Elkhound Training &
Communicating With Your
Elkhound
Takoda - Full Grown Male Elkhound - Demonstrates Communication
and Feedback With Handler Merv Carlson of Kamia Kennels
"Communication with your Elkhound is the key to
training and enjoying your time with your dog "
All of us want that dog that listens, that pays attention to us,
that responds to commands and respects what we say, yet has a mind
of their own, a dog that can have fun with you and enjoy the time
they have with you, and you with them. This is what an Elkhound can
provide. You need to be able to respect them, listen to them,
understand the communication skills they have and it will all work
just like a charm, exactly the dog you always wanted will be yours,
and it will do everything you always wanted, easy.
"Having some patience, giving your dog some credit to make
choices, these take a little self control, however your dog will
always do what you want, simply give them space to do it in."
Merv Carlson - Kamia Kennels
In these video's I hope to share a few hours of my experiences
with Takoda. I am not a dog trainer as such, however anyone who has
a good dog that listens to commands is a "dog trainer". I prefer to
think I haven't really trained him anything, I simply communicate
with him, and him with me.
You will be able to see the communication between us, you will
see the acknowledgement from Takoda when I speak, and also when he
does give me the signs of doing things right I acknowledge him as
well, it's a two way street. Your going to be able to watch a set of
video's I made the other day, it was a stormy Sunday, but just the
same, I took the video camera as I knew we could have a fun time.
Anytime Takoda and I get out it's a good time, no matter the
weather, and he doesn't mind any kind of cold at all.
So, to begin I will talk about what I would like to share in the
first segment video: He is a mature male, yet runs around and has
fun like a pup, this is a sure sign your dog is well fed, happy, and
enjoys your company. You'll see Takoda moving in his element, snow
drifts, some deeper snow, some area to roam, and you will be able to
see how these dogs are so well suited to the Northern Regions from
which they came. Takoda is a powerhouse, he is constantly burning
around, he has a strong work ethic, he never just lazes along, he is
moving.
In the first segment you will see his ability to range, yet he
stays in sight and in communication range, coming and going on his
own, at the start of the video he is allowed to explore on his own,
and he returns on his own, I did not call him back, he is just
cruising back and forth as he should. You'll see him at one point up
on the drift, bark and have fun just like a pup, a really playful
Male, you can tell he enjoys this, he spoke, so I spoke back,
we are both having fun. You'll see him go to approach the road, I
give a command "No", watch his ears, they just barely move, then he
signals ever so slight he still would like to go that way, I say
"No", he then signals affirmative with his ears and body language
and it's not brought back up by him. Watch him close as he goes to
the top of the drift after he has agreed that there is no need to
proceed in that direction, when he doesn't signal to go but just
looks, I give him credit, "Good Boy" he responds with his ears, and
turns back to what we are doing. It's some give and take.
Keep and eye on him now when I suggest let's go, and give him the
command " Go Ahead", he knows he can go, he gives me a second or so
to begin, and then he proceeds, he is very polite, even though he
has access to go. Watch him range out and check back with me, he
likes to go out and return, then he finds a spot to dig in, I would
normally never interrupt him in that, but for the video I chose that
time to interrupt so you could see that taking him from something
important was just as simple as not important. He hesitates not, and
doesn't lack desire to "Come Here". I always praise him, and lot's
of it.
Patience, trust in the command and the dog
Don't get hasty, do not get in the habit of over
commanding, your dog will get tired of you, and your commands, give
a command and let him finish it
I will try to illustrate the patience that is sometimes required
with an Elkhound. They are intelligent, easy to train, just
sometimes not so easy to work with in our fast paced, high speed
lives. You will need some patience. Once you have your dog working
with you, and your in work mode, then, command, and for the most
part wait until they complete it, don't just keep commanding the
same thing. You will see that Takoda is going to get a command from
a distance, and it's hard to hear, but no matter, wind or not, he
heard me. I gave the command "Come Here". Now for him, that's a
standard command that he is to make his way back to me, and for the
most part that is exactly what he did, however he had to make a
couple stops. You can tell he is an air scent dog, running right by
that small spot of marker he caught wind, spun around, and had to
check it, then mark.
