Dog has been a companion of humans since times immemorial. Having a dog as pet is a wonderful experience. However, it can be a pain especially if the dog does not listen to you. It is imperative that we train the dog so that it understands our commands and can behave accordingly.

Dog obedience training is very important, through which you can teach the dog how to be obedient and follow the instructions that are provided. With a bit of effort and discipline, your dog can be taught certain basic commands which are essential for your regular interaction. Furthermore, it is a wonderful way to develop the bond between you and your dog.

Before you start with Dog obedience training, here are few tips that can be followed:

Patience is a virtue in every sense and you would need this virtue in abundance.

It is a two-way street, your dog ought also be an equally willing learner.

The earlier you start Dog obedience training, the better. A delay in this would provide a chance for the dog to pick up some bad habits which would add on to your effort to make your dog unlearn them and learn the good ones.

Having a treat (preferably a tasty snack) ready could be handy to encourage and appreciate your dog.

Dogs, especially puppies have less attention span, so it would be good to keep the sessions short initially. A quiet place bereft of any distractions would be of much help.

Invest in a training guide and other training aides.

Take care that the training guide advocates a positive approach to training.

By following the above tips you would be able to teach your dog most of the tasks.

Some basic instructions that you can teach your dog to follow.

Here are a few basic instructions as part of Dog obedience training which you can teach your dog.

Sit:

Teaching your dog to sit on your command is one of the basic and important tasks. This would be helpful to rein some control on your dog when needed. A Dog which learns to sit when instructed would be easier to handle until the time it learns to have more self-control.

Steps to be followed to teach you dog this command:

Get to the level of the dog

Hold a treat close to the nose of the dog so that its head would follow the movement of our hand as you raise your hand.

The rear end of the dog moves lower as its head moves up.

Once the rear touches the floor, release the treat for it to eat and follow it up with an appreciation.

Ensure that the treat is not held so high that the dog tends to jump.

Repeat this activity multiple times, gradually adding the word “sit”. Repeating this is very important for the dog to get tuned to instruction. However, ensure that your dog does not get bored by this. So it would be advisable to do this multiple times a day rather than repetitions in one go.

Come

The instruction “Come” is another very important instruction to teach a dog. It would help you and your dog to avoid and get out of potential messy situations. If your dog is about to get into a fight or runs out of the house onto the road, this command will help you to get the dog back from these situations.

Steps to be followed:

Attach a line or a light leash to the dog collar and allow it to move around with that.

Then pick up the other end of it and follow your dog as it moves around. This enables to establish the attachment between you two.

You can turn backward and show him the treat that you have. It would turn around and come for the treat.

Gradually introduce the instruction “Come” when you are doing this. You can appreciate and reward him every time he does this correctly, this would help to reinforce the instruction.

Remember not to repeat the word “come”, instead it ought to be a single instruction “come” and the dog needs to tune into the single word.

Stay

This instruction is considered to be one of the tougher ones to teach as part of the Dog obedience training. The dogs find this instruction tough to follow as staying at a place is against their natural intuition to follow or stick closer to the owner. However, this instruction as the earlier two is of great help and thereby important to teach it to your dog.

This instruction is one of the basic instructions towards teaching your dog obedience as a dog which can stay at a place when instructed can remain obedient enough to learn other things as well.

Steps to be followed to teach your dog this instruction:

Keep a leash on your dog and make it sit near you.

Show your hand, palm facing towards it near its muzzle and say “stay’.

Go in front of your dog, stay for few seconds and then again go back to your original position i.e. beside him.

Reward him for being in that position and for not moving.

In case he moves, say something like oops’ or “hmmm “, and put it back to the original place. Repeat this activity until he follows the instructions and stays in the position.

Continue to reinforce this multiple times in a day.

Ensure you also develop a release word, like “okay” for him to come out of that position. Ensure that this is also reinforced along with “stay” command.

Down

This instruction is also a tough one to teach your dog as it is also against the natural instinct of a dog. Down” makes the dog to be submissive which would not be liked by it. Since this involves the dog to be submissive, it becomes important to take extra care in adding fun and encouragement while training the dog on this instruction.

Steps to be followed:

Hold an attractive and tasty treat in your hand and bring it closer to the muzzle

Now move your hand towards the floor so that his head follows it.

Once this is done, move your hand across the floor so that he stretches his body and moves along the hand.

Once he completely lies down in this position, appreciate him and allow him to have the treat.

Ensure that the dog does not jump forward when following the treat and make it a slow movement.

Subsequently, pair it up with the instruction” Down”. Repeat this activity multiple times to reinforce it.

These are few of the instructions that can be taught to a dog as part of Dog obedience training. Remember that the most important aspect is to create a bond of trust and close association between your dog and yourself, which would make it easier to train the dog on being an obedient one.

Make these training sessions more fun and lively so that your dog and yourself can enjoy participating in these sessions.

In case you didn’t see it:  Here’s an online dog training program that can STOP your dog unwanted behaviors!

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