Training Tip: 7 Essential Dog Commands
When you get a new dog, whether it’s a puppy or an adult rescue, they will need some basic obedience training. To be more specific, a well-behaved pup should respond to seven (7) directions to become a good canine citizen. The commands that we are about to teach you are the ones most people will use with their pets on a routine basis.
- Sit – This is the easiest command for dogs to learn. Once a dog can sit, you can move on to the other training commands.
- Lay Down – This is a great command to control your dog in the event of wanderlust. Let’s say that your dog spots something across the street and they start to jet off and get it. Using the “lay down” command will (should!) stop the dog in its tracks.
- Stay – This command is much like “lay down”. A dog who knows how to stay won’t run into the street if they get loose.
- Come – If you plan to take your dog anywhere off-leash, they must know how to come when called. This can always keep them safe.
- Heel – Dogs of all sizes should learn to heel, which means to walk calmly by their side. This is especially useful if you exercise your dog in busy urban areas with lots of people and traffic.
- Off – Jumping on visitors or furniture is one of the most common dog issues, but do not be alarmed. This command will help prevent this behavior!
- No – This can also be known as the “leave it” command. This is a good, all-purpose command for everything you want your pup not to do.
As you can see, there are seven (7) commands which will make your dog more well-behaved. We will go into further detail about each command in future articles.
