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Dogs are naturally attentive to the body language and voices of their owners. By observing us, a dog learns to anticipate our intent. By consistently associating a certain word or phrase with a dog's specific action, you can communicate with your dog.

Obedience commands allow you to teach a dog desirable behavior in any given situation. Practicing obedience skills is also good exercise and provides him with mental stimulation. In addition, your dog enjoys constructive social interaction for which he is rewarded with your praise. Skills should be practiced everywhere in your home, around your neighborhood, and wherever you take your dog. This provides additional practice in distracting situations but also ensures your pet will obey you wherever you are (and not just in one room, for example.)

Obedience training allows you to instill appropriate behavior and, with regular practice, ensures good habits for life. Your dog can learn how to reliably gain your attention with desirable behavior and earn praise for doing so, without resorting to undesirable behavior.

Obedience training is not punishment but an enjoyable interaction for both owner and dog. There is no difference in training small and large dogs. Various obedience commands should be practiced during training sessions and applied throughout the routine activity of each day and over the course of a dog’s lifetime.

When to Begin Training
The best time to begin obedience training is the moment you acquire your pet. As soon as your puppy begins exploring its environment, it begins to learn what types of behavior are acceptable and those that are not.

Behavior learned early, desirable or not, is the basis for all future patterns as an adult. This does not mean that adult dogs are untrainable; however, appropriate habits should be instilled from the start, regardless of your pet’s age. The earlier obedience training begins, the better. Once your pet is protected by the basic inoculations against common puppy diseases (discuss this with us in case epidemics are currently plaguing your neighborhood), puppy classes provide essential training for you and your pup. In addition, your puppy will be able to interact with other pups and become a good canine citizen later in life.

Basic Obedience Commands
Five basic commands can be applied to set the limits for acceptable behavior in an endless variety of situations. The five basic commands are sit, down, come, heel, and stay.

Issue the command the same way each time to avoid confusion. This is particularly important when your dog is first learning to connect your command with an expected action. Always say come, not “come over here” or “come here.” Use the command alone, rather than including it in the middle of a sentence. Say come, not “you had better hurry up and come over here or I will not take you for a ride in the car.”

Precede each command by saying the dog’s name in a firm but gentle tone. For example, “Buddy, come.” This will get your dog’s attention and keep him alert in anticipation of your next command. If the command word is not preceded by the dog’s name, he may not realize that you are addressing her.

Say any commands in a firm and low tone. You should not shout to make yourself understood or to make your dog understand that you are in charge. In fact, raising your voice may only frighten the dog or raise its level of excitement, which will make the animal more difficult to control.

Exhibit a calm but controlled attitude, conveying authority without anger. There is however, one exception. The command to come should be said in a light and happy tone of voice. Your dog must never anticipate any problem when you call it to come to you. If it learns to associate punishment with this command, it will not respond and could learn to avoid you.

Inform all family members or other frequent visitors of your rules. Everyone’s consistent commands will avoid confusion when interacting with your dog. Review the command words and their significance with other people. Practicing obedience training with your dog and visitors can be an enjoyable activity for all.

Hand Signals
Consistent use of a gesture in conjunction with a verbal command can be a useful addition to basic training. Hand signals may be used under special circumstances when verbal communication might be undesirable or as an extra challenge to both pet and owner. In hearing-impaired and congenitally deaf dogs, this form of training may replace verbal commands.

By making the hand signal each time you pronounce the corresponding voice command, your dog will eventually make the association between your hand signal and its behavioral response. You might even decide to rely only on hand signals, without any voice commands. This is a more advanced level of obedience training for both you and your dog.

Additional Commands
Once your dog has consistently demonstrated mastery of the basic commands, you may teach additional ones of your own choosing. It is important, however, to learn the basics first.

Teach your dog the command to jump (or up) if you prefer) and off, for example, so that you can control him if he jumps onto furniture or into bed. This training also helps prevent inappropriate dominance in your dog.

While your dog urinates or defecates outdoors, say hurry or do it and always give abundant praise. This teaches it to void on command so that you won't freeze unnecessarily on a cold winter night while the dog seeks just the right spot. During play, teach your dog to relinquish objects by saying drop it, or not to touch an object by saying leave it. This can help prevent undesirable guarding.

Make sure that new commands are distinct from each other and consistent in form so that your dog will not become confused It is often useful to introduce a command that releases a dog from some other activity or command.

Release commands let your dg know when it is acceptable to be at ease. Every dog should be taught to sit calmly before he is fed. He should not touch his food dish until you release him from sit/stay, for example, with the command okay. When you walk your dog on a leash, it should heel on a short lead at your left side. if you choose to let the dog investigate something along the way, say okay to release him from the heel.

Praise and Other Positive Reinforcement

At your dog's first sign of obedience to your command, offer immediate and generous praise. Do not wait until after your pet has complied. Praise him as he begins to obey your command, even before his response is complete, to help him associate your command with that action. If you delay, or worse, don't offer praise, your dog may not understand what is expected of him.

Praise may be verbal, such as softly saying good dog. Your tone of voice should e soothing. If you excitedly praise him for a successful sit/stay, he will respond to your excitement and break out of his position to jump at you. You can also praise him using an affectionate gesture, such as a caress or pat on the head.

