Every dog, whether adopted as an adult or a puppy, needs to be trained. Even if they already have some training, a new owner needs to establish a relationship with their new dog, and a great way to do that is with positive-reinforcement training.
These are the top five dog commands every dog needs to know.
Learn Your Name
Every dog needs to learn their name. It’s the easiest thing to teach, too, since you just need to say it often enough for them to recognize it.
This won’t be difficult… In face, it will come naturally with time. Just keep at it.
Sit
I’m sure this isn’t a surprise to you, but the top dog training tip I give out is to teach your dog to sit on command, immediately and despite any distractions.
This seems simple, but it is actually really difficult!
When a dog is overly excited, they don’t want to sit down, they want to jump all over the source of their excitement. Training your dog to sit in a bunch of different situations will really strengthen your bond with them, as well as protect them in the case of a car or an off-leash incident.
Down
Next is the down command. This can be said as just down or as the phrase ‘lay down’.
This is really easy to teach because your dog probably lays down all the time! All you need to do is start saying, “Yes, down, good girl/boy,” every time you see them lay down.
Stay
People are often surprised to learn that I suggest the stay command next, and in fact often recommend it be taught in tandem with sit. Why?
It’s the natural progression, and it’s imperative for your dog’s safety.
Sit-Stay is an easy complex command to teach your dog. It will give you way more control in dog parks, on walks, and when you have visitors.
Come
Recall is one of the hardest tricks for your dog to learn. Think about it; if you were off playing, would you want to turn around and come when called? No way!
Your dog is like a toddler. They want to keep playing no matter what. It takes a lot of work to get them to actually listen when you call them, but once you’ve mastered this command you will be in really great shape no matter where you go.
Why ‘stay’ before ‘come’? Suppose your dog gets off-leash and runs across the street. You don’t want to yell ‘come’ if a car is coming too! You want them to sit and stay. That’s why stay comes first.
Yes/No
Strange that these come last, huh? Nope! That was by design.
While these are mandatory commands for all dog-owners, they’re not the most important by any means.
Plus, they’ll probably come naturally. It’s likely that you’ll often say, “Yes, sit,” or “No, drop it,” when you have a new dog.
Dogs are intuitive learners. They’ll be able to tell by your tone that ‘yes’ is good and ‘no’ is bad.
Want to learn some new commands?
I made a short e-book for this purpose!
In ‘Five Must-Have Puppy Training Commands’ I divulge my secrets for teaching your dog to recognize their name, sit, lay down, stay, get out/off, and stand so that you can easily start training your new dog.
Check it out by filling out the form below and it will be sent to your email.
