Latest Posts

Hey, I am Daniela Carrera, a certified dog trainer. Today I want to share with you 3 simple tricks to teach your new puppy the basic commands that every dog should know. By Daniela Carrera Before we start, here’s what you need to begin training and get the best results. Training a dog to walk unleashed Training Essentials to Have I always ensure I have all the things in the place with me before I begin training any dog. You can’t rush to get things later as it destroys your and your dog’s rhythm and concentration. 1. Find an appropriate space to train. If you are a beginner and your dog has never been a part of any training, it’s very important to find a place to train that is free of any kind of distractions. Distractions can be children playing, any kind of noises around, other pets nearby, or television playing in the background. I always try to find an isolated room or backyard for this purpose. If your puppy bites the leash while walking with you, check my step-by-step guide for settling this problem. 2. Get low-calorie treats for training purposes. You can use bully sticks for dogs cut into small pieces or even kibbles if your dog is food-motivated. 3. Get a training pouch to carry the treats. As soon as you observe the desired behavior, give your puppy the treats from your pouch. 3 Easy Tricks to Teach Your Dog Basic Commands #1: Teaching your dog to How to Sit 1. Hold a training treat in your hand above your pup’s head, right in front of his nose. Move your hand upwards in slow and gentle motion. Your dog will lean back and follow your hands with his eyes. 2. After a couple of minutes, your puppy will sit down as he cannot look up at your hands while standing for a long period. As soon as your dog sits, reward the behavior immediately with the training treats and say the command “Sit”. 3. Practice steps 1 and 2 multiple times a day. You will see that your puppy needs less and less time to sit after your ‘Sit’ command and/or your hand signal. 4. After a few days, your dog will do it with just the ‘Sit’ command. My Expert Tip: Never try to force your puppy’s back to the ground. This can not only hurt him but it’s also a kind of negative reinforcement which is never good for a strong bond between the owner and the dog. #2: Teaching Your Dog How to Stay Teaching your puppy to stay is very important in terms of its safety. I would advise you to teach your puppy the ‘Sit’ command before moving towards the ‘Stay’ command. 1. Start with a ‘Release’ command. Make your puppy sit, then toss a treat in front of your puppy and give a ‘Release’ command to let them know they are allowed to stand. Practice this for a few days. 2. Tell your puppy to sit and take a step back. If your puppy is still staying in the ‘sit’ position after you have moved back a step, say ‘stay’ in a clear voice and reward your puppy with treats. Use a hand signal while giving this ‘stay’ instruction, like a stop sign. If your puppy moves when you step back, keep trying again. 3. If the dog doesn’t move after you have taken a step back and this happens regularly, it’s time to increase the distance. Take 2-3 steps back saying “stay”, and keep rewarding if your puppy doesn’t move. 4. Practice this till the time you can leave the room with your dog staying in the same position. This whole process can take around 2-3 weeks. My Expert Tip: Keep this command as a priority in your training because this command can be really crucial in certain situations. For example, the front door of your house stays open and your dog tries to run outside. In this situation, you can stop him by giving the ‘Stay’ command. Training a dog in a game #3: Teaching Your Dog to Lay Down Teaching your puppy to lay down is one of the basic commands though it’s often ignored. This command is important in cases when your dog is getting aggressive or going out of control. For example, you have guests at your home and your dog starts to jump on your guests. You can use this command to make your dog lay on the ground and don’t bother anyone. Your dog should be taught the ‘Sit’ command before you teach him the ‘Lay Down’ command. “Lay Down” is easy to learn just like the ‘Sit’ command. 1. Have your puppy sit. Hold the treat in your hand and slowly move your hand in a downward motion toward the floor. Your dog will follow your hands and stoop low. When they stoop low to get the treat, reward them for this. 2. Continue with step 1 until your dog starts to lay down. Also, keep saying the command as you gradually move the treat downward. 3. Your puppy may lie down but will get up immediately as well. Keep practicing, and he will start to lie down for longer periods. My Expert Tip: You can find that your puppy doesn’t reach the floor exactly, but hovers over the floor with the support of his elbows. This is not exactly laying down. You can still reward it with a treat in the beginning but get stricter with every new training. These are some very basic commands but if you have taught your dog how to obey them in his puppyhood, it would be easier for you to correct various behavioral problems (jumping, over-aggressiveness, etc.) later in his life. Also Read: Teach Your Dog Russian Dog Commands I hope you have found these tricks easy enough to start training your puppy right away. And remember: practice turns a dog owner into a trainer :) About the Author Daniela Carrera has an extensive background in dog training and dog care. She has been in professional dog training for more than 8 years and she has helped many dog owners to correct the problems with their dogs. Daniela also teaches new dog trainers who want to make a career in this field. Read more about dog training on our Russian Dog website.