A food treat can help improve a dog's motivation to corporate but should not be continually used, particularly for pups. If you are retraining a misbehaving dog or a recently acquired adult dog, his cooperation may be better motivated by supplementing your praise with a small food treat. A food reward, unlike other forms of praise, need not be given at every command, and may be given at intermittent intervals.

Your dog can learn which behavior is acceptable and which is inappropriate, depending on your response. For example, when a young dog hears a noise in the yard, his first reaction might be to jump at the windowsill and bark. This behavior may be acceptable to many dog owners. If you respond to this by saying good dog and pat him on the head, chances are that he will bark the next time he hears noise outside your home. Some owners, however, may be irritated by excessive barking an potential damage to the windowsill.

If you say nothing, the barking will likely continue. If you respond by sternly saying bad dog, your dog may momentarily be interrupted from barking. After a pause, he is likely to resume barking. If you respond to undesired barking by saying no and follow this immediately with an alternative and appropriate command, such as sit, your pet will learn not only what you disapprove of, but also what behavior is acceptable.

Choosing a Collar and Leash

Nylon or leather collars are adequate and effective for many dogs. For small breeds, lean-muscled dogs, or those with a medical condition that would be aggravated by a collar, a harness can be used. Metal choke chains are not necessary unless other collars are ineffective to control misbehavior. For large dogs with muscular necks and those that resist training, a "toothed" choke chain may be effective. Both ring and pinch-type choke chains should be used firmly but without exaggerated force to avoid injury to the neck.

A less severe option to choke chains is the head halter. Available in several models, a nylon lead encircles both the neck and muzzle of the dog. This forces the dog's head down and toward his chest when gentle pressure is applied to the leash. This new type of training collar should probably be used by dog owners whose complaints include the dog pulling on the leash, jumping on people, and barking at other dogs during walks. It is often an effective alternative to more severe collars and training methods.

For training sessions, a short training leash is best. A longer leash of 4 to 6 feet can be used if you can control the slack. Retractable leads are awkward and difficult to firmly grip and provide little control for training. Retractable leads and harnesses should not be used during training, but they may be useful after your dog is fully trained.

Daily Training Sessions

During the initial phase of obedience training, you should practice obedience commands in one or two daily obedience training sessions of 15 to 30 minutes each. During these formal raining sessions, practice the five basic commands in every room of your home. In this way, your dog will learn to obey you regardless of where you are, in the kitchen or the den. Use a leash at first during indoor obedience reviews so that your dog will be more compliant an understand that you are in control. Once your dog is more reliably obedient, you will not need to use the leash inside your home.

In addition to indoor training, practice obedience commands during walks outside. This will teach your dog obedience everywhere, regardless of distractions. Your dog should be kept on a leash outdoors at all times, regardless of the leash laws in your area, until he is reliably obedient in all situations.

The leash is not intended to prevent your dog from enjoying life. It should be viewed as a lifeline between you and your dog. If there is any question as to whether your dog will obey you under any circumstances, regardless of what may be occurring nearby, or if the dog could be injured off the leash, use the leash.

In addition to the formal daily training sessions, obedience skills should be continually reinforced by applying them to your  interactions throughout each day. From the moment you acquire your dog, make him earn his rewards.

Do not feed, walk, brush, or play with him without asking him to perform an obedience skill. For example, if he follows you into the kitchen, call him to heel as he walks by your side. Tell him to sit/stay as you prepare your snack. Return to your place and call your dog out of his sit/stay in the kitchen by calling him to come to rejoin you in the other room. Make him sit/stay before his food dish is delivered. Make him sit/stay while you remove his leash.

Skills For Life

Obedience skills must be practiced throughout a dog's lifetime so the skills are not lost. In the absence of clear and consistent behavioral guidelines, your dog could regress to unacceptable activities at any age.

View ever episode of misbehavior as an opportunity to teach obedience. Just as wild and undisciplined behavior can be intentionally or unintentionally taught, appropriately calm and controlled behavior can be taught. Do not just scold your dog when he misbehaves. Rather, show him a desirable alternative activity by giving a command such as down/stay. If your pup us chewing on your favorite easy chair, say no and immediately place a rawhide chew toy in his mouth. If your dog greets guests by jumping on them, place him in a sit or down/stay position when visitors arrive.

Training should be consistent in a variety of similar situations. If you want your guest to be greeted calmly, for example, train him to greet you in the same way. Double standards of behavior will only confuse him and create behavior problems. Consistency is fundamental for a well-trained and socially acceptable pet.

Professional Trainers

Obedience training by professional trainers cam be a positive experience for both you and your dog. A competent dog trainer can correctly demonstrate the skills that you, the owner, must use to communicate your desires to your dog. The purpose of a dog trainer is to teach you how to train your pet.

Group classes are also beneficial because your dog can learn basic skills in a very distracting situation. If he can demonstrate obedience while surrounded by other dogs and other people in an unfamiliar location, the training should be easier to transfer (with ongoing practice at home) to relatively calmer places. The advantage of group lessons over private lessons is that they allow your pet to socialize with other dogs and people.

Do not send your pet away to be trained. The purpose of an obedience trainer is to train you so that you can then train the dog. You are the one that must function from day to day with your dog; therefore it must be trained to obey you.

Obedience skills set the tone and standards of your dog's relationship with you and your family and friends. Teaching acceptable behavior to your dog and rewarding him with your praise are not only immediately gratifying to you, but they also improve the quality of your dog's life.