dog behavior training

Sit is one of the most useful commands and also one of the easiest to teach. Three reasons for it being useful are:

1. if your dog is in the sitting position, it takes just slightly longer for it to move to another activity and that moment’s delay can be useful, e.g. prior to crossing a road,
2. the sitting position usually means that your dog is focusing on you, ready for the next signal,
3. in a crude form, the sitting position signifies an aspect of submission from your dog, reinforcing that you are the leader.

First get your dog close to you, perhaps initially using a fixed leash if necessary. Then tell him to Sit and apply gentle pressure downwards on the top of his hindquarters, just in front of the tail, at the same time as giving the command. Do not push excessively. If carried out before meals - he’ll start to do this naturally pretty quickly!

Using a small food reward which you move above his head will also usually result your dog naturally sitting down as he lifts his head up. If using rewards for the Sit training, delaying the giving of the reward, though not for too long, will encourage your dog to learn to Sit and Stay until released, which will prove useful.

In addition, telling him to Sit when he is starting to do it anyway, then holding him gently in the Sit position and praising is excellent reinforcement for a young dog.

Relatively simply taught as part of leash training but by using the command “Heel” consistently and repetitively to the same length of leash and position in relation to you, and always on the same side especially when young, it will be effective.

A fixed leash will be best when your dog is young rather than even a fixed length of retractable leash as the latter does not give anything like the same level of quick control, which is made worse by an inexperienced dog.

As with all forms of leash training, if you stop walking when your dog does not comply with the Heel command, then do not move on until he is waiting for you, then you can try again, keeping sessions short and the message will get through.

The key to early success is to stay calm as any scolding or signs of frustration from you will be counter-productive as it is sending the opposite message to many dogs, namely that walking correctly with you usually signifies bad things to your dog.

A further technique for large dogs is to use a food reward held close to your side at the height of your dog’s head to encourage the dog to walk correctly but the reward must only be given for correct behavior; the process must be restarted without the reward being given if your dog is not behaving as required.

Not all owners require their dog to sit before crossing a road or the similar routines, but if you will require it then all of this should be trained together, or in very quick succession while the dog is young to help reinforce each signal to your dog.

Heel should be tried as various speeds as your dog gets used to it, to make sure that the training is effective. Changing direction can also be added in as training progresses.

In the early stages of most advanced training to heel, training the dog to heel while turning left, right or completely around uses treats while on the leash.

In response to a few questions, I decided it is worth incorporating some articles on the standard commands for dog training. Although I thought these are basic, on thinking about it I’ve realised that we all teach dogs in our own way, which is absolutely fine, but a couple of reasons emerged as to why this might be worthwhile:

• some methods take longer than others
• more importantly, if not taught efficiently, some dogs learn variations or additional aspects that might not be quite what is required later and “unlearning” is not much fun for you or your dog

The next few posts are about the individual main commands, and can be found quickly by referring to the category list on the right hand side of this page.

They will cover:

• Sit
• Stay
• Come
• Down / Lie
• Heel
• Other (Quiet, Fetch & Give)

The training of these basic commands are for teaching your dog while it is young and not to the level required for advanced training for shows, etc. These are intended as the basics, while exhibition standards require much tighter control for measures of obedience to be assessed, for example.

In addition, there are also the links around the website which put these commands into context in different situations, as well as the other posts which discuss common behavioral problems, which is the main subject for this site. To make these commands effective, the over-riding points to remember are:

• repetition and consistency, initially when training a puppy and later as part of the normal day-to-day activity with your dog
• a calm and patient approach and tone of voice
• praising, but as your dog grows through the puppy stage, without being over-enthusiastic as it could break a spell in which he is being particularly receptive and more training could be included
• rewarding at the right point and ideally in a reducing pattern as your dog grows and everything about the basic training is becoming natural as it should.

Any dog is best trained when it is at its most alert, not tired (for most of the commands) and possibly even a little hungry. As the dog will be a puppy when learning the basic commands, a short session using food rewards then a smaller meal can prove highly effective.

Both words, Down or Lie, can be used because they are simple commands, but for obvious reasons only use one, or as an alternative but slightly less preferred, “Lie Down” is adequate but again only if used consistently.

Initially this can be done from the sitting position simply by gently pulling his front paws and lowering him to the ground then rewarding and praising, etc.

