Starting at weaning, a puppy can learn to come, stay, and walk with you off-leash. Puppy obedience training teaches you to guide your puppy with your voice instead of fighting. As a result of obedience training, you will also be able to break your puppy’s undesirable habits, such as biting and barking. You can take your young dog to an obedience training class or train him at home with a training video.
Please note that these results are up to you. The way you act will drive changes in your pup’s behavior. The genetic makeup of your pet also plays a role, but you are the key to success.
There is a set of commands that you must learn to train your pup. You must say the same command constantly if you want predictable behavior. The puppy learns to respond to simple instructions. Many trainers use kibble to motivate their puppies at first.
In addition to using the same instructions each time, you must learn how to correct misbehavior. For young pups, give the command again as a correction. Withholding a reward can also be a correction in itself. Don’t be mean or loud when training a young dog to obey.
Here’s what to expect from your puppy’s obedience training. It is best to start training your puppy as soon as you have it. Your puppy can learn the following commands as early as eight weeks.
- “Focus” – Look At You
- “Sit” – Sit and watch the coach
- “Stand” – stand on the ground and not stand on its hind legs
- “Stay” – Stay still until verbally released
- “Down” – Lying with head held high and attentive
- “Come” – Come to the coach
- “OK” – Finish the last order
- “No” – Stop what you are doing
This is a lot to learn. Don’t try to teach your dog too many obedience skills quickly. Teach your pet one or two commands at a time. Just master each command before teaching more.
When your pup has learned the basic instructions, it’s time to continue training. These abilities are more complicated to train. It will go faster and easier if you have received instructions on how to teach your dog these skills.
- “Go” – Go where you tell it to
- “Stop” – stop moving
- “Off” – Get off jumping
- “Back” – Step back
- “Heel” – Walk next to the trainers heel
You can teach your puppy the commands below when you are housebreaking a puppy, crate training, or troubleshooting problems like puppy biting.
- “Potty” – Go to the bathroom here
- “Kennel up” – It’s time to go into your dog crate and stay there until told to come out
- “Soft”: taking food or an object without biting the person’s hand
- “No Biting” – Stop Biting or Biting
- “Drop” – Drops the object from its mouth
- “Leave it”: Move the dog’s attention to you from another dog, person, or object.
Puppies love to learn. Some breeds are more curious than others, and German Shepherds in particular like to keep busy. To keep your dog stimulated, you can go beyond obedience training. Your pup can learn tricks like pretending to be dead, singing, and more. If you focus on puppy obedience training, your pet will enjoy spending time with you and you will take pride in your obedient dog.