinquish on command.

When he has learned to hold an object by name at command, you can back off a little and ask him to "Bring the keys to me." He'll pick up this variation in no time, and will shortly bring an object all the way across the room and relinquish it.

Important: Once he has learned the meaning of the command "Bring it to me," he must never be permitted to drop the article or lay it down before reaching you. A little prompt, stern punishment will curb such inclinations.

Now expand the scope of your instructions by having the pup get on his box while you place an object he knows by name in another part of the room and then give the command "Bring it to me" (always naming the object). He won't understand at first and you'll have to take him over to the article, put it in his mouth, and then step back and repeat the command. After a few times he'll understand, especially if you point to the article. Don't help him by pointing, though, after he knows and understands what he is to do.

When the pup has learned to hold an object by name, immediately begin varying the objects, always giving them to him and asking for them by name. This will not only give the essential variety to the training, but it will constantly expand the dog's vocabulary.

It is an excellent idea to have the young dog do things that you actually want done. At least give him the impression that you want the article that you asked him to bring. A dog's training is much better advanced by having him find and bring your slippers when you need them, than it is to have him retrieve some article that you immediately cast aside. When he does something for you, "brag him up" to let him know that you appreciate it.

A word about a favorite failing of most dog owners. Don't exercise your dog by throwing a stick or a ball and letting your dog scamper after it. Your dog should not chase off after anything unless he has the word from you. Retrieving a thrown ball is all right if you train your dog to remain at your side after the throw until you tell him to go after it.

There also should be none of those games of hiding a ball and then having the dog search for it. Make sure that what you ask for is in plain sight, although it is all right to send him into another room to look for it. Don't use the same object--such as a ball or a rubber mouse. This puts too much emphasis on one object, and the pup is likely to get "fixed" on that one thing. Vary the objects as much as you like, so long as you teach the pup what they are by name.

Along with retrieving, teach the dog the command "Put it down." He'll already know "Give it to me" from this training on the box, but you'll have to show him the meaning of "Put it down" a few times by doing it for him.

In addition to varying the objects that you ask him to bring, vary the commands, too. One time have him bring the object to you, but with the next object inject the command "Sit down and hold it," or "Get on our box and hold it," etc. The purpose of this is obvious. It avoids drilling, and--more important--it keeps the pup's attention on you and keeps his mind working.

Meanwhile, you can be teaching him added food stunts. These are particularly popular with dog owners because they never fail to astound on-lookers. These stunts are also excellent training because of the dog's instinctive urge to bolt his food immediately.

Hold a piece of food out to him with the command "Don't touch it." He'll know the command from earlier training, but when you hold it right up to him he'll at first think it is all right and will try to take it. If he reaches for it, give him a little rap with your free fingers. In no time, he'll turn his head from proffered food at the "Don't touch it" command.

A few fundamentalists will call this "cruel." This is silly, because the dog learns almost immediately that he is not to eat except on command. This control is no more cruel than teaching table manners to a child. It has the added virtue of preventing your dog from eating what strangers give him--a wise precaution.

You can now easily teach him a stunt that will even further astound your friends. Place two pieces of meat on the floor and tell him "You can have one." As soon as he takes one, tell him "That's all" (a command he knows from his earliest training.) Don't let him take the second piece even if you have to take it away from him. In a short while he'll obey the command "You can have one" without the subsequent order of "That's all."

And now that he knows "Hold it," from his training on the box, you can try the same command with a piece of meat or other food. Be prepared to grab his mouth if he ignores the command and tries to swallow. Don't make him hold it too long--just enough at first so that it's plain that he understood and obeyed the command.

Control--And Some Other Important Items

Control is a keystone of this system. It is early explained but it bears repetition because without it, a dog owner can follow this system carefully and yet achieve only indifferent success.

The dog must never be given a command that it does not follow out. For this reason, early training should be made as simple as possible. Make things easy for the dog, help him do them, but always see that they get done.

When the dog is outside and off his leash, don't give him new commands or others that he is just learning. To command your dog to "Come here" when he is outside is dangerous unless he has learned the command thoroughly and obeys it without hesitation. The danger lies in the dog's rebelling and thus learning that there is nothing you can do about it. The idea must never enter his head that he can ignore a command and get away with it, so watch your commands when he is out of control and use only the ones you know he will obey.

