Have you ever seen a dog on the street obeying every command his master gave him? Do you want your pooch to be as obedient? Then, we have good news for you: Every dog owner can teach their pet a few essential commands even without having to hire a dog trainer for that. In this post, we are going to describe the easiest dog commands that your pup can learn.
Preliminary points
Before you start the training process, though, here are a few important things you need to do.
- Find a praising word/phrase for your dog such as “Good girl/boy!” That will help the dog understand if he has done something right or wrong. Say the word several times and reward him by giving him something tasty. Don’t reward the pet until you see that he expects the praising word from you.
- You should also ascertain that your dog responds to his name. The teaching method is almost identical to that you used for the praising word. You should have your dog’s absolute attention. Then, say his name and give him some food as a reward. Have several five-minute name-teaching sessions throughout the day.
Commands
1. Sit
Any dog training should begin with the ‘Sit’ command. Perform the following sequence of steps.
- Take some food and hold it before the dog’s nose.
- Begin moving the food upwards. The dog must be sitting and following your hand with his eyes and head.
- Say ‘Sit’ and reward the pet with the food.
- Continue in the same fashion until the pup’s reaction to the ‘Sit’ command is immaculate.
2. Stay
‘Stay’ can prevent your animal from getting into trouble. For instance, it can stop him from crossing a road with heavy traffic. Follow this procedure.
- Give the ‘Sit’ command to your pet.
- With the palm of your hand toward the dog, say ‘Stay’.
- Walk back a few steps.
- Say ‘Ok’ or your praising word. When the dog is at your side, give him something tasty.
- Repeat the routine, but move farther away from the dog and reward him only if he doesn’t budge.
3. Heel
The ‘Heel’ command teaches the dog to walk alongside his master. It can be useful when the dog is unleashed and the owner has his or her hands full.
- While walking, take your dog’s leash in your right hand and pull it to the opposite side.
- At a certain moment, say ‘Sit’.
- Then say ‘Heel’ and give the dog some food as a reward.
- Move on for a couple of yards holding a reward at your side.
- Halt again.
- Hold the food up.
- If the dog is sitting, reward him and say the praising word.
- Keep on working the same way until your dog obeys you with no leash on.
4. Come
Dogs are inquisitive by nature. If your animal friend has spotted something really interesting ahead, he may rush toward it, forgetting about looking at you for permission. To make the dog return, use the ‘Come’ command.
- Place your leashed dog some distance from you.
- Gently draw the dog in your direction saying ‘Come’.
- When the dog is at your side, give him something tasty.
- Take the leash off and repeat the procedure.
5. Place
When you are busy attending to some household chores and you want your dog out of the way, the ‘Place’ command comes to the rescue. This is what you need to do.
- With your leashed dog by your side, walk to his ‘bed’, whatever it is. Hold a reward in your free hand.
- Once you are at the spot, say ‘Place’ and reward the dog with the food and the praising word.
- Go over the same steps until the dog obeys the ‘Place’ command without the leash.
6. Look
This is the attention-grabbing command. Teaching it includes these steps.
- Lock your eyes with those of your dog.
- Move some food from the dog’s nose toward your face.
- When the food is near your face and you see that the dog is looking at it, say ‘Look’ and reward the pet with the food.
- Go over the same steps until the animal obeys the ‘Look’ command to perfection.
Dog trainers will tell you that teaching a dog commands is a long process. What you see here is just the beginning. There is a long way ahead. If everything goes well, though, your pet will not only be your friend, but will also walk by your side, look at you, go to his place whenever you want it, and obey any other commands.
