Just like babies need to learn how to crawl before they walk, dogs need to learn the basics before they become a well-behaved member of the family. It is exhausting when your dog doesn’t listen. They counter-surf, jump up on people, and bark incessantly. Dogs who behave badly can cause a lot of stress in the home. Believe it or not, teaching your dog to respond to some simple commands will make a world of difference in how well he or she listens to you with everything else.
Dog ownership is a big responsibility. It can be fun and full of joy and excitement; however, making sure that your dog knows several important commands can make the entire experience more enjoyable and safe. As a parent of your fur baby you might be wondering if you can train your dog at home or if you’ll need to take it to a professional trainer. Although training might seem intimidating, it’s something you and your fur baby can accomplish together in your house or yard. All you need is a little know-how and patience and, before long, you and your dog can enjoy the benefits of good behavior.
One benefit of training your dog at home is you can control the environment and the number of distractions around you. If you don’t have the time to dedicate to doing the training, then you may want to consider enlisting the help of a professional trainer.
It is not necessary for your dog to know a bunch of tricks to be happy and manageable, but rather some basic commands that it can follow and do so consistently.
This can not only help avoid frustration on the part of the owner, and ensures the dog stays out of harm’s way. Whichever commands you teach your dog, it’s important to remain patient and calm. Reward your dog for a job well done with praise, treats and plenty of belly rubs.
Sit: This is the first command any dog owner (or anyone else for that matter) tries to teach a dog or gets the dog to do. It is basic, and an absolute requirement to help calm a dog, and make it understand that you are its pack leader. At the most basic level, if you don’t teach your dog anything else, at least he must know what the command ‘sit’ means, and obey it consistently, and quickly.
Come: There are many situations which will require you to call your dog to you, so it is important to teach him the ‘come’ command. No matter what the distance, if your dog can still hear you, he should come running when you ask him to come.
Stay: Akin to ‘sit’, the ‘stay’ command can be very useful in controlling your dog, especially in situations when you need him to remain in one spot so that you can either complete a task or just have him calm down.
No: A generic ‘no’ command can be helpful in many situations, and helps the owner communicate to the dog when he is doing (or about to do) something unacceptable.
Drop It: The ‘drop it’ command can be a helpful one as dogs are naturally curious creatures and will explore with the only means they have, their mouth/teeth. As part of their exploration, they may at times come across items that can be dangerous to their health and well-being, so it is important to be able to use a ‘drop it’ command to make them let go and drop whatever dangerous object they may have come across. It is also helpful when playing catch!
Leave It: Similar to ‘drop it’, ‘leave it’ can be a helpful command in telling your dog what he is allowed and not allowed to pick up or play with. For example, if you notice him going for shoes, then the ‘leave it’ command can help indicate to him that shoes are not his plaything and he should leave them alone.
If you spend some time teaching your dog these few commands, the entire experience of dog ownership will become much more pleasant, and the time you spend with your dog will be much more enjoyable.
Try not to introduce too many things at once. It’s easy for him to forget if he hasn’t mastered a skill and you’re moving onto the next thing. Imagine what it would’ve been like when you were a kid if your teacher expected you to learn addition one week, multiplication the next, and division the next. Your fur baby needs time to practice what he’s learned.I would recommended adding one or two things per week.
To gauge whether you’re going too fast, go back to an older skill and see if he still remembers it. I haven’t had a dog get overwhelmed per session but they do get confused by too many new things at once. If he’s learning it all, great! If he’s not, then just back up and go slower.
Most importantly, do not stress out about training. With patience, consistency and practice, your fur baby will learn new commands. Make sure they have plenty of time for play and affection and they’ll be eager to learn.
Obedience training is necessary to make the most of your relationship with your fur baby. When your pup behaves well, you can do so much more together, from exploring new places to meeting new people and other fur babies.
As a result, your puppy will be happier, more relaxed and healthier than if they were confined to the house due to poor behaviour. Also, with obedience training, you’ll enjoy greater peace within the home.
Start with the Basics. Teaching your dog the basic commands of obedience will make your household a much more pleasant place.Your dog will be happy because it wants to please you, and because it wants to reap the rewards of good behaviour. You will be happier because your dog will be more manageable and will enrich your life.
And visitors will be happy not to have to endure a poorly behaved pooch rampaging through the house!