This is where the patience comes in. He is still under the
command to return to me. There is no need for me to re-command. Many
people would re-command if he deviated or stopped altogether. I feel
you need to have patience. Unless the dog is clearly not following,
then another command of the same is not warranted. Let him finish.
As you can see, he knows the command is still valid, he resumes his
trek back to me as soon as he could.
Again, once he completes the task, he is highly praised, he is
pleased, I am pleased, we are both working together and having a
good time.
Regarding Pups: commanding in a more rapid fashion
with pups is entirely correct, as they need re-enforcement as to
which activity is right, and they distract easily, but once they
know a command, they know it.
Preparation begins as a pup for distance range and return,
but once learned a dog knows and doesn't forget
Don't get caught with your dog off leash, never
to return, prepare the pup to return, continue training to return
through for a couple years
In this next segment your going to see him roam to the edge of
his check in range, roughly the distance I can barely see him with a
naked eye, in this case I have the zoom lens so I can zoom in and we
can all see, and with the snow blowing and all it's a bit of a
bizarre day, but no matter, we get to see what I think is clearly a
dog communicating over distance. They can see us many times greater
distance than us them, so they use body signals at distance to relay
to us they are in contact.
In this video he is allowed to have range and he can go ahead, he
goes right out to where he feels he should "Check In", he turns,
stops looks right at me to see if I am going to signal, he rolls his
ears back so that I can see he knows I see him, and he lets me know
by this that he sees me, there is no signal so he can proceed. Which
he does, clear out of sight. Now, my hand got cold so I stopped
recording for a minute or so, and then in the next video you will
see him coming back. What is interesting is that there was no
command to return. His instinct is to return and check in, then he
can proceed again.
This behaviour is instinctive in an Elkhound, so it's not hard to
train, however you need to reinforce the instinctive behaviour to
return as a pup and continue through with the same program and range
until he is almost two. At two you can rest assured your dog has
"learned" the range. He will indicate this to you, and demonstrate
the behaviour easily.
Give Tons of Praise to a dog that is operating on his
own, and following learned correct behaviours
Takoda is returning on his own accord, a check in time in his
mind was warranted, so he returns and does just that. Praise for the
dog is required anytime the dog is operating on his own, and
following your lead as to range, check in, and so on.
Elkhounds operate without the handler for a great deal of the
time, however they are always in "Contact" using distance cues if
you watch for them, and if you can't see them they are under
knowledge and instinct to return.
You enhance this instinctive behaviour from a pup, getting them
to range out, and return, then range out further and return, and so
on.
Tons of Praise for correct behaviours, and even more so for
behaviour outside the range of the handler - in circumstances where
the dog is operating on his own
Two Types of Elkhounds, the Northern Swedish Type are not
quite as stubborn, and in my opinion communicate easier
This last video shows a desire to communicate, and
respond. Here he has some room to roam, and he has been up and
around a fair bit already by this time, he will show a time where he
more or less comes to a pause in his roaming, and he "Checks In",
this is his way of saying, hey, how you doing? I take the
opportunity, I give the command "Come Here", knowing full well that
is exactly what he wanted, and actually expected as you can see with
the response. This is when things are working good, it's a great day
out when you can hike around and you and your dog are just getting
along, having a good time, all is well, never mind the -25 and
wind-chill extraordinaire.
You don't want to miss these cue's with your dog, these give you
great insight into what your dog is doing, and is going to do. The
Elkhound will use his ears a tremendous amount to relay information
to you, and to respond that he has heard you, don't miss it, watch
for it.
The Elkhound has a strong work ethic and desire to respond
and please
This video shows the strong work ethic that Takoda
exhibits, he is moving and powering through all the time, it's
basically non stop with him, no matter the day, no matter the
season. The other thing that this video illustrates is the desire
the Elkhound possess instinctively to respond to the handler. They
want to please, they want to interact on a regular basis, even
though they are quite independent, they lack no desire to "Work With
The Handler" as you can see when I give Takoda the command to "Come
Here".
