If your dog isn’t properly trained in the basics, that it can be more than annoyance and turn into a safety hazard. For example, if you are out on a walk you need to be 100% certain that your dog will come to you should anything unexpected happen.

In general, teaching a dog follows the same outline with only the details changed depending on what you want to teach the dog. Below are instructions for training your dog to sit, but you can adapt them to whatever command or trick you wish.

So here is how to train a puppy to sit:

1. First of all, you need to set the right environment to teach your dog. Try to have training sessions while your dog is hungry so it will be more receptive to the treats you’ll be using as rewards. Also make sure your puppy isn’t tired or it won’t be able to learn as effectively.

2. Now onto the actual training. Hold a treat in your hand so it is visible to the dog and then slowly raise it upwards. At first your dog will try to look up, and then it will sit so it can jeep its eyes on the treat.

3. As soon as the dog sits issue the “sit” command. With practice, the dog should associate the act of sitting with the right command.

4. Repeat this several times then have a break. New puppies have notoriously short attention spans, and over training will provide poor results. As the puppy gets more confident try issuing the “sit” command without moving the treat.

Before long your puppy will associate the command with the action. The next step is to practice it in an environment where there are distractions, so that you know that when you’re really need your dog to be obedient it will be.

Training your puppy to sit should not be a chore for you or the puppy. Think of your puppy like a small child, and try to make training sessions fun. You’ll find you get much better results this way.

It is a good idea to buy a crate when you first get the dog so that it starts to get used to it straight away. Start by putting a treat near the door, and then push it further inside every time. It will also help if you keep some chewy bones as well as toys within the crate when he is inside.

The time he spends in the crate can be increased slowly, but you should stay in the room and not leave him alone to start with. This is an important aspect of the crate training techniques. Once he feels at home you can start leaving him alone in the room for short time and this can also be lengthen as he becomes more comfortable. It is a time consuming process and will require a lot of patience but take each step slowly and only move ahead when the pet feels at ease with it.

It is vital that you do not place the dog in the crate as a punishment and also give him enough occasions to stretch himself.

I’ve heard that electric dog collars are very effective when training a dog, but are they humane? Do they hurt the dog, or just shock it? Should I use them?
Alex

This is one question that is sure to cause much debate amongst dog owners, so I’ll try to give both sides of the story.

The benefits of the electric collar is that you can administer punishment for bad behaviour to a dog from a large distance. I’m usually an advocate of the positive training method so I don’t think this is the best way to go about training a dog, but there is no doubt that it can work in some cases.

On the downside, it is difficult to tell how painful the electric shock is to a dog. This is why some people think it is inhumane. The shock can also have the effect of the confusing your dog and disorientating it which isn’t going to help your training at all.

In some cases the electric collar is used by owners who’ve tried everything else and still can’t get their dog to be obedient. If the bad behaviour is putting the dog at risk, then it could be considered much more humane to use the electric collar than to not. An electric shock is much better than being run over for example.

I think that electric collars aren’t necessarily inhumane, but aren’t the most efficient way to train your dog. Ultimately it is the owners decision though.

All the best,

Richard Cross

What’s the best way to train reliable off-leash recall for a terrier with hunting tendencies? My dog is proving very difficult to train, and it is becoming a big problem.
Fiona

Hi Fiona,

That’s a tough one, but definitely possible. You’ll have to be patient though and build things up slowly. Reliable recall is one of the most important things to teach a dog because of the safety aspect. Here is how I would try to do it:

The main problem with off-leash recall is that dogs quickly learn that once they are called back their play time is over. The first few times the dog will come to you, but after that it soon realizes that if it doesn’t come to you then it won’t be put on a leash and hence it can play (or hunt in this case) for longer.

Because of this, you need to make the dog think the being called is beneficial for it, rather than a chore that signals the end of playtime. This is going to take longer if the dog already thinks of being recalled as a problem, but any dog can be re-trained no matter how set in their ways as long as you’re patient.

So how to do it? First of all, take your dogs favourite treat with you to the park. Every so often call the dog and make it sit for its treat. This will show the dog that coming to you when called is actually enjoyable and doesn’t always mean that the fun is over.

Of course, you are going to have to leave at some point, but if you can make even leaving the park fun by providing treats when your dog gets in the car for example then that shouldn’t be a problem.

Before long, you’ve got a dog that loves being called back to you if all goes well. With each dog you might have to adapt the strategy, but you’ll know what your dog likes better than me. The main thing is to reward your dog every time he does come back.

Thanks,
Richard Cross
TheDogClinic.com