Your dog must not only think you are the swellest person in the world, but also the strongest. You must cultivate the idea that your commands are inviolable--that the dog must not even think of disobedience.

There is only one answer to disobedience, and that is punishment. You are not kind to a dog if you fail to punish for outright disobedience. Too many so-called experts have hammered on the ridiculous theory that punishment cows a dog.

The matter of punishment simply requires common sense. Don't use punishment to teach your dog stunts. Teach him as has been explained, by showing him and doing things with him. Punishment should be limited to disobedience, and the dog will understand it as well as a child.

With a young pup, temper the punishment to the dog's spirit. Some sensitive pups can be adequately punished with a stern word or a light little pat. Other more stubborn pups require a paddling.

In punishing a grown dog, remember that dogs are more insensitive to pain than are humans. A hard crack across the flank hurts your hand more than it hurts the dog.

Firm training of the dog from puppyhood will practically do away with the need of punishment--which is after all the ideal to strive for.

But always remember--if your dog knows a command well and fails to follow it out, he is deliberately defying you, exactly as an 8-year-old child would if he looked up at you and said "I'm not going to do it!"

The dog owner who passes over such insubordination is tearing down everything that he spent months in building.

Commands

The use of the word "command" throughout these instruction should not be misunderstood. The owner should not use a stern voice or "bark" orders. Use a quiet, conversational tone of voice.

After the pup gets a foothold in its training, it is much better to get away from actual commands. Your dog will work just as well for you if you ask him to do things--"Tuffy, why don't you push that carriage over here?" or "Say, Tuffy, I'd sure like to have my tobacco from that chair over there."

Once the dog is in his "high school" stage, you can start teaching him new commands (or requests) for the same thing. He can learn that "All right" or "Go ahead" or "Okay" mean the same as "You can have it," for instance.

These variations not only keep the dog's mind working and broadening itself, but they also are impressive when you are working him for your friends. A simple stunt with food that causes people's eyes to pop is to feed him bits one after another with such varied commands as "Don't touch it," "You can have it," "Go ahead," "That's all," "Okay." Once he has learned those commands well, he'll sit and take or ignore the food like clockwork--and your friends will tell their friends about "that amazing dog so-and-so has."

Now for College

Before tackling advanced training, be sure your dog knows "Put your front paws up," since this command will frequently come in handy in teaching him more complicated stunts.

When you have brought your dog along this far, the limitations of what you can teach him are set only by the time you want to spend and the ingenuity of your imagination. Many dog owners, however, ask "What else can I teach my dog?" when they reach this point. The answer is--anything within his physical capabilities. Some of the more advanced feats--the sort that cause your acquaintances to gasp--are herewith set forth. The truth of the matter is that most of them are not any harder than the very first feeding commands you teach a little puppy. Many dogs will catch on to them more quickly than they did to the earlier commands.

Close the door--This stunt can be taught to a dog in little or no time. Take him over to the door, have him put his front feet up on it (by command) and then close the door with him as you give him the command "Close the door, Spot." After you've done this a few times and bragged him up afterwards, he'll have it down pat.

Turn on the light (or turn off the light)--Tie a string to the pull cord of the light. Have it long enough to reach to a chair below. Then order him onto the chair, tell him to hold the string (showing him how if he doesn't understand that command), and then pull his head down while you give him the order "Turn on the light." Naturally you must never give him this command unless there is a chair or some object that will let him reach the cord.

Jumping at command--You can teach your dog the meaning of the command "jump" in connection with his training on the box. Get a stick, and hold it out a few inches from the box when you tell him to get down. As the dog leaps the little extra distance over the stick in order to get down, give him the command "jump." Keep extending the stick a little farther each time. Use the same device to get him to jump up on the box. He'll soon get the meaning of this new word and will jump low obstacles, such as hedges and fences, on command.

Other seemingly difficult feats that your dog will now pick up merely by being shown: pushing a little wagon, balancing a stick on his nose (a spectacular variation of this is to stick lighted candles along a yard stick and turn out the room lights once the dog has the stick balanced), "playing" a piano or "typing" at a keyboard, etc.