Note, I gave the command at the instant he "Checked In". He was
looking for a signal, so I gave it. You always will have better
response when you work with him, not against him. Watch closely for
the clues your dog provides.
Elkhounds are stubborn and independent though, have patience
This video shows the stubborn independent side of the
Elkhound, we are having a fun day, and Takoda has found a spot with
a field mouse nest, the snow here is about 3 feet deep so he can dig
all around and have a fun time. This shows the stubborn independent
side of the Elkhound, he doesn't exactly "Respond Instantly" to my
commands here, although he is getting ready to, and I am having fun,
I understand the nature of the Breed, I need to exercise some
patience, he eventually comes around.
It's that give and take you'll need to have with your Elkhound to
have a really great time and allow your Elkhound some of his own
space and allow him to have his independence around you that will
make your time with your Elkhound more enjoyable.
Elkhound Training begins in the first few weeks
If you have watched any of the pup video's you see that
"Come Here" training begins early at Kamia Kennels. We want the pups
to associate the handler with all good things, and to enhance and
begin to reward them immediately for coming over, and to make near
us the best place in the world. We begin to have your pup
understanding a phrase, "Come Here" as quickly as we can, and
continue with it even as the weeks go by.
In this video you'll see a number of things, primarily that training
more than one dog is just as easy as one, and that they know their
name early on in life, thus the reason we like to get it.
Now, you'll witness that we need to do repetitive commands as a pup,
different than adult dogs of course, so be sure to lessen and lessen the
repetitive commands as the pup catches on and once he "Learns", he
then knows, and you can say it and wait.
Also, always command the attention using The Name, then "Come Here",
then big fun time and praise when they get to you. You will also see
we rarely, if ever use treats to train, only praise, this makes it
much easier to do all the time. Besides Elkhounds want to be near
you, working with you, it's instinctive to them to want to do what
you want, so you really don't need a treat as such to get them to
work, a kind word and touch each time they do the right thing is all they ask.
Kona is a prime example of using his name to get his attention, then
command "Come Here", then big fun time and praise for him. Take note
of his demeanour when he gets there, and gets the praise, he is very
happy and pleased with everything, his tail is just a going. You
want your pups to "Always" have a great time when they come to you.
When it comes to using a name watch Bosco, he is a stubborn little
rascal, yet he knows, he pays attention, and he tests me all the
same, even at his young age, but he is a good boy, he follows
through just great, and he knows he did the right thing, and we are
sure to tell him.
Come Here training is repetition, and reward, combined with
patience.
Takoda can pass this communication ability down
Takoda is an ancient northern strain of Elkhound, these types are
not normally found in Canada, his type is not as stubborn as the
Norwegian Type, they communicate very well. Takoda is able to pass
this trait down. I have witnessed it in action with a number of his
pups. Tora is able to do the exact same thing, she is a splitting
image of him, perhaps yes, because we took him all the time to train
her, so no doubt she was able to catch a lot of this from him,
however Mela was the same. She came to stay for only a limited time
as a young female under a year old, but there is no mistaking the
trait and ability when it is shown. She clearly was able to do the
same, she needed some refinement no problem, but the instinct, the
skill was inherited.
A lot of the independent stubborn traits that are written about
regarding Elkhounds are first and foremost because people miss the
communication cue, it's brief as you can see, you need to be paying
attention or you'll miss it. Secondly, people normally are hasty,
they expect a dog to react like a remote controlled car, if it
doesn't turn back toward you instantly they re-command and begin
frustrating things. Third, the Norwegian is a bit more independent,
and is more stubborn. Had I been shooting this video of Mia, we most
likely would have been a little cooler on the return paths, oh yes,
she follows commands just as well, however she takes her own time.
Having Takoda somewhere in the Genetic line creates what I feel is a
tremendous Elkhound, this trait is just a blessing when you are out,
off leash, just going to have a good time with your dog, it allows
you that opportunity to relax and enjoy the time.
