Welcoming a young, doe-eyed pup into your family can be magical. The energy a puppy brings into a home is special. No matter the breed, you have a pint-sized creature rearing to see the world! Pups can be rough around the edges but are ready for molding. While many new dog owners want nothing more than to cuddle and play all day, it's important to start training as soon as possible.
There are many ways to approach training and development. Some go all out, teaching their dogs complex commands that help them reach the pinnacle of athleticism and agility. For others, training is a more relaxed affair that doesn't go beyond the basics.
Whatever your plans for your new dog, you must go through the fundamentals. Every puppy needs to know essential training commands to function in modern society. Read on to find out what they are and learn how to teach your puppy what they need to know.
5 Essential Training Commands Every Puppy Needs to Know
With so many great skills you can teach your puppy, deciding where to start can be difficult. However, there are several essential commands that veterinarians and canine behavioralists recommend starting your training journey with. These commands can give your pup the foundation to stay safe and grow into a well-rounded adult. Here's what you need to know.
1. Sit
Having your puppy sit on command isn't just a great party trick you can show off to your friends. It also teaches your dog impulse control while alerting them to focus on you. This command comes in handy in many situations.
Imagine being in a high-energy place with many distractions, such as the park. Dogs can get overwhelmed, leaving their good behaviors behind to indulge in all the sights and smells. However, when they know how to sit on command, you can focus their attention on you to prevent them from misbehaving or potentially getting themselves in a sticky situation!
Teaching your puppy to sit is easier than you think.
• Hold a treat in front of your pup's nose to capture their attention.
• Slowly move that treat over your dog's head. This action forces your dog to follow your hand.
• As your dog's head moves, they'll slowly sit down to keep the treat within their scope of vision.
• When your pup's bottom hits the floor, give them the treat as positive reinforcement. Praise your pup to let it know they did the right thing.
2. Stay
Here's another command that can help you rein your dog back in when it's distracted. Learning to stay on command can save your dog's life and prevent disaster. It's similar to sitting. When a dog stays put on your command, it remains in place and resists all urges to act out. It's a practice in self-control and patience, and you can use it to your advantage to keep your dog safe.
You should start teaching your dog to stay after it's mastered the sit command.
• Start with your puppy in a seated position
• Open your palm and face your hand towards your dog while repeating the phrase "stay."
• While keeping your hand up, take a step back. Your puppy will want to follow you but needs to learn to control that urge.
• If your puppy stays seated, return to them and provide positive reinforcement.
• Continue to challenge your puppy by increasing the distance you walk away.
3. Recall
Recall training, known as the "come" command, is about trust and control. In most public places, you'll need to keep your dog leashed. However, there are many opportunities for off-leash play and adventure. To ensure that your dog stays safe and doesn't get into trouble, they must learn to come to you when called.
Like other fundamental skills, this one can help you keep your dog out of trouble for their safety and the safety of others.
• Prepare your dog's favorite training treat and go to a place with zero distractions. Teaching this command can be difficult when many sights, sounds, and smells are pulling attention. You should also ensure the training area is secure so you can teach your dog without a leash.
• Walk away from your dog with a treat in hand. Then, excitedly recite its name along with the command "come." You can also use other gestures, such as snapping your fingers or clapping your hands.
• When your puppy gets up and runs to you, give it the treat and plenty of praise.
• Continue with this exercise while slowly upping the challenge factor. Increase the distance between you and your dog and move into training areas with more distractions. It's also important to practice in different locations so your dog knows the command applies everywhere.
4. Off!
Dogs are naturally curious and adventurous creatures, and they use their paws front paws to explore the world. Young pups, in particular, have a bad habit of leaping up to better interact with people and objects.
Your dog may jump onto the legs of a visitor, make themselves at home on your sofa, or stand with their paws on the table as you eat. All these behaviors can be problematic, especially as your dog grows.
The "Off" command is useful because it can stave off unwanted or dangerous behavior, letting it know that what they're doing is unacceptable. Teaching this training command is trickier.
Unlike the previously mentioned skills, you can't initiate training any time. Instead, you must react to jumping behaviors.
• When your dog jumps onto a person or object, use a treat to divert its attention.
• Provide the treat and praise when all four paws are back on the ground.
