What's the easiest way to teach a puppy basic commands?

Question

sit, stay,come,heel,lay down etc

Answer 1

Your puppy is so lucky to have a caring owner!
The Basics
SIT, COME, DOWN, STAY, HEEL.

SIT

Holding a treat in your left hand just above the pup's nose, gently rest your right hand on pup's rump.
Slowly move the treat in an upward motion while applying gentle pressure to the rump. ( you don't want to push hard because if you do the dog will sit every time someone touches him and this is not good for competitive obedience)
as soon as pup sits say in a very happy excited tone "GOOD SIT" and give the treat.
Repeat exercise 7x. then take a play break and move on to something else.
very young pups should not train for more than a half hour each day
every time you put food bowl down or give a treat give the sit command, and wait for the sit. then once pup sits give treat or food down.
DO NOT move on to something new until pup has the new command down pat.

COME

walk away from pup about 10 feet to start. say pup's name and "COME" in a happy voice. once pup comes praise it lavishly have a bit of a play and give it a treat.
Gradually increase the distance you walk away. and eventually once pup knows command only treat every 3rd come. tapering off until he comes every time with out treat using only praise.
this will take a few days to learn if you practice every day.


DOWN

Start with pup in sit. move hand with the treat between the pup's front paws on the ground.
Say "DOWN" in firm but not loud voice.
pup might try and get treat without going down, don't let him have it until he downs.
praise in happy voice "GOOD DOWN"
repeat 7x

STAY

Start pup in down position. say "STAY" in firm voice. walk to end of leash, backwards. if the pup moves say once only "AP" in a not pleased tone. go back do not say anything. put pup in down again repeat "STAY" walk backwards to end of leash.
pup does NOT get praise or treat until he stays for 30 seconds, then a minute, then 5 minutes. move times up each week.
after he can do a 5 minute down/stay every time. move on to a sit/stay doing exactly what you did for down/stay.
Once on leash sit and down/stays are reliable for 5 minutes each. drop the leash and walk away from your pup, your back to the pup. about 10 feet away. wait 5 min. recall your dog. with dog sitting in front of you once he reaches you. treat and praise.

HEEL

Please do NOT train with a choke collar. i recommend martin gayles.
with dog on a short leash exactly beside you on your left side say "HEEL" if the dog starts to pull give a correction snap with leash on collar. and recommend "HEEL" the second your dog complies praise with "GOOD HEEL" in happy voice. and continue to walk , correct, and praise for 30 minutes.


Always end training sessions on a positive note. Never get angry with your pup for not responding to a command. Praise lavishly every time pup responds to a command.

Answer 2

Here's what you do.. cut up some nice treats, the kind they sell in rolls at Petsmart. For the sit, hold the treat above puppy's nose until he bends backwards and sits. Then reward. Do this 3 times, then quit. Only do this about 2 or 3 times a day. A puppy does not have much of an attention span.

For the down, hold it under his chin on the ground until he is down. again. do it 3 times.

For come, you need an assistant. Have them hold the puppy about 10 feet away, then say come. Remember to TREAT every time. how many times? Right. 3.

For stay, that takes weeks. We'll get to that after sit and down are just a way of life.

For heel, when you are walking, have puppy by your side, and treat and say heel. Treat, heal, treat, heal.....for about 4 to 5 houses. Heal........treat.

Have fun!!

Answer 3

Spin, twirl, hop, weave in and out of your legs, jump over your leg, touch (big thing to learn for trick training since it can be shaped into a lot of things), turn off the lights (easy once the dog learns touch) Back up. Stand, focus (eye contact), look at that (looks at what you point at). Touch is something easy dogs can learn at a really young age, I would also start with the basics. So sit, down, and heel should be first on your list. Trick training is great mental stimulation for your dog. You can exhaust your dog better than a walk if you do good training sessions. First find out what your dog is motivated by. Majority of dogs are food motivated and this is always a good bet. I know a lot of people say clicker training all the way but its really any type of marker that the dog is doing the right behavior. I say "yes" it is much easier and convenient than a clicker and does the exact same thing. I personally am not a purely positive trainer but I do believe for puppies and trick training it is best way. Keep training sessions short and fun. Thank you for taking the time to train your dog and good luck.