“Down” from a standing position can also be trained. From both the sitting position or when he is standing, each time he lies down naturally repeat the command and accompanying gesture. As with other basic commands it reinforces the message and praising quickly if possible as the behavior naturally occurs will further encourage your dog.

Bear in mind that he is likely to lie down after exercise, creating an opportunity for you to use the reinforcing “Down” as he does it naturally, so this situation is an exception to the normal training aspect of requiring your dog to be alert.

By using a favorite toy in front of him in the Sit position, by lowering it to the ground directly in front of him, possibly as close as his nose, this will also encourage him to lie down, again as you accompany it with the command and gesture. A food reward will obviously also work but is best used sparingly.

With the behavior of lying down in particular, because it is natural your dog may not realise initially why he is being praised, but after a while through repetition he will. Training him to roll over or a similar further action involving lying down will also make it more natural that he responds to the Lie command.

As part of the training of this command, if done in a timely and non-forcing manner, a gentle touch on your dog’s shoulders as he starts to lie down may prove useful.

As your dog starts getting used to the start of the Down, it is a good idea to make sure that he stays down until told that he can get up. Use of the Stay command is appropriate for non-exhibition training.

Come is the most important command as it will be needed regularly throughout your dog’s life.  Sometimes this might be needed in a tricky situation and for this reason, a very quick response is what is required. It will not always happen but in order to reduce any risk while the dog is young, you must ensure that only the quick response is rewarded.

Come follows on naturally from Stay in an ideal world, but as coming to you will in many cases be more natural for a puppy than staying away, it might not always work in the prescribed sequence initially but should certainly be trained that way as reinforcement as your dog learns the basic set of commands. By doing this to test your dog occasionally as he is learning, it will also allow you to practice of the preferred association of commands and gestures.

Come as a command can be taught most easily initially as you give the puppy its food, by repeating the command as he comes to you, and praising him as he arrives. It will be most easily reinforced by using a retracting lead that you can gently pull towards you when outdoors. This might be done initially as a practice in the garden then as a test of how well he is learning when out on a walk.

A natural practice used with puppies that is not recommended is to encourage it to jump up at you as it reaches you, both as a welcoming and after the “Come” command. With many dogs you want the dog to stay down as it grows older and encouraging it to jump up will at least delay any effective training and might lead to other behavior problems later. No problem with him jumping up, but only when you deem it acceptable.

The other common error is to chase your dog if he is not returning. This might become a game for him, though a game of chase when he is beyond basic training is just good fun. The way to get almost every dog to come back is to walk away and keep walking and he will soon follow.

Accompanying his movement towards you by a bend of your knees often proves useful as it is a gesture that your dog can see from some distance and can be used to encourage him not to jump when trained well.

Stay naturally follows on from the Sit command. Remain facing him after he sits down, and walk backwards as you say “Stay”. By repetition at lengthening distances as your dog gets used to the training, eventually your dog will succeed at this.

An accompanying gesture is useful; don’t confuse this with another gesture, and because “Stay” will be one of the most frequent commands, use something really simple, for example pointing at where he is sat or a slightly raised hand always in the same position in relation to your body.

In case of any difficulties, Stay is one of those commands that can be reinforced simply with persistence with most dogs. If he comes back to you before you want him to, lead him back to the same spot he was in, get him to Sit then back slowly away again and repeat the process.

A retractable lead could be used but is not advisable in any early stages this might confuse your dog into thinking that you actually want him to come to you because the lead is attached to him. I have seen it recommended and it might be suitable for some situations, especially with a slightly older dog being trained for obedience trials, but with most puppies in my experience this will not work very well.

Stepping over or around your dog while he is in the Stay position will measure your success and may form part of the Stay training. As with Sit, encouraging your dog to Stay until you release him will prove useful. Try to succeed with this command without using food rewards as they will usually be counter-productive.

Practice the Quiet by using treats in a normal way. Raising a finger to your mouth as the accompanying “hush” gesture, as well as being natural, is also distinct enough to be used in training your dog. A useful reinforcing technique is to use the Quiet command and accompanying praise while your dog is already lying quietly.

Fairly natural to many breeds, Fetch is more a fun game than a necessary command for non-working dogs. It can be trained initially by using the Fetch command and gesture as your dog follows you with something in its mouth that it then gives you in return for a reward.

Give is a natural simple command to make him return the toy and should be trained with the Fetch as one routine that is only rewarded when completed properly. One way to train this idea effectively is to tie the object being thrown to a string that you can pull back to you.