Q&A: What is the best method to teach a dog very basic obediance commands?
Question by Tim: What is the best method to teach a dog very basic obediance commands?
Commands such as Stay, Come, Sit, Here,…
Has never had a dog and we just inherited an illbehaved dog from my grandparents, who are now too old to handle him. Any help will be put to good use.
Best answer:
Answer by cindy loo
repetition
What do you think? Answer below!
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Take it to a dog trainer, they work wonders
You show the dog or slowly get them to do the trick. When They do the trick, give them a treat or scratch them behind the ears as a reward. This makes them think that if they do that, they will get a reward, so they will have an insentive.
you should keep on repeating the command and then forcing them to do the command so then they’ll know what they’re suposed to do
There is a WONDERFUL small book called Communicating With Your Dog. You could get it out of the library or order it. It works!
First ypu shoud start with sit. what you do is tell the dog to sit 2 times and if he duznt then you force him to sit keep doing that and when he duz it on his own you give him a treat. than you try stay. you tell ur dog to sit and then start walking away while saying firmly SIT. then you try running and getting exited after you tell him to stay.
when training, try using hand movements rather than words. for “sit”, you want to take a little piecie of kibble in your hands, let him sniff it, and raise your hand so that his head looks up and naturally he sits. Sometimes they try to jump because they don’t know what else to do but theyll get it. There are some really good dog training books with pictures, you should look into one of them.
Good on you for taking it in. However, you’ve got your work cut out for you, mainly because it wasn’t trained prior. BUT there is hope- my suggestion, as a dog owner/ obedience training participent is DON’T TRY TO DO IT ALONE! – contact your local RSPCA (dog shelter)/VET (in phone book) and arrange for you and dog to attend some classes, they are usually relatively inexpensive, fun and informal – it is money well spent, and considering your situation you should end up with a wonderful family pet. Good Luck
The Basics
SIT, COME, DOWN, STAY, HEEL.
SIT
Holding a treat in your left hand just above the pup’s nose, gently rest your right hand on pup’s rump.
Slowly move the treat in an upward motion while applying gentle pressure to the rump. ( you dont want to push hard because if you do the dog will sit every time someone touches him and this is not good for competitive obedience)
as soon as pup sits say in a very happy excited tone “GOOD SIT” and give the treat.
Repeat excersize 7x. then take a play break and move on to something elce.
very young pups should not train for more than a half hour each day
every time you put food bowl down or give a treat give the sit command, and wait for the sit. then once pup sits give treat or food down.
DO NOT move on to something new until pup has the new command down pat.
COME
walk away from pup about 10 feet to start. say pup’s name and “COME” in a happy voice. once pup comes praise it lavishly have a bit of a play and give it a treat.
Gradually increase the distance you walk away. and eventually once pup knows command only treat every 3rd come. tappering off until he comes every time with out treat using only praise.
this will take a few days to learn if you practice every day.
DOWN
Start with pup in sit. move hand with the treat between the pup’s front paws on the ground.
Say “DOWN” in firm but not loud voice.
pup might try and get treat without going down, dont let him have it until he downs.
praise in happy voice “GOOD DOWN”
repeat 7x
STAY
Start pup in down possition. say “STAY” in firm voice. walk to end of leash, backwards. if the pup moves say once only “AP” in a not pleased tone. go back do not say anything. put pup in down again repeat “STAY” walk backwards to end of leash.
pup does NOT get praise or treat untill he stays for 30 seconds, then a minute, then 5 minutes. move times up each week.
after he can do a 5 minute down/stay every time. move on to a sit/stay doing exactly what you did for down/stay.
Once on leash sit and down/stays are reliable for 5 minutes each. drop the leash and walk away from your pup, your back to the pup. about 10 feet away. wait 5 min. recall your dog. with dog sitting in front of you once he reaches you. treat and praise.
HEEL
Please do NOT train with a choke collar. i recomend martin gayles.
with dog on a short leash exactly beside you on your left side say “HEEL” if the dog starts to pull give a correction snap with leash on collar. and recomand “HEEL” the second your dog complies peaise with “GOOD HEEL” in happy voice. and continue to walk , correct, and praise for 30 minutes.
Allways end training sessions on a positive note. Never get angery with your pup for not responding to a command. Praise lavishly every time pup responds to a command.
NEVER hit your dog. NO reason is an acceptable reason for physicaly abusing your pup
Read Training Your Dog: Step by Step – Volhard
Agree on rules that you expect the dog to obey and be firm about enforcing them.
Check out http://www.akc.org for an obedience training club in your area. They often have classes that are much cheaper and have trainers that are much better than the so-called “professionals”. If you do hire a trainer, get one through a recommendation from a satisfied customer.