It is very important that you give your puppy clear, easily distinguishable puppy training commands. If you don’t use such commands correctly, your puppy may become insecure, unsettled, and anxious during training.
Just as important is to make sure that you always use the same training commands. For instance when calling your puppy, a clear “here” should be used consistently rather than interchanging with “come here”, “come to me” or “come here now”.
Let’s now look at which commands you should use when training your puppy…
Basic Puppy Training Commands
When you start puppy training the basic commands consist of:
- Here – to call your puppy
- Sit – to train your puppy to sit
- Down – to get your puppy to lie down
- Stay – to teach your puppy to remain sitting or lying down, while you move away
- Fetch – to teach your puppy to bring an item to you
These commands form part of the basic obedience training of each puppy and you can freely add to them later once your puppy has mastered them.
How to Use Puppy Training Commands
Despite what we humans often make ourselves believe, your puppy doesn’t understand English. You, therefore, need to know that the manner, in which the command is expressed, rather than the word by itself, will have a huge influence on the reaction of your puppy. You can use level, pitch, calmness, or excitement in your voice to give your puppy a clearer idea of what you want from him.
For instance, your puppy will definitely come to you quicker and more eagerly when your “here” command is expressed in an excited, cheerful manner and at a higher pitch. This is way easier to get your puppy’s attention than if you were calling him in a bored, disinterested, or even irritated voice.
Similarly for the “fetch” command. Here you also want your puppy to get excited and run after the article you have thrown for him.
On the other hand, a command intended to calm rather than activate your puppy such as “sit”, “down” or “stay” you should say in a deep, soothing voice at the same time extending the word – say “siiiit”, “dooown” or “staaay”.
When using commands to train your puppy, the most important thing you must remember is to genuinely praise your puppy when he’s reacted correctly to the command. In the beginning, you should even praise him if he’s only partially completed the required action. Praise your puppy even for small steps in the right direction. This makes learning much easier for him.
Without praise, no learning, and no success!
Your puppy will register your joy and will be even more willing to offer the same action the next time around.
So in short…
…when teaching your puppy to react to commands, remember to give clear and consistent puppy training commands. Vary your voice to communicate your intention and remember to praise him.