Most dog owners dream of their puppy growing up into a well-behaved adult dog, but it can sometimes be difficult to know where to start with training. There are a few basic commands that every owner should teach their dogs; they’re nice and simple and your pup will enjoy training (there are lots of yummy treats involved!).
Firstly, reward based training is much more effective as dogs respond better to positive training and are much more likely to pick up what you’re trying to teach them. Always praise good behaviour, this will teach your pup that they’ll get rewarded for following commands. Consistency is key with puppies, so everyone in the house needs to use the same command words so that your pup doesn’t get muddled.
Sit
This is probably the first thing that you’ve tried to teach your puppy (after toilet training of course).
- Take a treat or a toy to get your puppy’s attention and hold it in front of their nose.
- Then gently move the treat/toy from the front of their nose over the top of their head.
- This action should encourage your pup to sit. Don’t force their bottom down, but you can gently place your hand on their back and say ‘sit’ as they move into the sitting position.
- As soon as their bottom hits the floor give your pup lots of praise and a treat.
Gradually, with lots of practice your dog will learn the command and you won’t need to use treats as bribes.
‘Off’
Whether you want to stop your puppy going on the sofa, or if they have a habit of putting their paws on tables, ‘off’ is a very useful command for your dog to master.
- Firstly, if your pup is jumping up because there’s something they want on a table or counter, simply remove the item so they aren’t tempted.
- Try not to shout at them for jumping up as they could see any attention as positive praise.
- When they jump on something you don’t want them to, use a treat or a toy to get their attention.
- Once all four paws are safely on the ground, give lots of praise and their treat.
- When this has happened a few times, start to add the command ‘off’ when you are luring them down with their tasty treat.
Eventually you can start to just use the command ‘off’ when you’re telling them to get off.
Recall
Recall training is incredibly important for all dog owners, especially if you want to let your dog off-lead anywhere.
- Make sure that you have lots of your puppy’s favourite treats for this. You should always practice recall training in safe and quiet place at first so your dog won’t get distracted.
- Walk away from your dog, then say their name, followed with ‘come’. Try to make their treat really obvious at this point.
- It might help to go down to their level, and use a happy, positive tone so they know you’re really looking forward to them coming to you.
- Reward them when they come to you and give lots of praise.
- Keep practising somewhere secure, and when you feel confident, practice in a public park.
This skill might take some time to master, but your dog will learn to come when called.
