When you first get a dog, the amount of training information online can be quite overwhelming. You may wonder what is most important to teach your dog. If your time to train with your dog is limited due to work, family, or other factors then you’ll want to know what the most important obedience commands are to teach your dog. There are lots of different commands and behaviors you can teach a dog but only some have utility in our day to day. While teaching your dog tricks can be fun, they tend to not be very useful when we’re out on a walk or when friends come over. Below we will go over what we at Seek K-9 Dog Training Academy think are the best and most useful commands to teach your dog.
Sit
A sit with an implied stay is great for short term holds on our dog. It allows you to have your dog stay in one position for a short amount of time, usually up to 5 minutes. This makes it a great command when we are out and about and just need our dog to stay in one place for a bit. This obedience command can also be great for behavioral issues by providing an acceptable alternative to undesired behaviors such as jumping or door dashing.
Down
Down with an implied stay tells your dog to lay down with their elbows and butt on the ground. This command is great for long term holds on our dog for durations of over 5 minutes, even an hour. This command is great for restaurants, parks, and other public places if you want your dog to be more relaxed. We use this command to tell our dog they will have to stay where they are for a while which can lead to them being much more relaxed and settled.
Coming When Called
Having a good recall is the single most important command in all of dog training. If you can’t get your dog to come back to you, there is an extensive list of issues this could lead to. Rarely will your dog be right next to you, so this makes it obvious why being able to get your dog back to you is something that we often need to do. High distraction environments like dog parks or being out in the yard is often a time where we need to get our dog to come to us. This command is also very important for your dogs safety, if they ever get away from you near busy roads, highways, or heavily wooded areas. Not only for your dog’s safety but for other dogs and owners as well. If your dog is loose it can affect others and you need to be able to call them back to you.
Heel or Loose Leash Walking
Heeling on leash or walking with a loose leash is very important for when we are out abd about with our dog. This allows us to have a more enjoyable walk and to ensure proper control over our dog. You do not need to heel everywhere but having some structure can be important when walking past dogs, people, squirrels, or out in public. This also helps prevent injuries for owners such as elbow or shoulder issues and even falling or tripping.
Place Command
The place command tells your dog to go to an elevated surface and stay on that surface. What is great about this command is that it can be anything with elevation and it essentially tells your dog to get on that object. Great place options can be a dog bed, couch, park bench, etc. We use this obedience command for long term and short term holds, anywhere from a minute or two to over an hour. Place command is great for dinner time by providing our dog a place to go so they aren’t begging for human food or being a nuisance during meal time. This command is also useful for when people come over to prevent jumping and give them a comfortable place to go if they are scared of new people.
These 5 great dog training commands are something all dogs should know. They will make your life and your dog’s much easier and enjoyable. If you want your dog to learn these awesome obedience commands, then reach out to our professional training staff to get them taught in no time!