Easy and useful dog training commands to keep your dog safe

You have done your research, found the perfect doggie companion, purchased all the necessary accessories and equipment.

You’ve checked your property to make sure it’s secure and removed anything harmful or toxic to dogs.

You’ve purchased top quality dog food and had your dog vaccinated.

You’ve invested a lot so far but your investment is just starting. Now you need to nurture your pup with time, love and training.

Invest in your dog over the long term by training easy and useful commands, and the rewards will be enormous – lots of fun times, affection and the best friend you could ever wish for.

What is the best method to train a dog?

Positive Reinforcement or Rewards Based Training is fun and is the best method to train your dog.  It’s the perfect way to bond with your new family member. 

Your dog will gain confidence in you and be a relaxed, happy and secure individual. They’ll know that they can rely on you to protect them and to meet their needs.

Training your dog from day one will give them the tools to live in our world. 

Remember to continue training throughout your dog’s life and practice regularly. You can’t just set and forget. 

You absolutely can teach an old dog new tricks, so these easy dog training commands apply to dogs who are new to you, whether you’ve adopted a puppy or a senior citizen (or anything in between).

What is the best age to train a dog?

Because positive reinforcement training doesn’t harm dogs, you can start training them from just a few weeks old and I always encourage my clients to start out as you mean to continue. 

Meaning, that if you wouldn’t allow a full grown dog to jump all over you, lick your face or bark for attention, don’t allow your puppy to do these things.

Photo credit: Jeremy Perkins

While all dogs are eager to please and they enjoy the attention that comes with training, they are all different and have individual abilities. 

Purebreds have specific traits so encourage your dog to do what he/she was bred to do.

If you have a collie bred for farm work give him/her plenty of off-leash opportunities to release all that energy and consider an agility class.  

Retrievers and gun dogs love swimming so include trips to the beach and fetch into their exercise routines.

Mixed breeds can learn to do anything a purebred can do but always be realistic about what you’re asking your dog to do, regardless of their breed.

Be patient and accept your dog may not understand what you’re asking of him/her at first. 

Put yourself in their paws and try to understand how bizarre we must appear to our furry friends. 

After all, dogs are a different species who love to roll in dead things and poop.

That said, dogs also want to please and desperately want to get things right.

Over the next 7 blog posts I’ll share some easy dog training tips to get you started. 

I’ll be covering:

• How to deal with Puppy biting

• How to teach your dog to play nicely with other dogs

• How to teach your puppy some manners - teaching your puppy the Sit command

• The other 4 most important dog training commands you should teach your puppy - Watch, Leave it, Wait, Come. 

These commands are ordered from easy or basic to challenging but they’re all so important and can be applied in many different situations, giving your puppy the best chance at staying out of trouble.

For more puppy raising tactics, save your seat in my free masterclass

“3 Simple Tactics for Raising a Well-Behaved Dog”