There are five important commands that every dog should know; "sit", "stay", "down", "come", and "heel". Once you know the basics of training, there are several training methods, each one having pros and cons. This article will give you explicit instructions for each command using vocal cues and hand signals.
1The first thing your pup needs to learn is how to sit on command. Sitting is the dog form of politeness. It is a natural action. It shows that she is not aggressive and that she or he is willing to wait. (yes, even when the butt vibrates around on the floor) As you enforce the 'sit' command,it will learn that when it wants something or you are busy, sitting and waiting is the right thing to do. And it will also learn that when you give the 'sit' command, it is time to pay attention or calm down.
- Stand up straight in front of your dog. As you say "[Dog's name], sit!", hold a treat above their nose. (tilting his head up will make his bum go down) As soon as s/he sits, say "Yes!" and deliver the treat. He will connect the action phrase or word with the action and the praise.
- As he learns the verbal command, stop assisting the action and begin to use an accompanying hand signal. A common one is to place your flat hand over and in front of his head and while saying "Sit", pull it up into a loose fist, or lift it in a J motion to end with your palm facing up.
2There are some commands that can literally save your dog's life and the stay command is one of them. A pup has an instinctive understanding of how to stay when being threatened and the mother uses a very distinct 'stay' command as well.
- When your dog is in a 'sit' position, stand so that she is on your left side facing the same direction. (later this will be referred to as the 'place' position) Holding her collar, say "[dog's name], stay!" while placing your open hand in front of (not touching) her face, tips of the fingers pointing up, palm facing your dog. Wait two seconds. If they stay, say ""Yes!"" and reward. If she gets up, say "Oops!" and start again with "sit" and proceed again to "stay".
- Do this until she stays for at least ten seconds and then praise her. Repeat this whole sequence several times.
- When your dog learns this command well, you start to increase the length of time; start moving away during the stay. Always move off on the right foot so as to not confuse moving with heel.
- Gradually increase the distance. If she gets up go all the way back to the place you started and repeat the sequence, until you can move around freely during the stay. Have a certain command to release your dog from the stay such as "okay!" or "come".
3Down is another one of those commands that can possibly save your dog's life. 'Down' is usually combined with 'stay', and is meant to be a stronger command. 'Down' actually stops whatever action was happening before the command, so is useful in controlling behavior.
- Start again with your dog in a 'sit' position. As you say "[dog's name], down!", hold your left hand above your dog's head, palm toward the floor. With a treat in your hand, lower your hand towards the floor slowly and relatively close to the dog's body.
- Once both bum and elbows are on the floor, say "Yes!" and deliver the treat. Repeat this sequence several times.
4The "come" command is also known as the "recall"Teach "come" by gently pulling her towards you while saying "[dog's name], come!" in a more encouraging voice than you use for other commands. (you want her to want to come to you) Accompany the command with a gesture to show her what you want.
- First place a piece of dry dog food at your feet and point to it. After a very short time, the gesture of pointing at the floor in front of you will be enough, then later, only the command OR the gesture will be needed.
- When she reaches you, praise her using the phrase "Good come!" When interacting with your pet, take opportunities to call her from across the room by using her name and saying "Come!" and praising her when she gets there. This will make your dog familiar with the command.
5Heel is often the most complicated one to teach, but most dogs will learn quickly, if you are consistent. teaching your canine companion to heel will save your back, your shoulders, your dog's neck, and dignity for both of you (although, dignity may be low on the priority list for your dog). Your dog will want to jog at a canter and sniff and veer off in many directions. You need to show him that there is a time for exploring and a time not to.
- Using the regular walking lead, put your dog in a 'sit' beside your left leg facing the same direction as you. This is known as the "place" position. Always use left to avoid confusing him and other dog walkers.
- Say "[dog's name], heel!" while stepping forward with the left foot. Always start on the left. This will become a signal that it is time to move forward. He may either resist or hurry past you. In either case give a gentle pull and repeat the command "Heel!".
