A few basic cues make life with a dog easier and safer. Positive reinforcement, rewarding the behavior you want, is the method recommended by veterinary behavior organizations and is effective at any age.
Training basics
- **Rewards**: small, soft, tasty treats; also toys and praise.
- **Short sessions**: 5 to 10 minutes, a few times a day.
- **Timing**: reward within a second or two of the right behavior. A clicker or a marker word (“yes!”) helps.
- **Start easy**: in a quiet room, then gradually add distractions.
- **End on a success**.
Sit
Hold a treat at your dog’s nose and move it slowly up and back over the head. As the head goes up, the rear goes down. Mark and reward when it sits. After several repetitions, add the word “sit” just before the movement, then gradually phase out the lure.
Down
From a sit, move a treat from the nose straight down to the floor, then slowly along the floor away from the dog. Mark and reward when the elbows touch the ground. Be patient: some dogs take time.
Stay
Ask for a sit or down, show a flat hand, wait one second, then reward. Gradually increase the time, then distance, then distractions, one at a time. Always return to your dog to reward, and use a release word (“okay”) to end the stay.
Come (recall)
The most important cue for safety. Start indoors: say your dog’s name and “come” in a happy voice, move backward, and reward generously when it reaches you. Practice on a long line outdoors before trusting it off-leash. Never call your dog to you for something unpleasant, and never punish a dog that comes, even if late.
Leave it
Hold a treat in a closed fist. Your dog will sniff and paw; wait. The instant it backs off, mark and reward with a different treat from your other hand. Progress to treats on the floor under your foot, then uncovered. It can prevent your dog from eating something dangerous.
Drop it
Trade a toy for a treat: say “drop it”, offer the treat near the nose, reward when the toy falls, then give the toy back so letting go does not mean losing it.
Why training stalls
- Repeating the cue many times.
- Training too long, or when the dog is tired.
- Moving to distractions too quickly.
- Using punishment, which can create fear and slow learning.
Puppies can start these basics early, see raising a well-socialized puppy. Walking nicely is a skill of its own, see how to stop a dog pulling on the leash.
