Puppy Obedience Basics

February 1, 2009 by Tracy
Filed under Adolescent Dogs, Behaviors, Dog Ownership, Dog Training, Obedience Training

Puppy obedience starts from the moment you come home with your puppy. It is kept simple and you motivate your pup to do everything. There is no forcing here, keep it fun! Use small food treats and toys.

This will show leadership on your part and shape your pups behavior, which is much easier then changing bad behavior later on. Training your pup is a “lifestyle”! Remember you are training your pup all of the time and every time you interact with him. Even if you not thinking about training your puppy.

NOTE: Keep your commands specific with only one meaning. Example: if “down” means lay on the floor then don’t use “down” when you want your pup to get off of you or off of something else by saying “get down” this will be confusing to the pup.

Remember you don’t want to get into the habit of using a lot of verbal wording to stop your pup from doing something or you could just end up giving your pup negative attention and wonder why he is repeating the behavior.

Part of teaching your puppy obedience is to teach him to always look at you. If your pup isn’t looking at you DON’T talk to him. If you want to say something to him make a kissing sound so the pup looks at you and gives you eye contact as you say “ready”, then praise him with “good ready” and then speak to him.

It is important to ALWAYS have your dog’s attention before interacting with him no matter what you are doing with him. Soon you won’t have to make the kissing sound just give the command, “ready”.

Help your pup do a “sit” when you feed him by holding his food bowl up over his head and back slightly, not so high that he jumps up, but low enough that he will automatically go into the sit position. Don’t ask for the “sit” at this point until you are sure your pup will give you the “sit” position every time, then ask for the “sit” as your pup starts to give you the behavior.

Praise and release with a word like “okay” and place the food bowl on the floor for him. Important you must release your pup BEFORE he gets up! This keeps you in the leadership role, very important. If he does get up, say “No” and gently replace him in the “sit” position, wait a few seconds before releasing.

You can ask your pup for a “sit” by using a small food treat or toy for motivation. Do this whenever you want to pet your pup, play, throw a toy, put on his leash, or go out the door. Do this any time you want to interact with your pup. Later you can do this with the “down” too.

The next step in puppy obedience is to teach your puppy to do a “down” position. Start from the “sit” position WITHOUT saying the command “sit” motion for it instead. You should be on the floor with your pup and have him on one side or the other.

Have small food treats (or toy) in your hand and make sure the pup sees or smells it, then promptly place your hand on the floor with the food treat directly in front of the pup and wait. You DON’T say anything at this point.
If your pup tries to get up gently keep his butt on the floor in the “sit” position with your other hand then remove your hand. Touch is distracting, use it as little as possible. Tap the floor with the food treat a couple of times to refocus the pup.

Be patient and your puppy will eventually go into the “down” position. When he does, instantly release the food treat to him as you verbally praise him. Get him to look at you with the kissing sound and or “ready” and then release him with “okay”.

When your pup is giving you this “down” position every time you can start giving the command, “down”, at the same time as you place your treat hand on the floor, tap the floor if necessary. Praise! (When tapping the floor never take the treat back up to the pup’s nose, small little taps will be sufficient to get your pups attention and to refocus him.) NOTE: When giving the verbal command, never repeat it, say it only once!

To teach your pup to hold any position longer give little food treats every few seconds. Building the time slowly, then decreasing the number of food treats given. If you don’t ask your pup for more he won’t give you more! Build on wins! Always verbally praising your pup! Remember to always get his attention BEFORE you release him.

Tracy Lenderink, Master Trainer
“Master In Creating A Bride of Knowledge Between The Animal And Human Spirit”
http://www.simpledogtrainingsecrets.com

Link to this page