Dog Training Basics – Common Commands

A calm, obedient and faithful dog – it’s what we all want, right? To begin with, obedient and trained dogs are happier dogs, less likely to get into tussles with people or with other dogs. Another reason is that many communities require that the dogs living in their neighborhoods be well trained. This is especially true for many breeds thought to have aggression and behavior problems – large dog breeds such as german shepherds and rottweilers to name a couple. And of course pit bulls are almost synonymous with aggression in many people’s minds.
Now, I have a rottweiler myself, and she’s the soppiest thing out. So I don’t personally subscribe to the view that particular breeds are necessarily aggressive. But nevertheless, large dogs certainly do need to be adequately trained, just because of their size. Larger dogs can be very intimidating to people. And of course, training your dog well will also make he or she a much better family companion, especially in households where there are young children. Many studies have shown that proper dog training makes a big impact when it comes to cutting down the number of dog bits and other behavior problems encountered by dog owning households.
When considering training your own dog, or having someone else help you train it, there are certain basic commands that must be mastered in order for a dog to be considered truly trained.

These basic commands include:

Ø No – the word no is one word that all dogs must learn. Training your dog to respond to this important word can save you a ton of      trouble.
Ø Sit – Training your dog to sit on command is a vital part of any dog training program.
Ø Down – Lying down on command is more than just a cute trick; it is a key component of any successful dog training program.
Ø Stay – A well trained dog should remain where his or her owner commands, so Stay is an important command in dog training. (The      Stay command is not used by all dog trainers. Some are of the view that the command to Sit means “Sit, and stay there until you’re      given another command” – this makes a lot of sense. But many people do like to use the Stay command).
Ø Heel – it is important that any dog learn to walk beside its owner on a loose lead, neither pulling ahead nor lagging behind.
     Dog training does much more than just create an obedient, willing companion. Training your dog properly actually strengthens the      bond that already exists between dog and owner. Dogs are pack animals, and they look to their pack leader to tell them what to do.      The key to successful dog training is to set yourself up as that pack leader.
     Basic obedience training, and ongoing training sessions, provide the dog with an important job to do. This is especially important for      high energy breeds like German shepherds and border collies. Training sessions are a great way for these high energy dogs to use      up their extra energy and simply to enjoy themselves.

(c) Brigitte Smith, Healthy Happy Dogs