Tricks to Teach Your Puppy Today
If you have a puppy or a young dog, the chances are that you are heavily invested in their training at the moment. From housetraining to imparting the most basic and important commands on the young dog, there can be a lot to get your head around in the early days as you all get used to each other and begin to form a bond. One of the best things you can do for your puppy is to enrol them into a puppy class that is open to dogs of a similar age to yours.
The best thing about taking your pup to a puppy class is that you and your dog will grow a lot in confidence throughout the course and will build a solid, trusting relationship. Furthermore, puppy classes are one of the best places to get your new dog socialised and used to a range of stimuli that can cause anxiety if they are not properly introduced. Dogs that attended puppy classes during the optimal developmental stage are less prone to aggression, fear aggression, anxiety and excessive boisterousness.
With that being said, it is never too late to teach your dog something new, and you can of course work with your dog to teach them things outside of their puppy class. In fact, it is highly recommended that you don’t keep your training to the classes alone because this means your dog is learning to listen to your commands in different settings and situations, which helps their information retention and gets their minds working.
Sit
The sit command is one of the very first instructions that most dogs will learn, and it is very important that they are able to sit on command reliably. It is one of the commands that is easier for most dogs to grasp, but it is also very useful. Being able to get your dog to sit can make it easier to teach them impulse control, and is important for safety. For example, you can teach your dog to sit on the curb before you cross the road. Getting them into this habit means they are far less likely to dash into the road and will only proceed when they have your say so.
Recall
Tricky but absolutely essential, recall is teaching your dog to come back to you on command when they are off leash or otherwise far away or distracted. Tools such as dog whistles for recall can help make this process easier, and using a whistle means your commands will always be consistent and you will be able to relay commands in a way that does not convey any emotion that can confuse matters, especially if you have a sensitive dog.
Stay
The stay command has your dog remain in place until you release them and allow them to move away. This is a great one to use when you need your dog to stay where they are, such as at an open doorway or away from something in particular. The ‘stay’ command is similar to the ‘wait’ command, but there is a key difference.
Wait
The ‘wait’ command is similar to the ‘stay’ command, but as the ‘stay’ command is meant to keep your dog in one place until you release them, you would use ‘wait’ if there is something your dog wants, either food, a toy, or to greet someone and you want them to wait until you give them the OK. This is extremely useful for teaching impulse control and feeding time is a good time to practice this command. Something to keep in mind is that some dogs are prone to resource guarding and food might be a trigger for them to show aggression.
Place a single treat or biscuit in front of your dog and tell them to wait. If they go straight for the food, cover it with your hand and tell them to wait. Keep your hand in place until they stop trying to get the food and look at you, then move your hand and tell them OK. If they go for the treat again without your OK then cover the treat again and repeat until they are able to wait until you release them.
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