Beginners Dog Training Guide
"How come your dog sits when instructed, mine doesn't?", "How do you get him to follow your instructions?", “Wow! He comes when instructed" - how familiar does this conversation sound to you? If it does sound familiar to you, then maybe it is time to take up dog training. Starting to train your dog from a early age is crucial as the first few months of his life is when you will have the greatest influence on him; this is where he is shaped into the dog he is going to be when he is all grown up.
I think everyone knows the basics, even if you don't realise you do, these commands are of course the "sit" and "come" order. Teaching him those commands are essential for him to learn. These commands are used for various different reasons, if you are in competition, if your dog jumps making him sit will immediately get him off and "come" is the all important one. You wouldn't expect your dog to react to you if you shouted "come back here" whilst he was running around a field. You would be the laughing stock of dog owner's.
Teaching your dog to come is largely a simple thing to achieve, just requiring much practice. One technique which is very simple for both owner and dog is to simply walk away from the dog with a toy in your hand. Then, when you are an appropriate distance away, call your dog back to you and reward him with a treat. Don't over-do this method though as the dog can become bored of it!
Now you move onto the task getting your dog to sit on command. This is harder. When you've mastered the come command call him to you, place your hand on the end of his back and say "sit" while gently pushing down on his backside, when he sits his bottom down give him a treat and a lot of praise. A trick to make him sit longer is to get on your knees and feed him whilst he is in the sit position.
Basic dog training is exactly that - simple and effective. It should also be fun for you and your dog, it doesn’t have to be hours and hours each day just may be 5 minutes or so. Perhaps most importantly, always remember to reward your dog for all of the hard work it has done!
I think everyone knows the basics, even if you don't realise you do, these commands are of course the "sit" and "come" order. Teaching him those commands are essential for him to learn. These commands are used for various different reasons, if you are in competition, if your dog jumps making him sit will immediately get him off and "come" is the all important one. You wouldn't expect your dog to react to you if you shouted "come back here" whilst he was running around a field. You would be the laughing stock of dog owner's.
Teaching your dog to come is largely a simple thing to achieve, just requiring much practice. One technique which is very simple for both owner and dog is to simply walk away from the dog with a toy in your hand. Then, when you are an appropriate distance away, call your dog back to you and reward him with a treat. Don't over-do this method though as the dog can become bored of it!
Now you move onto the task getting your dog to sit on command. This is harder. When you've mastered the come command call him to you, place your hand on the end of his back and say "sit" while gently pushing down on his backside, when he sits his bottom down give him a treat and a lot of praise. A trick to make him sit longer is to get on your knees and feed him whilst he is in the sit position.
Basic dog training is exactly that - simple and effective. It should also be fun for you and your dog, it doesn’t have to be hours and hours each day just may be 5 minutes or so. Perhaps most importantly, always remember to reward your dog for all of the hard work it has done!