- If he strays too far off to the side, pat your leg and say "Keep with me!" or "Over here!" or another short phrase, but always say the same phrase to mean that particular thing. If he moves out ahead, say "No, [dog's name], heel!" and if necessary tug on the lead. When you stop, always stop on the left foot and say "[dog's name], sit!" and if your dog moves ahead, gently pull or physically place him beside your left leg using the "sit" command.
- If things get a little to out of control, stop and place him in a sit at your side, praise him and start over. You should always adjust the dog to your position, not adjust your position to his. (if you adjust your position to his, he will eventually have his human well trained to obey him)
- You should get him used to not feeling any tension on the lead unless you are making a correction, or he will get into the habit of pulling constantly. Make your corrections by voice and gesture and only use the lead if he isn't listening.
- You may gently praise your dog while he is heeling well, but keep it toned down so as not to distract him.
- Once he is obeying the spoken commands consistently, remain silent and only use the spoken commands for correction. the length of time to learn is individual so don't be in a hurry to move things along.
6When you are ready to stop, you should stop on your left foot and say "[dog's name],sit." After a few repetitions you should no longer need to use the sit command. Your dog will come to know that stopping on the left foot is the signal for him to stop and sit.
- When your dog is consistently obeying the "heel" command properly, start unexpectedly starting of with the left foot and stopping without verbal commands or hand signals.
- Also, when your dog is in the "place" position, occasionally step off with the right. Your dog will want to start with you, so you use the "stay" command and walk around him back to the "place" position. Alternate stepping off with the left and using the heel command and then stepping off with the right and using the stay command. After a while you can advance to randomly stepping of with either foot and reinforcing the appropriate "heel" or "stay" behavior. When you and your dog has learned this well, you will be able to function smoothly as a team no matter where you are.
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- Was it helpful for you?YN7 of 10 found this helpful:Dogs love rewards. For example, once your dog sits for the first time on his own, give him a treat, or rub his belly. Once your dog associates sitting with treats, it'll be more likely he'll do it.- Reader from Baltimore, MD on Apr 23, 2015
- Was it helpful for you?YN4 of 6 found this helpful:Keep your early training sessions indoors or outdoors on a lead and in the same place to avoid distractions. After you have both learned the commands well, then start to have sessions in different places so your dog will learn to listen in spite of distractions.- Reader from Seattle, WA on Apr 14, 2015
- Was it helpful for you?YN3 of 4 found this helpful:Teaching your dog to go into a down position from a distance is covered in advanced commands. If you were to be in a situation where your dog was running (either toward or away from you) toward a road or other dangerous area, you could stop him immediately with a down command.- Reader from Tucson, AZ on Mar 05, 2015
- Was it helpful for you?YN3 of 5 found this helpful:Training is best begun in early puppy hood, but older dogs can learn just as well, it may just take a little longer to overcome bad habits.- Reader from Chicago, IL on Mar 05, 2015
- Was it helpful for you?YN4 of 6 found this helpful:Dogs like to take a naps, so let your dog rest a little bit. Let them eat some food and drink water.- Reader from New York, NY on Apr 12, 2015
- Don't show frustration or irritation during training, or you will confuse and frighten your dog making training sessions a negative experience for both of you. If you become frustrated, move on or back to a command that she is better with and end your session on a positive note.
- Do not ever let your dog off lead until she is performing these exercises correctly 100% of the time. She only has to disobey once and get out of your reach to understand that you can't enforce what you can't catch. You need to have your authority firmly in place before you can start working successfully off lead.
- Never, ever scold or discipline your dog when she comes to you on command, no matter what! Even if she was being disobedient before she came, the fact that she obeyed your last command will be the only thing she connects with the disciplinary action. Talk about mixed signals!
Categories: Dog Obedience
In other languages:
Español: enseñarle órdenes básicas a tu perro, Português: Ensinar Comandos Básicos ao Seu Cachorro, Italiano: Insegnare al Tuo Cane i Comandi di Base, Русский: научить собаку основным командам, Deutsch: Deinem Hund grundlegende Kommandos beibringen
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