You can teach your dog to obey hand signals in which no spoken command is given, by a simple method. Just use the hand signal along with the spoken command until the dog associates the two. Thereafter the dog will obey the hand signal alone. The signals should be broad and obvious, so the dog can make them out from a distance. You can devise your own signals, but here are a few of the simpler ones used with Tuffy:

• come here--both hands up (like a stick up)
• stop--right hand up
• sit down--drop right hand to parallel with ground
• lay down--drop hand from "sit down" position on down.

One complicated trick that you can't teach your dog is counting, so don't try. You've probably seen some pretty convincing counting tricks done by show dogs, but they are all done by cues, either spoken or signaled. A dog can distinguish between one and two, but at three he becomes uncertain.

In general, it is preferable for the dog to learn a wide variety of simple commands. Concentrate on teaching him the names of many articles and on working him on different commands. This will develop his mind more than working hard on some complicated stunt.

A Word about Bird Dogs

A simplified course of the above training will make the finest kind of bird dog. The hand signals can be used to send the dog where wanted and to bring him up on a covey from the far side, flushing the birds toward he shooter.

Dogs that are naturally gun shy can be eased out of it by firing a cap pistol in the vicinity at feeding time. A pup that is brought up this way will have no fear of a gun because he associates it with something pleasant.

Never under any circumstances shoot your dog with fine shot to bring him back in when he ignores your call. The same can be said for these stuffed birds with needles in them, for teaching light-mouthed retrieving. A dog should be taught not to mangle a bird exactly as you teach him not to eat unless commanded to. He must be shown that mangling a bird is wrong, a simple task for an owner who has raised his dog in accordance with this system.

Some Final Do's and Don'ts

• Don't be too impatient with a young pup. Don't try to make a show dog out of him in a couple of weeks. You can teach him a surprising number of things, but temper your training to his capabilities in the early weeks. Work won't hurt him, and a varied program of daily training is essential. Work with him whenever you're around him, but don't push him.
• Don't give a dog a command and then immediately start repeating it if he doesn't jump to it. Give him one command and then let him have a little time to carry it out. When it is obvious that he isn't going to do what you ask, give him the second command sternly. Disobedience of the second command calls for punishment, because it represents deliberate revolt.
• Don't snap your fingers at a dog when you give him a command. This is a meaningless gesture that merely distracts your dog.
• Don't waste time trying to train your dog to be a watchdog. There is no way to train a dog to differentiate between an honest citizen and a burglar. A dog, no matter how well trained, may bark his head off at a minister and then pal up with a thief who has "dog appeal."
• Don't coax.
• Don't bribe.
• Don't ever tease your dog. This is another "out of control" failing. Your dog loses respect for you, and certainly he is not controlled when being mauled about and permitted to run barking wildly about the house. This "don't" applies to puppies as well as to grown dogs.
• Don't make excuses for your dog's failure to follow a known command. If he understands and can do what you request, he must do it, without exceptions. Failure to recognize this will wreck all of your efforts.
• Use a choke collar rather than a harness in walking your dog. Some people have the wrong idea--probably from the name--that a choke collar is an instrument of torture. The dog learns in five seconds that to pull against it cuts down on his wind, while walking "at heel" permits him to breath without interference. Any dog that pulls on a choke collar after that must like to have his wind cut off. It is doubtful that there are any such dogs.
• Don't lock up your dog to punish him. He doesn't know the reason for this, and the basis of punishment is that it is immediate and thus linked in his mind with his disobedience.
• Talk to your dog a lot, whether you are giving commands or not. Intersperse commands now and then with your conversation. Cultivate the idea that you're working together.
• Don't experiment with the basic things this system teaches you. It is based on wide experience with every conceivable type of dog. There is a reason for everything set forth here. Above all, don't ignore what is said about control and punishment. So long as you punish him in accordance with these rules, you can't possibly cow your dog. This system is not based on breaking a dog's spirit.

Follow these instructions conscientiously, use your own common sense, and you'll have a pet whose naturally lovable qualities are magnified immensely by his desire and ability to do dozens of things for you.

Ignore these rules, or ease up on some phases you don't agree with, and you might just as well not attempt the training course at all.

Good luck to you and to your dog.