Once the previous points have been taken into account, we can talk about the most basic commands and the first ones that we should teach our dog K9 training Houston.
Teach him to answer the call
The first thing your dog should learn is his name. Taking this into account is the beginning of any order . After this, what you have to learn is to respond to the call. This can save you from more than one trouble, especially when taking them for a walk.
To teach a command, it is advisable to choose a short word and a gesture . This will be accompanied by a specific tone. For this order, the normal thing is the word “come” and pointing our finger at our position. To practice this order at home:
Stay away from your dog.
Get his attention by calling his name or touching his chopsticks.
Give the order clearly and firmly.
When the dog obeys, it is important to reward him . To do this, there are dog treats. But these treats will only be given very occasionally . It is best to pet him and play with him as a reward.
If the dog does not obey, try from closer and insist until he does so and relates the command to the action. When he sees himself rewarded, he will want to do it all the time because it will be like a game for him.
Teach him to sit
This is another of the basic orders. This command is very useful to avoid unwanted situations, such as running after something or crossing the road at the wrong time. It also works in case it bothers you at home at mealtime, for example.
It is better to start with the sit command before the stand command, since this does not involve any movement. Stand next to him, looking down on him. Choose the word with which you want to give the order. “Sit” or “sienta” are the most common. Accompany this with a hand gesture . The normal thing is that at first they don’t pay attention because they don’t know what you are asking. You can start by accompanying the order with a few taps on the tail. When he sits down, praise him.
To get the dog to stand up and we can start over, you can pat your legs. With this gesture they tend to get up and greet you. If it doesn’t work, take a couple steps and call him. This way you can review the first order.
Teach him to stay still
At first, instead of standing far from the dog, we will stand next to it. We will start walking and the most normal thing is that the dog comes with us. At a certain point, we will stop while we call him by his name and say “STOP!”, pointing with our finger or the palm of our hand . We will do this several times, walking throughout the house. We can also try to stop, to see if he stops with us or continues forward. This is very practical for walk time. This way it is more likely that he will not pull on the leash when walking .
When we see that this works and that the dog responds to our command, we will try something different. Tell him to sit down and get away from him. When you are as far away as you can, call him. Halfway there, say “STOP!” . If it stops, try going back to the previous command: “SIT!” And when he does, we return to the first order: “COME!” This is how we go over all the orders.
Remember to congratulate him when he reaches you.
You can also try giving him some food or a toy that he really likes and asking him to stay still in front of her. The prize, if you obey, will be this food. But this doesn’t work at first . First you will have to have assimilated the orders well.
Bonus: teach him to give his paw
This “trick” is not the most practical for a well-behaved dog. Unlike the previous orders, this one only serves to show off your dog. But it is one of the most typical and requested tricks, so we will tell you how to get it. It will be much easier if you have a treat on hand to reward him .
The first step is to order them to sit. Although they can paw while standing, it is much easier for them and they will be more focused if you have already caught their attention.
Once seated, get down to his level and show him the treat. Don’t let him pick it up, he just has to smell it and know it’s there.
Put your hand palm up in front of him and ask him for the paw: “PAW!” If you see movement, encourage him until he gives you the paw and gets his reward. If not, at first, you can tap him on his paw so he can sense what you want from him.
Always accompany the hand gesture with the order . Thus, little by little you will observe that both with the gesture and with the order he will give you his paw to get his reward. The normal thing is that, once they learn it, they use this gesture to ask for anything: food, going outside, affection, a game…
You should know that…
These orders can take days or weeks for them to learn to follow them. But once they learn them, it will be much easier to take them for walks and teach them more things. Furthermore, since patience and affection are an important ingredient, it will help you share a lot of time. Something essential to gain the trust and loyalty of your dog, especially if he is a newcomer to your home . You will appreciate all the time spent with your dog. Those hours are invaluable.