Dog Training Basics- Simple Commands No Dog Should Be Without

So training dogs in the beginning should be fun, there should be no behavioral work if you can help it, only in extreme cases should there be behavioral training in the beginning. In the first month or two of being with your dog, it should be about building that bond, making sure they see you as that amazing person who takes them to fun places and provides them with those amazing treats. That doesn't mean you shouldn't be able to start the foundations of a well trained dog and a safe dog. These basic commands are commands that not only are easy to learn, but are seriously important to teach for safety reasons. Teaching these commands require no punishment of any kind and nothing but happy times. When it is done correctly, give a treat, when nothing happens then try again. If nothing continues to happen, ask these questions: how long has the training session been going on? and, is how I am trying to train this command getting through to this dog?

Now a training session of any new command or behavior should not be for longer than 15-20 minutes and afterward it should be followed by something fun and tension releasing such as a heavy play session, or a nice walk/run even it's only for 30 minutes. Remember an exhausted dog, both mentally and physically is not just overall happier, but also less likely to get into trouble. Training basic commands is usually pretty simple and usually the way I am going to write about is the best way to build the bond between a new dog and their owner, they are also relatively fool proof as most dogs will learn them all several different ways and one way usually works just as well as with the others. However, as Dewey as the example, certain dogs don't respond well to certain words and either don't learn them or don't react normally and healthily when you say the word. That is when you find a word that works better, just because it's different doesn't mean it's any less than any other word. Now as far as the action you get to do them to do it, you honestly want to avoid physically pushing them or moving them into the position if you can help it. Remember you have just gotten this dog, you technically don't really know all the issues it could have, you want to build a good relationship between you two before you even start introducing any sort of bodily anything into your relationship (whether that is corrections or whatever). Now I understand if that is unavoidable in some situations, but preferably we won't have to be in situations like that if we don't have to.

So onto the basic training-

Sit: Simple and something that every dog should know as it is a good basic command to start position training that can lead to the sit and stay, the sit then lay down, the sit can then lead to a stand. etc.

As your dog is standing, carefully take a treat, something that smells amazing, and lure his nose to realize you have it in your finger tips and make him much more attentive to you. Then slowly lure his nose backward until you are tracing his nose back to his head almost in a way. Don't be too close and don't be too far, be just an inch out of his reach, if you are too far he will be encouraged to try and jump to bite it out of your hand. If you've done it right, his nose should follow your fingers back and his butt should automatically hit the floor. Once it does you mark the action with either the word "yes" or "good". Something simple and to show he has done a good job. Don't even try adding the command yet. Instead immediately give the treat and offer praise and pets. The next time he does it successfully once again no command. Then the third time you add the command and the hand signal you wish to use instead of the marker praise word. Eventually you work with the command word and the consistent luring/hand signal until your dog has it well in mind, then you only use the hand signal and word command, no longer offering treats like you used to, instead you offer treats from places hidden around the house, and places on your body if you are out and about. I recommend if you have an incredibly smart dog (like I have dealt with) that you switch up your stash spots on a regular basis or they will learn where they are and not perform their command until they see your hand in the area where the expected treat is. I have learned this the hard way sadly.

Lay (lay down or down): Use any word form you want. I will use lay down for this purpose, as it is what I taught Dewey.

You want to have preferably taught your dog sit by now. Lay down will follow from a sit position. So lure your dog into a sit position, then bring a high value training treat in front of it's nose. Waft it about until your dog once again becomes interested. Then like before with Sit command lure his nose by keeping it just about an inch in front of it the entire time. Slowly bring it down almost straight and ending up in between the paws, then slowly, hopefully with your dog's nose still following the treat, drag the treat outward until your dog follows it and it should automatically end up in a laying position. Once again, when you get the desired act, mark with the "yes" or "good" marker word you have chosen, and reward with treat and lots of love. Once the trick is well learned through this method, which it should only take three to five times of repeated actions, add the command word you want. Continue to teach with the command word and hand signal you choose, until you are at the stage where you need to wean off.

Stay (Wait): There's not many variations people use on this command, but hey whatever works for you and your dog.

