Dog Training

Training a dog can seem like a daunting task, especially if you’ve never had a dog before, or if your dog is older. But all dogs can learn! It just takes consistency and patience. There are a few basic commands, which are important for any dog to learn. These basics will help your dog to be well-behaved and can pave the way to more complicated to training, if you are interested in furthering your dog’s education. Over the next few weeks, I will cover these basics in detail.

 

Sit

The Sit command is one of the most basic commands, and also one of the easiest to teach. It’s important for your dog to learn this command to use on its own, and with other commands. It’s especially useful for dogs that tend toward hyper activity and need to be reminded not to jump on people.

To teach this command, small treats will be useful. During training sessions, especially with young dogs, limit your time to 5-10 minutes. Dogs tend to have short attention spans, and the longer you work at something the worse their performance will seem.

 
To begin, stand in front of your dog with a small treat in your hand. Hold your hand over your dog’s nose, close enough that she is not tempted to jump for it. Then slowly move your hand toward the back of her head. As you are moving your hand, say “sit.” It is an unnatural position for her to continue turning her head backward, so she will sit to get more comfortable. As soon as she sits, give her the treat and lots of praise! As you progress with this training and her Sit becomes more consistent, work away from using treats, so that she knows she needs to Sit, whether she gets something for it or not. To release her from Sit, use a simple command, such as “release” or “OK.”

Remember, the most important part of this training exercise, and any other, is consistency and patience. And shower your dog with praise!

 

If you have other training questions or would like a one-on-one training session, contact us at Ammon Veterinary Hospital (208-552-9825) for more information.