| The Five Basic Commands. |
| Their are five basic commands that a dog should at LEAST know. I believe that a dog should be taught to it's full extent, but if all you want your dog to know is the basic's, then here they are... |
| 1. SIT The most common method I use to teach a dog, is to place the dog/pup in front of you. Next, place your one hand on the dog's back end, your hand across his back hips. DON'T PUSH DOWN. You can apply a slight ammount of presure, but it shouldn't be necesary. You don't want to force your dog into the possition, but rather direct him into the possition you want him in. Your hand on his bum should be no more then to |
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| just keep him from backing up. Next, with a treat in one hand raise your hand just above the pup's nose, and up over his head, not too far, but just enough so he follows it with his nose, and back into a sit. Praise like crazy. You can use a command ("Sit") if you would like right away, but at first you basiclly just want the dog to relate doing this action (that comes to him naturally) with getting a reward. Once you've added a verbal command, you can also use hand signles, and eventually only the hand commands can be used to tell the dog what you want. Practice! Practice! Practice! When you feel your dog is understanding, stop showing him what to do, and ask him. If he doesn't seem to under what your asking, raise your hand over his nose and back as a reminder. Eventually try for longer sits, and from a distance even. Always practice in a different location, so he gets use to sitting in all different places. When you feel you and your dog are ready, try adding in some distractions too! |
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| NOTE: For a dog to know a command it means he must do it 100% every time. It doesn't mean your dog knows a command if he only does it when you have treats, or only if you say the command more then once and demand it. That is not knowing, that is learning. Also, all dogs are different, just like people. Not all dogs will learn using these methods, so if you find your having trouble, even after seeking different sources, I suggest getting professional help from a dog trainer, or taking some basic obedience classes. |
| 2. LAY DOWN Most people will teach their dog's to sit first, and then lure them into a down possition. I think it's alright to teach this at first, but to not get into the habit of it. If you would rather, teach your dog a bow then down. If you plan on teaching your dog to "bow" on command, don't teach it as a command while teaching the down, otherwise you'll get the same problem with teaching your dog to sit first. The problem with using these commands first is your dog will make a habit of it. You say sit and automaticly he lays |
| down. So if you do teach the sit and then down, try to not always say "Sit, Down" instead say "Down, Sit" or if your dog knows more commands, mix it up a bit. Alright, now for actually teaching the command. There are various ways of doing this, but if you just alter this one traditional method a bit you will find they all basiclly come from this one... Place your dog in a SIT. Next, place your hand on the dog's rump or back, don't apply pressure, just keep it there for if the dog tries to back away, but he probably won't. Next, with your other hand with a treat, lure the dog's hand down to the ground. If he stands up put him back in the sit. Repeat until you finally get his front end and elbows on the ground, then PRAISE LIKE MAD! And remember, practice makes perfect. So keep practicing, around more and more distractions with or without treats, using toys as rewards, using praise only as rewards, everything and you will soon have a dog who 100% knows the Down Command! |
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| 3. HEEL Heel can be a rather tricky command to teach, but when taught properlly can really save your arms and make you feel much more comfortable when walking your dog. You will find you will actually want to take your dog out more often with you because he can walk nicely beside you. Heel means... the dog must walk beside you |
| on your Left side, his sholder lined up with your knee. So, in a place with little or no distractions clip a leash to your dog's collar. Some people use a training collar like a "Choke Chain". If you decide to go this route, please seek a professional for advice and how to properly use it. All training tools can be effective if used propperly, but one such as a choke chain used uncorrectly can cause a lot of damamge. I, myself prefer just a nylon buckle collar. Place the dog on your left side, in either a sit or stand. You don't even have to walk very far at first, just one step ahead with the dog by your side and PRAISE LIKE MAD! Once you and your dog feel totally comfrotable, gradually move up with more and more steps, longer distances... as well as turns, left and right. I find right hand turns are the hardest because you have to pull your dog towards you. If your dog pulls forwards, turn the other way. The dog will soon learn to watch you because you can sporadicly move somewhere else and he gets dragged or pushed along! Some people have actually used hot dogs, or other bits of food they put in their mouth and spit at the dog. This teaches the dog to watch you while in a heel. I pesronally haven't used it, but feel free to try it out! |