Answer 4

Take obedience classes with your pup. It's the easiest way & lots of fun.

Or if you want to start at home begin with just one command. Try the command Sit.

Get some small treats that the pup really likes & hold them in your pocket or hand. Put the dog in front of you & say Sit while pushing gently down on the dog's hind quarters. When he's down, praise him profusely saying good dog & give the treat. Keep doing this over & over but only for about 15 minutes at a time every day. Let the dog know how good he is when he's done what you're asking of him.

He wants to please you, that's his job. Make it fun & rewarding for him to do so.

Answer 5

Sit: take a treat hold it in front of their nose, then slowly lift it up. The puppy will have to raise it's head then sit to see it. Tell him good sit, then give the treat. Lay down: while puppy is standing do the oppisite of sit. Until your hand is amlost to the ground. Dog will follow the treat, tell them good down and give treat. Come: is just lots of practice, same with stay, and heel. For these commands it is important you have their total attention. Practice these at first without distraction giving them lots of praise if they do it right. Then add in some distractions. Good Luck

Answer 6

make sure that ur dog doesnt get distracted such as tv,radio,other people,the park etc
i taught my puppy frm a very early age but they will still learn at an older age.
to sit hold a treat that the dog likes and put it near its nose and by slowly moving ur hand near the back of its head.the dog will start lukin up and sit!!!!!!! when its done so give the treat and praise repeat it but using the command SIT before it does it.
to lay make ur dog sit then slowly move the treat towards the ground and tap ur hand on the floor wid ur other handand slowly move the treat towards u,when it lays praise and repeat with the comand lay.there are good books out there for dog trainning.hope it works!!!!!!

Answer 7

First of all, forget the word 'easy'.
Pet training takes a LOT of patience and consistency.
Teach one lesson at a time and don't move on to the next command until the first one is mastered.
Be KIND. Give rewards. Little snacks and lots of hugs.
Don't expect miracles if your puppy is less than a year old. Self-control comes with maturity.

Answer 8

Rewards and repetiton.

Always use the same word(s)
make the dog do it gently (sit lay) ect.

ALWAYS reward- preferably with food- later praise will work too.

be consistant try doing a few times a day. Once they learn one or two things you're on a roll keep adding tricks that are more complicated. Like roll over -make the dog roll over and reward-they'll get it- some faster then others
Good luck!

Brother Duane

Answer 9

Depending on the breed of dog it could be easy or difficult. Generally one hour each day on basic commands can do wonders (especially with lots of treats and compliments). Puppy obedience classes can also do wonders. The best classes are AKC approved. Also you can watch the Dog Whisperer each week on the National Geographic Channel to get great tips on how to communicate with your dog.

Answer 10

Do it with a doggie treat. Like if you want him to learn how to fetch, wrap some doggie treats in a newspaper, let him smell it and throw it away at the same time, saying "fetch". If he returns it to you, then give him another treat. If you want him to lay down, then put a treat in your hand and lift your hand up and then put it close to the ground and say "lay down" or "down" at the same time. If he does it correctly, give him a treat. And so on... Each time he does something right, give him a treat, that will motivate him to behave.

Answer 11

The best thing "I" ever learned in an obeidience class was to acknowledge the command....it was harder to train myself. For example instead of saying "good girl" you would say "good sit" or "good stay". This way the dog gets a better understanding of what the praise is for. Also, you can acknowledge the dogs action when it wasnt requested...for example, if you are trying to get your dog to sit, when you notice her sit on her own (w/o being told)...praise her and say "good sit". It really works....Fyi, I was always partial to saying "good here" instead of "good come"....thats just me!