Beyond the Pavement: Essential Commands for your Dog

We’re back! This month I want to look at the basics of how to train a dog, and maybe I'll even introduce you to another of my friends with paws. 

Where should I begin? There are so many things to know about training dogs, what treats to use, where you should train, how long, how many times, what should you train, the questions are honestly, endless. 

I’ll start with the basics, what treats should you use? Well, that depends on your dog. I have often been told to buy some high quality treats, but my dog Harley is a very picky eater and doesn't like normal treats, so I use regular meat and cheese. If you choose this option make sure your dog doesn't get sick by those foods and that you don't use too much. I’ve also trained dogs using regular treats (some homemade, some store bought) and it really doesn't make a difference as long as your dog likes the treats you are using. 

Another thing to consider is training with just a toy. I walk a dog named Bennet, and have trained him a lot, and he is very toy driven so that is an option as well. This works best outside so everytime they listen to a command you can throw the toy for them. 

Now, how long and how many times should you train? I believe this depends really on what you are training, if you are teaching one command your six week old puppy probably will lose interest after fie minutes. Usually train for about ten minutes, some exceptions might be if you are training on a walk (which I highly recommend). This is where you take your dog for a walk and practice commands in a busy setting, another dog walking, a vehicle roaring past, or a kid, you need to be able to trust that your dog will listen to you no matter the circumstances.

So keep training short and fun, even if you're only training for ten minutes, take a few breaks to play with a toy, this keeps training something to look forward to, not a chore, for you and your dog. 

What should you be training your dog? My dog Harley actually knows very few commands but I did make a point of teaching her some important ones, while with Bennet I taught him over ten commands since he is a big boxer and without these commands he would be uncontrollable. 

The biggest command your dog should know is “No”. When your dog goes to eat something dangerous, naturally you will say “No” before saying “Leave it”. This command can be used in a variety of scenarios and basically means pause. 

Another one is “Here” or “Come” I have taught both, it doesn't matter which one you use since they mean the same thing, but “Come” is more natural and I have found myself saying “Come” and then realizing the dog has no idea what that means. This command is really important no matter what, but especially if you like having your dog off leash.

Some others I would start by training are; sit, down (or lie down), stay, okay (this is a release command). 

I watched a ton of videos on how to train dogs and found that a lot of them work with a dog like Bennet (high food and toy drive, young) but didn’t work as well with Harley (older, not as high food drive, no toy drive). So keep your dog's personality in mind when training, and also some dogs don’t need as many commands. 

These are the commands Harley and Bennet know;

Harley-

• Sit

• Down

• Come

• No

Bennet-

• Sit 

• Down

• Here

• No

• Stay

• Sit at any road crossings

• Toy (find ball or frisbee)

• Up (jump onto surface pointed at)

• Shake a paw

• Wait (stop walking until I reach him)

• Leave it

• Drop it

• Gentle (walk slower, calm down)

The reason Bennet knows so many commands is because he simply needs them, he is a very high energy dog and having these commands helps him focus on what I need him to do and makes every walk and play session enjoyable for the both of us. For instance, he always wanted to walk across roads and there was a risk he would get hit. So I trained him to sit at road crossings until I whistled, signaling him to continue walking. This keeps him safe and makes it more enjoyable. 

If you notice your dog is struggling with something, a command often solves that problem, so I encourage you to find some treats or a toy and train your dog, they deserve it and so do you. 

If you have any questions or a topic you would like me to cover email me at; everythinginbetween55@gmail.com