Teach Your Dog Obedience With Patience

Controlling your dog is done mainly through the basic obedience commands. Of all the basic commands you can teach him, sit and down are the most popular. You can't teach your dog anything if you can't make him sit still for a couple of seconds.

Why both sit and down, well it comes down to how comfortable the dog is. Dogs will do things they don't want to do but unless you balance things out they won't put up with this kind of treatment for long. Sit is a fairly comfortable position in which a dog will naturally stay about 5 minutes.

Down, on the other hand, is much more relaxing and you see dogs staying like this for hours. So, naturally, when you want him to stay put for a longer time you'll use the Down command. A lot of other commands start from the Sit position, and it's a useful overall position to have.

Getting started with the Sit command

Before you start you need to get his attention. Grab some treats and start moving them around. While outside the scope of this article, it's worth a mention that you can teach him a Watch Me command too.

Sit is much easier than Down, and it will get the dog used to listening to you. You'll need to reserve 10-15 minutes every day. You'll be done before you know it. Start by holding the treat in front of his nose. He'll try to reach it but don't let him. Lift the treat above his head so he has to raise his head to see it.

You're essentially making him twist his head back, however to do this his knees must bend. The result is he will thump down into a Sit position. At this point you give him the treat and praise him enthusiastically. All you have to do in now is phase in the command word and phase out the treat.

Teaching your dog the Down command

Prepare for a tougher one. There are multiple ways to do this, some using the Sit position, but I feel that teaching a separate command is more effective. A Sit-Down combo might not work when you're in a rush.

Start with the dog to your left side, facing the same direction as you. Bend down and rest an arm on his shoulders. Take care not to apply pressure, just let it sit there. Use your other hand to guide a treat from his nose to the ground.

In the meantime talk to him in a soft, soothing voice. If his chest drops but his back is still up move the treat more into his chest so he has to fall in order to reach it.

This method works really well. This also has the benefit of building trust by assuring the dog you're not trying to dominate him. Make sure you visit Alltypesofdogs where you can find mountains of information about dogs. Finally, expect some failures in the process, be patient and it will pay off.