• Be vigilant and repeat this training exercise whenever necessary. Eventually, you can remove treats from the equation and use the command to warn your dog of its bad behavior.
5. Leave It
This command is similar to the last. It's about eliminating bad behaviors and ensuring your dog responds appropriately to warnings. Teaching your dog to leave objects alone is crucial.
Dogs love to investigate new smells, and many things in the world can cause them harm. Whether it's disgusting trash, poisonous substances you encounter on your walk, or small toys they can choke on, you need to ensure your dog will respond to warnings.
• To train this skill, you need two treats. One is a low-value treat that will entice your pup. The other is a high-value treat that will excite your pup even more.
• Hold the low-value treat in your fist and show it to your dog. When they go in to investigate, provide the "leave it" command.
• After giving the command, hold the high-value treat in your other hand to divert your dog's attention.
• When your pup stops pawing and sniffing the hand with the low-value treat, reward them with the high-value one.
• Increase the difficulty of this training by increasing how long your dog has to stop interacting with the low-value treat before you reward them.
Puppy Training 101: Tips for Early Success
Canine training is an ongoing effort. In the early stages, getting your pup to listen can be a real challenge. Some owners lose faith in their dogs after repeated failed attempts, but giving up is a disservice to your precious pooch! Here are a few tips to make things go smoothly.
Be Consistent
Consistency is key! Decide what commands and gestures you'll use and stick to them. Switching things up will only confuse your dog. You also want to ensure you always enforce your rules, even outside training sessions.
Establish a Schedule
Develop a training schedule to teach your pup every day. Puppies have short attention spans, so keep training sessions brief for maximum impact.
Keep It Challenging
Up the ante as your puppy learns! Training should provide ongoing mental stimulation. Once your dog gets into the swing of things, make training more difficult to cement your rules and give your pup more things to learn.
Create a Conducive Learning Environment
Conduct your training in quiet, distraction-free areas. Too many disturbances and interruptions will make learning more difficult for your puppy.
Make It Fun
Don't let failures and missteps frustrate you. It takes time for puppies to learn, but that doesn't mean training has to be a bore! Make things fun for you and your dog. Involve the entire family, turn training sessions into a game, and have fun. Remember: Training is also an opportunity to bond with your dog, so make it enjoyable.
Stick to Positive Reinforcement
Positive reinforcement is the best approach to training. Never let your frustrations manifest physically. Hitting or screaming at your puppy will make them fear you, and that's never a good thing. Negative reinforcement can damage your dog for years. Keep things positive and provide plenty of praise when your pup does things right.
Why Are Training Essentials So Important?
It's important to start working on the fundamentals as soon as you bring your puppy home. Despite your young canine companion's potential, they can't realize it all unless you begin early.
Basic training is a key part of a domesticated dog's development, and the core skills we'll discuss soon are vital to helping your pup function in modern society.
Dogs are everywhere you look. When you're out and about, you'll see well-behaved dogs that eagerly listen to their owners. However, you'll also see dogs lacking fundamental skills;
They can be dangerous to themselves and society. No matter how far you plan to take your dog's training, you must knock out the basics first.
Early training helps build confidence and trust. It creates a more structured environment where puppies can learn to trust their owners and feel more secure in their surroundings.
Instead of fearing the unknown and lashing out, training helps dogs feel confident enough to conquer the world, experience new things, and interact with others.
More importantly, fundamentals help ween out bad behaviors early. You've heard the saying, "You can't teach old dogs new tricks." Failing to teach the basics early on can lead to major behavioral problems later. The longer you put training off, the worse those issues can get!
You want to instill foundational skills to teach puppies what you expect out of them and ensure your furry friend doesn't become a problem for your family and community.
Training ensures safety, encourages your dog to adapt to their new home, and makes life easier for everyone. Plus, it's an opportunity to build an unbreakable bond with your puppy.
You can plan for more complex training later. But for now, your top priority should be to knock out the essentials and ensure your dog masters the basics.
Setting Your Puppy Up for Success
There you have it! These five essential training commands make all the difference for growing puppies. They can instill important skills that help your dog adapt to life with humans. The fundamentals can also keep your dog safe during those unpredictable moments.
Start training early and build that foundation of training your puppy needs to thrive. Once they nail the basics, you can move on to more challenging training feats to keep your dog stimulated for years to come.
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