The early years of a dog’s life shape the rest of its life irreversibly. How much love and care, as well as human socializing, will go into how friendly a canine will be towards humans and whether or not they’ll be friendly in their old age.
Obedience follows the same rule of thumb. To ensure that your dog understands that you are the pack leader and your word is to be respected, you need to make it clear to them early. They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, and they’re mostly right about that. So, before you get into more complex commands like speaking or shaking a paw, there are some fundamentals all pups should learn as the foundation of their repertoire.
Come
Teaching your dog to come to you is the simplest and easiest trick of them all. Say the word “come” out loud as well as the dog’s name. Your puppy will be firmly bonded to you as is, so it’s worth it to see if the command works with other people besides the principal owner. If the dog responds to the come command make sure to reinforce the behavior by giving your puppy a treat positively. Make sure your dog doesn’t think that running to people is what gets them the treat, make sure they only get rewarded if they come after being called.
Sit
This command is best taught exclusively through positive reinforcement without any pushing on the hind legs. It’s relatively simple, and treats are your friend here. Once the dog has come towards you, tell it “sit” with a treat in your hand. Move it over your dog’s head, so they feel compelled to sit down. From there, reward your dog based on whether or not they sit down. If they refuse to sit, don’t give them the treat and move on to something else before trying again.
Leash Training
While you won’t be walking your puppy the same way you will when the dog is fully grown, it’s essential to get your pooch used to wearing a leash. First, put the leash on the collar and let the dog run around without any interference from you, the leash just needs to drag along the ground in these initial steps. Depending on the size of your dog, the “leash” in this situation might just be a piece of string tied to their collar. As your dog walks to new places, start holding on to the leash as if you were talking the dog for a walk. After a while, as the dog grows you’ll be able to take it out on the leash and further cement that leash time is exploration time, but with limits.
Parting Words
These are straightforward commands that every dog can and should learn in their lifetime. Disobedient dogs make for poor housemates, and ultimately it’s your responsibility as the owner to teach your dog good manners. Once they’re ready for more complex commands, a resource like Training My Best Friend should be consulted to make sure everything goes as smoothly as possible. Congratulations on your new dog!
Speak Your Mind