Training Your Pup!

One of the best things with dogs is that they are always willing and excited to learn. The key is learning to catch their attention and getting them to associate good behavior with positive outcomes. Decide what hand signals and voice commands you want your dog to learn and be consistent. In the beginning hand signals will be very important but later you will be able to use them less and less.

When first trying to train your dog always keep a treat on hand. Make sure they know you have it but then put it away. You will need the dog to look at you and not the treat. When you have your pups attention speak a short single command assertively while motioning with your hands.

Lets begin by teaching your pup to sit. This should probably be the first thing you teach them. It is the easiest because it's something they already know how to do and do often. The first lesson is key and takes a lot of time and patience because it is the lesson where your pup learns to associate commands with actions and those actions with treats.

In this example, I am going to use the word "Sit" and a signal with my hand stretched out and my palm down. Remember to decide on all your signals and commands before you start to teach them to your pup because being inconsistent will be very confusing for them.

Show your pup a small treat that you have on you and let them sniff it if they don't know what it is. Once you have their attention say "Sit!" and "Stick your hand out palm down". Your pup may do nothing or respond by jumping toward you. Give your pup a moment and if they do nothing say "Sit" again, give your hand signal, and then pat their butt gently. If they jump on you, say "No" firmly but not harshly and move your pup away from you. If their attention seems to be wavering show them the treat again but don't give it to them. Give the command again and pat their butt gently and make sure you wait a moment. Now keep doing this and hopefully your pup will get tired and sit anyways. Even if they didn't do it because you commanded them to, give them a mountain of praise "GOOD JOB!" and present them with their long waited prize. Keep doing this and give them praise and a treat if they sit even it isn't directly after you gave them the command. Your pup should then associate sitting with a treat and praise. If your pup sits and stays sitting you may need to help them up so that you can sit on your command. Usually showing them the treat will get them to bolt upright but you may need to help them up on occasion. After you teach them sit you can teach them to walk toward you "Come" or stand on two legs "Up" and this can be used to have them stand again if they are already sitting before you give them the sit command.
Practice makes perfect! Practice with your pup every day and slowly introduce new commands. Even if your pup knows the command, going over it again and again will make it instinctual and ensure that your pup will listen even when they are distracted which is often when you need them to listen the most.

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Thank you for your support and have fun!