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| Chapter 1 Leadership Who's the leader of your pack? |
Basic Commands What every dog should know. |
Chapter 3 Temperament Hard-headed or mild-mannered. |
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| Teach your dog basic obedience commands and use them daily. Be consistent. If you let your dog sometimes "get away" with bad behavior, your best friend will sense that you are a pushover and not a leader to respect. Never hit your dog. Good leaders are firm, fair and kind. You want your dog to respect, not fear you. When out for a walk, have your dog heel next to your side and pay attention to you. Encourage and praise eye contact with your dog. Subordinate dogs look to the leader for cues. |
 You and your dog will both be much happier when you are leading the pack. |
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| These basic commands will enable you to get control of your dog, get your dog's attention, establish yourself as leader and, most important of all, enjoy your dog! |
 Important Tips: Use short, clearly spoken commands - don't confuse your dog with too much talk. Don't repeat the command over and over - this just teaches your dog not to listen to you. Use a high-pitched voice for praise and a low, but not loud, voice to show displeasure. Use the commands through out the day. Be patient, consistent and Praise your dog! |
SIT: The sit command can be very functional in everyday life. The sit command gets immediate control of any situation (jumping up on people). Also, sit is the way your dog can say "Please" for the things he enjoys. COME: The come or recall command is one of the most important commands to teach your dog. Besides being an obvious lifesaver, the come command can open up a whole new relationship between you and your dog. Dogs that come consistently regardless of distractions can eventually earn far more freedom than dogs that do not learn this critical lesson. HEEL: While walking, your dog should maintain a position close to your left side and the leash hangs loosely. The most common mistakes occur when your dog pulls ahead (forging) or to the left (drifting), bumps into you (crowding) or lags behind you (lagging). AUTOMATIC SIT: Your dog will sit every time you stop - at curbs, etc. STAY: Your dog can be taught to go to a spot and stay there, for example when you are eating dinner. Stay is always followed by a release command after the intended time of stay. OKAY: This command releases your dog from a stay or gives permission. DOWN: This command can calm a rowdy dog and is more comfortable for a dog on a long stay. |
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 A dog's temperament is shaped by its heredity, environment and breed characteristics. All dogs are different, and training methods that work on a boisterous Boxer might intimidate a petite Pomeranian. Not every dog will behave exactly like others of the same breed, but it's a good idea to study up on your particular type of dog in order to have an idea of why your Fido might act like he does. If you have a mixed breed, look up the different breeds your dog may have in his lineage. Maybe you have a terrier who stubbornly does what she wants to do, never what you want her to do. With independent dogs, make sure you are firm (but not intimidating) and teach with authority. If your high energy dog never stops for a second to even look your way, train no-nonsense way; it's work time, not play-time. Then there are the shy dogs. They need to be taught with gentleness, but not coddled into being high-strung. Some dogs do seem harder to train than others.
But almost
every dog will respond when taught with love, patience and
consistency. |
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