BASIC COMMANDS

There are of course many reasons for owners to want a calm, obedient andfaithful dog. For one thing, obedient and trained dogs are happier dogs,less likely to get into tussles with people or with other dogs. Anotherreason is that many communities require that the dogs living in theirneighborhoods be well trained. This is especially true for many breedsthought to have aggression and behavior problems – dog breeds like pitbulls and rottweilers for instance.

And of course, training your dog well will also make he or she a muchbetter family companion, especially in households where there are youngchildren. Many studies have shown that proper dog training makes a bigimpact when it comes to cutting down the number of dog bits and otherbehavior problems encountered by dog owning households.

When considering training your own dog, or having someone else help youtrain it, there are certain basic commands that must be mastered in orderfor a dog to be considered truly trained.

These basic commands include:

Heel – it is important that any dog learn to walk beside its owner on a looselead, neither pulling ahead nor lagging behind

Respond to the word No – the word no is one word that all dogs mustlearn. Training your dog to respond to this important word can save you aton of trouble.

Sit – Training your dog to sit on command is a vital part of any dog trainingprogram.

Stay – A well trained dog should remain where his or her ownercommands, so stay is a very important command in dog training.

Down – Lying down on command is more than just a cute trick; it is a keycomponent of any successful dog training program.

Dog training does much more than just create an obedient, willingcompanion. Training your dog properly actually strengthens the bond thatalready exists between dog and handler. Dogs are pack animals, and theylook to their pack leader to tell them what to do. The key to successful dogtraining is to set yourself up as that pack leader.

Establishing yourself as pack leader is a very important concept for anypotential dog trainer to understand. There is only one leader in every packof dogs, and the owner must establish him or herself as the dominantanimal. Failure to do so leads to all manner of behavior problems.

A properly trained dog will respond properly to all the owner’s commands,and will not display anxiety, displeasure or confusion. A good dog trainingprogram will focus on allowing the dog to learn just what is expected of it,and will use positive reinforcement to reward desired behaviors.

Giving the dog a job is more important than you may think. Dogs wereoriginally bred by humans to do important work, such as herding sheep,guarding property and protecting people. Many dogs today have noimportant job to do, and this can often lead to boredom and neuroticbehavior.

Basic obedience training, and ongoing training sessions, provide the dogwith an important job to do. This is especially important for high energybreeds like German shepherds and border collies. Training sessions are agreat way for these high energy dogs to use up their extra energy andsimply to enjoy themselves.

Incorporating playtime into your dog training sessions is a great way toprevent both yourself and your dog from becoming bored. Playing withyour dog helps to strengthen the all important bond between you – thepack leader – and your dog.

DOG TRAINING HOME