When your family gets a new puppy, as exciting as it is, you need to seriously think about training. Puppies can be taught basic commands from as young as 8 weeks old and it's is not something you can leave to the last minute or consider as an afterthought otherwise you will experience bad behaviour. In saying that, there’s no such thing as a bad dog – just dogs that haven’t been given the opportunity to learn the correct behaviours.
Dogs crave discipline and order. Without this order you cannot expect a dog to behave in the way you want as their natural instincts is to look for a leader (which should be you). If they can’t find a leader, they will assume the role. Getting in early with training your dog means you are creating a structured environment that shows them who is the leader of the pack.
When you think about training your dog, the first thing you think of is having a treat on hand. Treats are a great way to teach your dog a command however it's important to ensure that they're not only doing the command for the treat. You want your dog to listen to you.
This is the most basic command and is the easiest to teach.
Repeat this training process a couple of times a day, everyday, until you're confident that your dog has mastered the sit command. Use this command before feeding time, walks, crossing the road and when they're getting a bit too excited.
Before teaching your dog the stay command, make sure they understand the "sit" command.
This one can be tricky for puppies and high-energy dogs. Do not be discouraged if your dog takes a while to learn this command, patience is key as this is an exercise of teaching your dog self-control.
This training command is essential for situations where your dog is off lead. The last thing you want is for your dog to be out of your control at the dog park, beach, camping grounds or even at the front of your house!
This command may take a little longer for your dog to master because you're distracting their train of thought however, when accomplished successfully, the leave it command will be extremely useful in situations where your dog may cause trouble.
Once you've achieved this, you can place treats on the floor and teach them to leave it.
'Down' can be a challenging command because it puts the dog in a passive position. Persistence is key.
Do not be discouraged if your dog doesn't pick it up on the first go, remain calm and be consistent with training. Make sure to praise your dog with affection when they complete the command!
If you’re finding dog training to be difficult or you’ve run into a situation where the dog has adopted negative behaviours such as pulling washing off the line, stealing food off the bench, digging up the yard etc. there are plenty of products on our website that can help adjust those behaviours. If you'd like to find out more information about our remote trainers, feel free to call one of our product experts on 1300 668 931. To see our remote training collar range, click here.