Training a dog means more than just learning a couple of tricks that make us laugh, education stimulates the dog's mind and facilitates coexistence as well as their attitude in public.
It is important to be patient and start working on this project as soon as possible, as it encourages your union and improves the quality of life for both of you. However, the question of "where to start" may arise, since dog training covers a huge world for those who have just decided to adopt a dog for the first time, especially.
If this is your case, on our site we recommend that you start by taking your new companion to the vet, deworm him and vaccinate him following his instructions. At the same time, you can start teaching him to go to the bathroom and start with the basic dog training commands Don't you know them? Keep reading and discover them!
1. Seated
The first thing to teach a dog is to sit. It's the easiest command to teach and it comes naturally to him, so it won't be that hard for him to learn this action. If you can make him sit up and understand that this is the position to order food, go outside or just whenever he wants you to do something, it will be much better than if he learns to do it by jumping.
To get it, follow these steps:
- Get a treat or prize for your dog.
- Let him smell it, then wrap your closed fist around it.
- Stand in front of your dog while he pays attention to you and waits for the treat.
- With the dog's attention fixed on the fist start to follow an imaginary line towards the dog's rear, passing over head.
- Instinctively the dog will sit.
- Do several repetitions and begin to include a physical and a verbal signal, such as "sit" or "sienta".
At first the dog will not understand, maybe he tries to turn or turn around, keep trying until he sits down. Once he gets it, give him a prize while saying "Good boy!", "Very good!" or any other positive phrase.
You can take the word you want to teach him the command, you just have to take into account that dogs tend to remember simple words more easily. Once you select the order, you must always use the same one. If one day you say "sit", another "sit" and another "sit", your dog will not internalize it and, therefore, will not pay attention to you.
Isn't that clear to you? Discover in the following video how to teach a dog to sit:
two. Still
Although it is probably the most boring exercise for a dog, it is essential that it learns to stand still in one place, because when they come visit, go for a walk down the street or simply want it to be away from something or someone, it will be the best way to achieve it.
And how can we make it stop? Following these steps:
- Ask your dog for a sit.
- Make a physical and a verbal signal that you are going to use for this exercise, people usually show an open palm and say "quiet".
- Go back a step or two, approach and reward the dog.
- Repeat this procedure so that your dog begins to understand the exercise.
- Once your dog begins to understand, repeat gradually increasing the time.
- When your dog remains still for 10 seconds or more, repeat taking a few more steps away.
- Keep practicing going further and further back progressively.
- When you get him to stay still, give him the command and walk away. If he comes after you, go back to him and give him the command again.
- Increase the distance until your dog is practically still even at more than 10-15 meters, or despite being called another person.
If your dog has difficulty staying still, you should try it from lying down. Here's how to teach your dog to lie down.
Do you want to see it on video? Find out below how to teach a dog to stay still:
3. Lying down
Next to sitting, getting him to lie down is another of the basic commands for dogs that are easier to achieve. In addition, it is a logical process, since we can say "quiet", then "sit" and then "lie down" or "grave". The dog will associate it quickly and in the future it will do so almost automatically.
- Stand in front of your dog and say "sit".
- Get a treat and, from sitting down, lower your hand to the ground until the dog lies down.
- Repeat until he understands and add a physical signal and a verbal signal.
- When he lies down, give him the treat and say "good boy!", as well as pet him to reinforce that attitude.
If you use the trick of hiding the prize in your hand, you will have to gradually remove it so that it learns to lie down even without a treat.
Dog doesn't want to lie down? Discover in this video how to teach a dog to lie down:
4. Come here
We don't want our dog to run away, ignore us and don't come to our call. That is why the call is the fourth basic command when it comes to training a dog, because if we do not get it to come towards us it will be difficult to sit it down, lie it down or stop it.
- Put a reward in your hand or under your feet and yell "come here!", "here" or "come", to your dog without him realizing that you have put that reward. At first he won't understand you, but when you point to that piece of food or trinket he will come quickly. As soon as he arrives tell him "good boy!" and feel it.
- Go to another place and repeat the same action, this time without reward. If it doesn't, put it back on until your dog associates "come here!" with the call.
- Increase the distance more and more until you get the dog to listen to you from many meters away. If he associates that the reward is waiting for him, he will not hesitate to run to you as soon as you call him.
Remember to reward him every time he complies with the basic order for dogs, positive reinforcement is the best way to educate a dog and any other animal.
Does your dog not come to the call? Discover how to teach a dog to come here:
5. Walk alongside or together
leash pulls are the most common problem when we go for a walk. We can get him to come and sit and lie down, but as soon as we start walking all he will do is pull to sniff or try to catch anything. This is the most complicated part of this basic dog training guide, but with patience we will get him to walk with us.
- Start walking your dog down the street and as soon as he starts pulling tell him "sit down!". Tell him to sit in the same position, right or left, that you use when you say "stay!".
- Repeat the command "stay!" and pretend you're going to start walking. If he doesn't stay still, repeat the order again until he obeys you. When you get it, tell him "come on!" so that it can then resume walking.
- When he moves away again say "together!" and point to the side you have chosen so that he stays still. If he ignores you or moves further away, say "no!" and repeat the previous command until he comes and sits down, which is what he will do automatically.
- Never punish him for not coming or yell at him in a bad way. The dog should associate standing and not pulling with something good, so you should reward him every time he comes and stays
Other more advanced dog commands
Although the aforementioned are the basic commands that every owner must know to start training their dog correctly, there are others at a more advanced level that we can begin to practice once we have internalized the first ones.
- " Trae". This order is used in canine obedience for the collection, the reception of some object. For example, if we want to teach our dog to fetch the ball, or any other toy, it will be essential to educate it so that it learns both the order "search" as well as "fetch" and "release".
- " Jump". Especially for those dogs that will practice Agility, the "jump" command will allow them to jump the fence, wall, etc., when their owner tells them to.
- " Ahead". This command can be used for two different purposes, as a command to indicate that the dog runs forward, or as a release command so that the dog understands that he can stop the work he was doing. Since the most common is the first one, we can also substitute the word for "ve" or the German translation "voraus".
- " Search". As we mentioned, with this command our dog will learn to track an object that we have thrown or hidden somewhere in the home. With the first option we will be able to keep our dog active, entertained and, above all, free of tension, stress and accumulated energy. With the second, we will stimulate your mind and your sense of smell.
- " Loose". With this command, our dog will return the object found and brought back to us. Although it may seem that "search" and "bring" is enough, educating the dog so that it learns to drop the ball, for example, will prevent us from having to extract the toy from its mouth ourselves and will allow us to have a calmer companion.
Positive reinforcement
As specified in each of the basic commands for dogs, positive reinforcement is always the key to getting them to internalize them and enjoy while playing with us. You should never impose punishments that cause physical or psychological damage to the dog. This way, you'll go for a forceful "No" when you want to show him that he should correct his behavior and a effusive "Very good" or "Good boy" whenever he deserves it. Likewise, we must remember that it is not recommended to abuse training sessions, since you would only manage to develop stress in your dog.
You must be patient to teach your dog the basic commands, because you won't do it for two days. This basic training will make the walks more comfortable and the visitors will not have to be "suffering" the extra affection of your dog. If you have any questions or want to add a special technique that you know for any of the points, see you in the comments.