I usually start from a sit position, preferably you will have a lighter leash or some sort of light rope to use as a control lead (and usually this will be longer than the usual leash your dog is walked with). With a slow calm voice you say the command and connect a hand motion with it, I usually do some sort of stop signal with my hand. Say the command, slow and firmly. Then walk back several places with a treat obviously in your hand but not leading your dog with it. If it moves to follow you, say no (not harshly) and place the dog in the exact same place and position it was in before. Once again give the command and follow through if your dog does the opposite of what you want. Continue to do this until the dog stays where you want, I recommend only going five to seven steps back and waiting ten seconds once you stop to make sure your dog stays. Then step quickly towards your dog and mark the stay command with the "yes" marker word, and a treat. Do not give the treat or any sort of praise if you dog leaves the spot before you reach it or give the marker word. If this takes longer than 15 minutes, do not end until you have had at least one successful stay, once you have you can end it. Always end training sessions on good terms.

Leave it: This also doesn't have many variations. What this command allows is many things a simple "no" won't do. Leave it allows the dog not to think the certain item it is supposed to leave is completely horrible and bad to never touch it, leave it allows you to have control for the moment. It also doesn't make the dog think it is in trouble for what it's doing and allows it to think for itself in many ways. A lot of what I use Leave it for is completely natural instinct for dogs and I don't want a dog to think it is bad for doing something that it's body tells it to do, however I do want my dog to think and know that there are other options.

Leave it is often started from the sit position, though it works from generally any position, it often works best from some sort of position you cause because then the dog's brain is already in the "training" set of mind. Get some sort of really smelly treat, preferably a favorite of your dog's. Hold it tightly in your fist, so your dog can't get to it and allow your dog to nuzzle and sniff/worry your hand. As soon as your dog stops worrying your hand and looks at it expectantly, mark the action with the "yes" marker word and a treat. Do this several times until the dog starts doing it almost immediately, once that starts happening (it should take three times averagely) mark it now with the "Leave it" command and a treat. After a few sessions where they successfully do this without trying to eat the treat, you can start putting the treat on the ground and saying leave it and don't be afraid to continually enforce the command several times so your dog completely leaves it alone.

These are the four basics that every dog should start with, these are the platforms for everything else. My next dog training post will be about behavioral issues and how to deal with them.

How I Met Dewey, and How He Changed My Life Forever

Dewey... his story is both amazing and long. If you don't think dogs or animals in general can be just as important as a human life then you probably won't understand a thing in this post. Though if you want to read it, I encourage you to read it with every ounce of my being, he has changed many people's views on what a dog can be.

Dewey is not your typical service dog, first of all he is a shelter dog, a rescue who had some severe behavioral issues when we first got him. He also weighs at most, when he is his heaviest, 13 pounds, and is a perfect mix between a rat terrier and a chihuahua, though it is extremely likely he has quite a few other breeds of unknown origin. He is very obviously rat terrier and chihuahua though, both with his personality, body build, and his intelligence level. If you have never had a dog that made you feel like an idiot on a regular basis you have no idea what you are missing. Because honestly, though it may sound bad or annoying, I would never willingly buy or rescue an averagely intelligent dog again.

Now Dewey is not the typical intelligence a lab might possess. Those dogs are intelligent where they are easily trained, however Dewey is intelligent on so many levels. He is intelligent where he is easily trained yes, but he also intelligent in the way where he can easily think about a situation and choose whether following my command would be the best result or not. Honestly when he chooses his own path and I allow it, he often chooses something with a better result than something I would choose. The fact that he was easy to train, could think for himself independently, and bonded to me very strongly; made him the perfect service dog for me.

Originally when we rescued him, he was fear aggressive to literally almost everything and anything he could or would come across in his life. He hated cats, other dogs no matter whether he could see them or not, most other people, children, sounds he didn't understand. It was so horrible back then, that when you meet him today and I tell people about how he was back then, people are completely shocked. He is literally a different dog. Some of it is him growing up, a lot of problems ended as he grew up to around 3 years old and grew out of his "puppy stage" of life. However there was so much work that went into getting him to that stage and then even passed there.

I didn't even consider making him my service dog until I talked to my psychiatrist about how much he helped me and how he occasionally seemed to get upset before my anxiety attacks. My psychiatrist back then, talked to me about working on making him a service dog. I was more worried about making it safe for him to go out in public without severe explosions of aggression, and so after I honed his alerting just a bit more, I worked intensively on each facet of his fear aggression. The hardest things in his life that have been to over come is dog aggression, and child aggression. However now I am happy to say, child or baby aggression no longer exists in Dewey at all, he is all waggy tail and loving licks when he meets children of any age. This he learned from lots of positive reinforcement, so when we spent several days on end with my cousin who was toddler at the time, he was on leash and every time he approached her with no sign of aggression (even if it was just a sniff) he was given a high value treat. Soon he realized he didn't just get those treats, but if he stayed near her, she dropped amazing stuff as well. He is one of those amazing dogs that don't steal food from children unless it is obviously offered to him or dropped. However if he did bark at her there was still punishment given, I often would say leave it and pop his collar, then remove him from the situation to let him calm down.