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| 4. STAY Stay is a very important command. Twice today I have had it come in handy. Once, when I got home from school I untied Coal and was untangling his run which had gotten wraped aorund a pole. The person who had dropped me off was still pulling out and Coal went running |
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| after, I screamed "COAL STAY" and he stopped, and stayed there. Another, today a plate fell off the table and broke. Now Coal is a rather skitterish dog to begin with, so he jumped to his feet. I grabbed his collar and told him "Stay". Now even though I was holding his collar, he still wasn't pulling, I probably wouldn't have needed to hold on but did so anyway because he wanted to go check it out and I didn't want him getting glass in his feet. Now that you know how stay can come in handy on a daily basis, here is how you can teach your puppy dog it! Stay means... the dog must STAY until you give it further notice. Some people will call a dog to them after a stay, but I prefer that my dog stays until I get back to him, for a come I use the command "wait". Place your dog in a Sit, Down, or Stand, whichever your prefer. While holding onto the dog's collar, step from one side of the dog to the front of it as you say "STAY". If the dog moves, simply place it back in the stance you had him in and start over again. Do this until the dog is staying while you walk in front of them. PRAISE LOTS when you get this! Next, when you feel comfrotable enough you can move it to longer distances, longer times, and even in different rooms. You can play games with the whole family of "hide and seek" by getting the dog to stay then go hide in another room and call him to you... which leads us to our next command... |
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| 5. COME Now I know I say this with all the basic commands, but come is a very important command for your dog to know. I know from my experience, it has gotten my dogs out of what could have turned out to be a very bad situation. It's a very good control command, if you know you |
| can call your dog to you if something bad comes rushing out at him, and get him to you, you know you'll have him safe. It helps a lot if your pup already knows a good "stay". If not, have someone else hold onto him while you step back. Not very far, just a couple steps. Once there encourage your dog a lot to come to you, say "come" but also clap your hands, or to your thighs (dogs learn more from body language then anything else), and make it seem like a real treat for your dog to come to you. Once there, grab his collar and PRAISE! The reason I say to grab his collar is this: if your dog is running towards you and you say "good dog" he will think his tast is done and most likely just turn around and run the other way! If he comes all the way to you and doesn't get a reward until he's there and you have a hold of him, this won't happen. NEVER call your dog to punish him! Even if he's just dug up your flower bed, humped Aunt Flow, and ran halfway down the street ignoring your shouts and promises for a cookie. If he COMES to you, you praise him because he came! Don't yell because he humped Aunt Flow! He isn't thinking about that, only that he came to you and now your yelling at him, so he will assosiate comming to you with being punished! So remember to always praise when he comes to you when called. Once you've got your puppy comming to you when a couple steps away, back up more, and more and more. It helps if you have a really long lead too! And remember to always work in an enclosed area at first, or on leash. Another tip to get a better result, when you call your dog start to run backwards and keep calling him on, then stop and praise! Soon enough if in another room you should be able to call your dog and have him come running after you! Try around more and more distractions, never stop practicing, and always try in different areas! |
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| If you have any Quetsions or Comments, feel free to e-mail me! Remember to always seek other sources of information on training, as well as professionals. I've found even after 9 years of training dogs, taking my Coaly to Obediance Classes I did learn new things and it helped to get him out around other dogs and socialized, so even if your training at home, I highly recomend taking classes as well if their available to you! Don't ever stop training your dog, he can learn far beyond just the basics I have described here! Good Luck! |
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| Welcome! Sit and relax a while! Or if you prefer, to, then Laydown! Whichever you choose, Stay a while! And don't forget to Come back soon! |
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