Dog Training - The Basics

One of the most important things you can do for your new dog is to train it in the basic commands (i.e. "Sit", "Stay", "Heel", "Down" and "Come").

In particular, the Down and Come commands can potentially save your dog's life. You want to ensure those two are well taught initially and reinforced continually throughout your dog's life. Why so? Suppose your dog's collar suddenly breaks or comes off and your dog heads straight toward the busy highway. In that event, an instantaneous response to either the Down or Come commands could well save your puppy's life and you will be very grateful for the time spent the time on puppy training and the basic commands.

This article will provide a teaching guideline to get you started on training the basic commands. We also encourage you to seek out a basic obedience class in your local area for both you and your dog to attend. Basic obedience classes are as much about teaching the owner as they are about teaching the dog. The basic guidelines below will be reinforced; you will have access to a professional trainer to ask questions of; you hopefully will be given some homework to practice with your dog in between classes; and the class will help to socialize puppies.

Patience, Vigilance & Consistency - On the part of the owner is most important in all aspects of dog training. Keep in mind that it is not unsimilar to training a child and that your puppy will not be mature for 2-3 years. Keep your cool, keep at it, and stay consistent. If you do, it will eventually come together. We promise!

Teach the Desired Result First - Then the Command - This might sound obvious but nevertheless, puppies don't understand English when they arrive at your house. They don't have a clue what "Sit" or any of the basic commands may mean, nor do they even realize you want them to do something. Thus, start by showing your dog what you want and then gradually, and repeatedly, add the word command to it. For example, place your dog in the sitting or down position and then add the command. For Come, practice with a long rope attached to the collar. Use the rope to start the dog coming toward you and add the command.

Praise and Reward - Liberally use praise and treat your dog when it starts to catch on to a command. Let them know that they have done something that you wanted and that you are very very happy about it! Use whatever reward works best with your particular dog. Some respond better with just praise and others are highly food motivated.

Short Sessions - Keep your training sessions short but do them several times per day. A puppy's attention span isn't very long and they will quickly get distracted when young. A few quick "Sits" during the TV commercial breaks is enough in the early going, for example, rather than trying to pack it all into a 2 hour marathon for you and your poor puppy.

Consistent Commands - Be sure that everyone in the family is using the same command and that they are not adding a bunch of extra words to the command. For example, if the recall command is "Come" then don't let anyone use something else like "Come to mama you cute little thing." The extra verbiage just confuses the dog and slows the training process.

Don't Get Angry - Getting angry just increases the time it takes to train your dog and it may affect your dog's trust in you. Just keep your cool and keep at it.

Go Slow - Many people go too fast and the dog ends up kind of responding to most of the commands sometimes. Take your time with each command and ensure that your dog knows and responds to each command every time.

Don't Stop Training - Another common mistake is to stop training shortly after the dog learns to recognize each command. Reinforce the basic commands regularly throughout your dog's life and particularly during the first two years. Puppies are similar to children in that they might know the commands and will respond 90% of the time, but, it is the remaining 10% that you need to worry about.

Ted Ellwood is co-owner of Petacular Food & Supply, a Canadian pet supply store specializing in all natural pet food and quality supplies. Petacular's Belgian Malinois, Colmar, has personally approved most of the store's Dog Training Aids.