Listen To Me - Command Dog Training

Now your puppy has begun understanding words as communication. It is time to teach him commands. Commands are not the same as other communication. They should be one word, two if short words. Commands may save your dogs life (or yours) at some time and should be well enough learned by the dog that he will eventually follow them without thinking about doing so. If your dog is running toward a road, you need to be able to stop him immediately. If you encounter a wild animal, not being able to control your dog's actions can cost your life as well as his.

When teaching your dog commands you will need to have him on his leash. If you have followed the training steps in order he will already be used to his leash and won't be a bit distracted by the fact he has it on. Having him on the leash will prevent him from successfully avoiding obeying commands. You can't teach him to obey if he has a way not to do so if he wishes.

IMPORTANT NOTE:
If your dog is giving you a rough time during obedience training make him lay down - you might have to actually lay him down - roll him on his back and hold him there with your hand on his stomach. This action conveys dominance and your dog will understand he is to obey you. Another demonstration of dominance is to clamp the top of his muzzle in your hand - not hard, just put your hand around his muzzle. In the wild the lead dog will place his mouth on the subordinate dog's muzzle. You can also do this if you choose, but it may be looked upon as a bit weird if you are in public and seen doing so. You don't need to hold on for more than a few seconds. Just long enough to make the statement that you are the boss will do fine.

The order I have listed for training basic commands is the one I use personally. This is a point of training at which you should start your puppy in classes. Your instructor may have a slightly different order to the list than I have here. That is fine. Work with the commands as your instructor has them ordered. Because of the importance of having a puppy in classes for this part of his training I am just going to touch on the basics lightly. Even if you feel you know this part of the training classes provide important socialization for your puppy that he should be exposed to, so do not skip out on classes just because you are familiar with the routine.

To begin training you will want to walk with your dog on the leash beside you. The following commands and techniques to teach them follow. Remember to praise your dog when he gets it right - EVEN IF YOU HAVE TO BODILY MOVE HIM INTO THE RIGHT POSITION.

Use a hand signal every time you give a command. It doesn't matter what signal you choose as long as you use the same one each time for each command. If you switch them around he will not learn them.

To start training you will have to show your dog what every command means. You may need to do this a few times for them to remember it. Go through a set of three or four commands until he learns them then add commands to the routine as he learns.