Christopher Mollo
Are you getting disheartened because your dog jumps up on people when you are visiting your friends? Can’t understand why your dog runs away from you at the park while everyone else’s obediently comes back? The hard truth is that your dog may require obedience training. Obedience training is a simple, effective and enjoyable activity to undertake if you have the right demeanor and a lot of patience.
The basics of dog obedience training are teaching your dog to sit, stay, come, heel, and roll over. These basic training commands will be extremely beneficial to you later on in your dog’s life. When you go out with your dog you don’t want him to be running wild in the street, you want to show him off for the great dog that he is! Dog obedience training can be achieved in a matter of weeks with the right attention, dedication and patience.
There are many different obedience classes available. So, if you can’t instruct your dog by yourself there are plenty of professionals willing to help. If you go with professional training will you be training your dog as well as socializing him with other dogs. Dogs are kind of like children to an extent, except with a lot of fur! In other words, they need to be taught the difference between right and wrong.
I always find that treats are a great method of dog obedience training. You simply award them with a special treat when they have done something you have asked them to do. If they don’t respond, they don’t receive a treat. There is no point in yelling at your dog as he will only become wary of you and you don’t want that. You want to form a happy, loving relationship with him. After all, a dog is a man’s best friend!
When teaching your dog obedience try and keep him away from distractions (like toys), and take him to an empty field or park where there aren’t many people. The ideal surroundings will be only you and him. Tell him firmly but nicely that you want him to sit, then take your hand and place it on his back and gently guide his bottom down. When he is sitting down say “sit”, and tell him he’s a good boy and then present him with a treat. Repeating this over and over again will make him realize that when you say “sit”, you mean for him to sit. When he gets rewarded, soon enough he will
know to sit when you tell him to and the treats will no longer be necessary.
Getting him to stay is a completely different matter. You’ll probably need another person to help you with that. Get him to sit (now that he has learned how), and get a friend to hold him. Walk away from him slowly while telling him to “stay”, and using your hand hold it up firmly (doing this will make him understand that when you hold your hand up in the future you want him to stay as well, not just when you instruct him to). Then, give it a few seconds and let your friend release him. When he comes to you, make him sit and tell him how awesome he is! Don’t forget to reward him! While using this technique you are also teaching your dog how to come to you as well. Don’t forget to say the word “come” to him, not just his name.
When dogs are born they are like soft putty, they need to be molded and shaped. You can teach your dog from any age, but the younger you start the easier it will be. Remember, you CAN teach an old dog new tricks, they just might be a little slower to learn!•