Family Dog Training

Today we will talk about the simplest thing regarding family dog training – the commands. We’re gonna teach them all in the same way – positive dog training : give the command, and when the dog follows it – give him a treat (a hot dog can do the trick). If he doesn’t follow it, correct him. For every command there is a different way of correction. Training the family dog can get really frustrating, but it’s important that you never beat up your dog for not following the command.
Notes:

• When your dog follows the command, give him the treat immediately afterwards and while praising him using the happiest voice in the world.

• Your voice is so important! You MUST speak during obedience training, and you must pay attention to your voice – be super happy or super angry – your dog can’t understand the meaning of your words, but they’ll understand your voice.

• I learned the commands from more than one dog trainer, and every trainer has his own do’s and don’ts. So here – in my opinion – are the most effective instructions to every command – beginning family dog training:

1. Sit – Probably the easiest dog obedience command:
   Face your dog with the leash in your left hand. Use your most assertive voice,  and command: “Sit!”. With your left hand pull the leash up and with your right hand push his butt down.
   When he’s seated say in your happiest voice: “Good boy (or girl ).” Whatever you wanna tell him, as long as it sounds as if you’ve just won the lottery and at the same time you’re praising him/her give him/her the treat. Make sure he doesn’t move unless you allow him to – I simply say – “free..”.
2. Heel – This command is where you can distinguish professional dog training from amateur training… The more eye contact between your dog and yourself, and the closer he walks to you, the better:
   Position your dog to your left while seated. Make sure he’s close enough (almost touching your leg). Hold a treat in your right hand. Make sure your dog is aware of the treat – let him sniff it. Say: “Lucky, heel!” and pat twice on your left hip with your left hand. Start walking with your left leg first! Every once in a while say “Lucky, heel!” again and pat twice. Make sure you’re speaking the whole time. Don’t stop talking – keep saying ‘good dog’… Also, keep the leash loose and only when your dog moves away correct him with a swift pull of the leash, and keep walking. Then, stop and look at your dog: If he sits all on his own, give him the treat and praise him. Otherwise, command “sit!”, make sure he’s seated, and then give him the treat. Keep walking – and remember – start with your left leg.
   When you want to make a 180 degrees turn to the right, pat twice on your hip and say “Lucky, heel!” Make sure to correct your dog if he moves away during the turn. Perform the same drill on a 90 degrees turn to the right. When you’re turning 90 degrees to the left, move your left leg a little to the left first in order to give your dog a signal that says you’re about to make a left turn.
   A note about correcting the dog: loosen your leash and then pull it swiftly, once. The correction must be as soon as your dog makes the mistake – otherwise he won’t relate it to the problem.
3. Down – This command can be really tough for dominant dogs, as they’re required to “bow” in front of you, which hurts their “ego”.
   Face your dog with the leash in your left hand. Command “Down!” Then, step on the leash using your right foot. Make sure the leash is in the air and you’re stepping on it, but close enough to the collar. IMPORTANT: Your dog may struggle and cry but you can’t back down! It’s a tough command for the dog but you must be assertive. When he is down celebrate with the happiest tone in the world, and put the treat on the ground. Don’t give it to him directly! If your dog rises back up the second you give him the treat, put your foot on the leash again to stop him from rising until you allow him to. I simply say “free..”".
4. Stay – I’m not a big supporter of this command in our dog obedience training… It seems logical to me that if you give your dog the command Down/Sit, he should follow it and remain in his place until given further instructions. So in my opinion, instead of this command, simply say, “sit!/down!”, praise him, and when he gets up shout “NO!!”, and correct him (make him either sit or lay down again). IMPORTANT: when you correct him – do not say the command again… Simply correct him with your hands/legs. The first time you should only go as far back as your leash allows you to. Keep praising him all the time and treat him every now and then. After a couple of training lessons, when your dog is doing okay, you should buy a long training leash (probably the most important dog training tool) and move away every once in a while. Walk clockwise and circle your dog , and after a little while step over him. If he gets up – correct him.
5. Come – To me, it was the most important dog obedience command:
   Move away from your dog with the long leash in your hand. Make sure it’s not too loose so you’re able to correct your dog with a swift pull. Say: “Lucky, come!” hold a treat in your hand and keep both of your hands in waist level. When your dog moves towards you, praise him. Once he arrives – make him sit (with a Sit command) as near as possible to your waist. Then, once he’s seated, give him the treat and praise him at the same time. If your dog tries to run away, wait until the leash stretches and then pull it and shout, “NO!”
   Afterwards as he gets closer, praise him.

Here is a video of me training Beary… It’s not perfect, but it’s a lot better than it used to be…

Those were the basic commands… You should practice 15-25 minutes a day. The right way to go is to start with Sit, then Heel , followed by Down and finally Come.
Hope this was helpful =)