Our Training Methods
Every dog deserves an education
The training I use with all my dogs, and the one we have had most success with is "Clicker Training"
Another name for it is operant conditioning.
Basically we use the click as a marker for the behaviour we want and couple a reward with the marker.
We do not use Check chains. Check chains or reprimand based training will not be handled by a Whippet. They will work very enthusiastically for reward, but shut down very quickly with reprimand based training.
A clicker is a very precise way of indicating to your dog that they have done the right thing. Therefore they are more likely to do it again. It is a little like taking a photo, if you click to early you get only their nose in the photo, if you click too late you get their tail. If you click at the correct time you get the dog right in the middle of the picture. This helps the dog to learn intricate things and to proceed through their training very quickly. You can also use a verbal marker i.e a word like "Yes" or "Good". It is not quite as precise but can work very well.
The more we reward for the correct behaviour the more likely they will repeat it. They will also be less likely to offer a behaviour that gets no reward.
I have trained my previous dog to her CDX title and she was only retired due to a spinal injury and was doing many of the UD elements at trialling level.
With consistant training your Whippet will be able to obtain a high level of obedience, our main challenge is to tailor our training to our individual dog and find out what make them want to work for us.
There are many a good book written about clicker training and how to do it. If you would like more information please feel free to email me. I am more than happy to "talk" training.