Now a lot of people have problems with collar pops or any sort of "physical punishment". I do a huge combination of heavy positive reinforcement, a small amount of punishment when needed (and lots of different forms), and lots of catering to my dogs individual needs. In my opinion dogs are extreme individuals, in fact all animals are, and that fact alone means that no type of training is perfect for every dog. I use what works best for Dewey. In fact if you have heard some of the commands I use for him during our training sessions or working walks, some of the words make no sense in the normal dog training world. He doesn't know heel, he doesn't know off, he doesn't respond to a lot of things like a normal dog would. And it's not because I didn't try to teach him the norm, it's just because he didn't respond well to those words compared to words I now use. Dewey is one of those dogs who I can pretty much have an entire normal conversation with and he will understand at least half the words. Sadly this means we have to spell words that will make him excited, which is at least 30 words, and recently we have noticed 3 words he can now spell without a problem.

There are two types of dog training in the dog training world, -Punishment (which is what people consider the positive reinforcement and no force training) and +Punishment (which is what the "old world" training is. Such as dominance rolling, collar pops, any physical punishments). Now most people are one or the other. Most -P trainers will tell you dogs learn better through force free training. Most +P trainers will tell you that it is instinctive to use +P training so they will respond better. However I think dogs individually vary too differently to say these absolutes. I think an equal training where you use a little of both with a lot of positive reinforcement and a little +punishment and/or -punishment (preferably both types) so your trust and bond is not damaged, is key to a balanced dog. Now there is never such a thing as a "perfectly trained" dog in my opinion. I honestly think training is something that will always needed to be reworked and reinforced, because dogs will forget or will test their boundaries. This is what mentally healthy dogs should do in my opinion. It is your job as their trainer, to redirect their thoughts and remind them what they should be doing. I don't post on my dog forums anymore because they don't allow talk about +P training, which in my opinion isn't fair. However I understand where the moderators are coming from. If +P training is used incorrectly, like it is by so many certified trainers and people who think they can train dogs themselves without studying, it can be severely detrimental to the dog's psyche. I personally would not use any sort of +P training on a dog I was training right away until I had studied that dog's triggers in several situations for a week, and was able to read it's signals safely. Then I would carefully introduce +P training in a safe environment with minimal damage and minimal stress so that I could view the dogs reaction. Each session would last at most 15 minutes, followed by a long relaxation break of 30 minutes with preferably something they love to chew on and preferably in a room or place they feel safe in, either alone or with someone they feel safe with. Then after the relaxation break they get a 15 minute play session, another 10 minute break, and then another 15 minute session of +P training. However I would only charge for the 30 minutes of +P training.

So if you think about it in my training session that would involve +P, it would 15 minutes of stress, 30 minutes of like a meditation destress moment, 15 minutes of play to release built up tension, 10 minutes to just relax after the play so we don't go into the next training session too amped up, and then another 15 minutes of stress. Then preferably after I left the owner would follow through with the chewing session.

These kind of intensive +P training session are only really needed with aggression based or fearful dogs. Once or twice a week at most is what is recommended for intensive training session of any sort for any dog.

With Dewey, when he came to us, our lives changed. We were looking for a 4 year old female. We got an 8 month old male. He totally chose us and it was so worth the change we made. Because the beginning wasn't exactly perfect and we definitely had to adjust, everything about him is just... amazing. I wouldn't say he's perfect, because he has his faults that many people wouldn't find perfect, but his faults make him perfect for me. His past wasn't great from what we know, when he arrived at the shelter he was 5 pounds underweight, he still had his dew claws (never got them removed and still has them today), had to be neutered, and was definitely not a normal dog. He was found in the Napa Golf Course. And technically we were looking for a dog, but at that moment weren't planning on getting one. But when he walked into the room all waggly and happy, we put our names down, and I haven't regretted once.

I will be posting a general dog training guide in the next post because I got a comment about the desire for one, the first dog training post will be simple commands and how to train them. These are the basics that no dog should be with out. Probably after a couple more posts on other animals or care revolving around them, I will talk more on controlling and helping reduce negative behavioral traits of your dog.

~Amber