Lola’s Training Tips: What commands does my dog need to know? And how to teach them!

Introduction

Teaching your dog a new command is a great way to enrich their life, as well as, bonding with them. It is a myth that an old dog can’t learn a new trick, all dogs enjoy learning a new trick at any stage of their lives. It might be more appropriate to say, ‘Lazy humans can’t teach a new trick’.

Commands can be essential and make your everyday lives together a lot easier, for example, teaching a strong wait command can come in very useful around open doors. On the other hand, commands can be purely for fun and show. Teaching your dog ‘Paw’ doesn’t really improve your life but it is fun for your dog to learn and is a great way to provide mental stimulation. We should not view commands as telling our dogs what to do all the time, instead, we use them to guide them through the crazy human world they are a part of and keep them safe. They are grateful for it!

There are a lot of commands that humans have been able to teach their furry companions over time, but it can be a bit daunting for a new owner as to which commands to teach their dog. Throughout this article, we will address the six most important commands for your dog to learn and how to teach them. Most of these commands will help to communicate with your dog so effectively that they will become an addition to your daily vernacular, however, there is one that is purely for fun!

‘Sit’ – The Essential Command.

Teaching your dog to sit is probably the most basic and easiest trick to teach. It is great to use to get your dog’s attention before using another command, or simply to get them to sit when you need them to. The ‘Sit’ command forms the foundation from which your dog can learn other commands.

To teach the sit command follow the following steps:

Get your dog’s attention with a nice smelling treat and place it in front of their nose.
Slowly lift the treat to directly above your dog’s head, they will follow it and sit down.
Make sure their bum touches the ground before giving them the treat.
Repeat the three previous steps until your dog understands the hand gesture.
Add the command ‘Sit’ right before you use your hand gesture. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.
Eventually, your dog will learn to sit to the sound of your voice and without the hand gesture or treat.

‘Wait’ – Our Most Important Command

We are of the belief that the ‘Wait’ command is by far the most important command for your dog to learn. There are several situations where this command can come in useful; At food time it is good to get into the practice of making your dog wait before eating. Another time where the wait command is vital is around open doors. It may not be your front door but there may be times you do not want your dog to go into a certain place or area. Being able to get your dog to ‘Sit’ and ‘Wait’ can be very liberating for a dog owner. We introduced the ‘wait’ command to Lola later in life and she learnt it very quickly and almost over the space of a few weeks became a calmer dog. Unless we tell our dogs to wait and take things more slowly, they might want to do everything at 100mph.

To teach the wait command follow the following steps:

Ask your dog to sit or lay down depending on what they know best.
Show your dog the stop sign with the palm of your hand and walk a couple of steps backwards.
If your dog stays in the sit or down position for those few seconds, say ‘Wait’ and reward them with a treat.
Importantly, do not reward your dog if they are not still in the sit or down position.
Repeat these previous steps over time and slowly increase the duration they must wait for, and the distance that you walk backwards.
Generalise their training by practicing this trick in different places like the park and friends’ houses so that you can call on it whenever you need to.

‘Paw’ – Purely Fun Command

It is a good idea to make training fun for the dog too. Even though, lots of dogs will enjoy learning any new trick, it is good to throw in an easy trick that they can learn quickly and doesn’t take much effort for them to be rewarded for. It is a great way to boost their confidence. Be careful not to overuse the ‘Paw’ command as your dog will start offering you their paw without any command. If this happens, do not reward them in anyway.

To teach the ‘Paw’ command follow the following steps:

Ask your dog to ‘Sit’ (Now you can see why ‘Sit’ is the essential command)
Hold a high reward treat in a clenched fist, make sure your dog knows it is in there and can smell it.
Wait for your dog to lift their paw and place in on your clenched fist and then reward with the treat (this may take a while).
Repeat this step until your dog is lifting their paw regularly to the sight of a clenched fist before adding the ‘Paw’ command.
Repeat using only the command until the trick is learnt.

‘Down’ – The Calm Command

The ‘Down’ command is a great way to get your dog to relax when the time is appropriate. For example, when you are at another person’s house, or you have guests over. It is a quick trick to learn and will enhance your communication with your dog.

To teach the ‘Down’ command follow the following steps:

As always, start by getting your dog to sit.
Once they have sat and are in a calm mood, show them a treat and let them sniff it.
While they are sat, hold the treat between their front two paws, they should lie down to get it. Only release the treat once they are lay fully down.
If your dog does not lie down, try moving the treat towards you along the floor, slowly.
Repeat this gesture and add ‘Down’ as your give them the treat.

‘Bed’ – The Leave Me Alone Command

Owning a dog is great fun and will enhance your life drastically. However, that doesn't mean there aren’t times you need some personal space or time to get something done. Teaching your dog the ‘Bed’ command is the best way to achieve some personal space and time. Do not view this command as a punishment or ever use it as one; this command is just as rewarding and fun to learn for your dog as all the others. The advantage is that you will see a calmer dog throughout the day in no time.

To teach the ‘Bed’ command follow the following steps:

Place your dog bed down in a room where you want it to be. (Note, if you want their bed to be the sofa or armchair, just lay down a blanket in the area instead)
With a treat in your hand, guide your dog to their bed and only give them the treat when they are sat down on their bed.
Add the command ‘Bed’ as they sit on their bed, and you give them the treat.
Eventually, replace the treat with a finger point and command to be able to get the most from this trick.

‘Toilet’ – The Pro Command (Test Yourself!)

Finally, if you have been able to teach your dog some new tricks and commands from this article, well done! This last trick is a great trick to test yourself on. If you can train your dog to go to the toilet on command, it can save those long minutes on winter mornings waiting for them to do their business in the back garden. Also, it is a fun trick for your dog to learn.

To teach the ‘Toilet’ command follow the following steps:

This one doesn’t start with a sit command but instead you must be out in the garden.
When your dog chooses to have a wee, say ‘Toilet’ and praise them over the top (they might look at you like you’re crazy, that is fine).
Repeat, repeat, repeat. Starting only in your garden and then add to this by using the command when your dog wees on a walk too.
Remember praise after they wee and hear the ‘toilet’ command.
Now, try ‘Toilet’ as you walk out into the garden and if they wee, mega praise!
If they do not, repeat steps 1-4.

Conclusion

Of course, all of these steps are not written in stone and the way each dog learns a new trick can be drastically different. As any dog trainer will tell you, practice makes pawfect! We touched on generalisation briefly in the article; it is worth mentioning it more. Dogs do not necessarily generalise their training to different environments. This means that if you teach your dog to sit indoors, they may not know what it means outdoors. This is why it is vital and our final piece of advice to you, practice your tricks in a range of different places so that your dog can perform them anywhere.

We hope you have learnt something from our latest Lola’s Training Tips article. Do you think we have missed out a key command? Let us know by emailing lola@lolashouse.co.uk.

Written by Jack Fairclough

Published on 29^th June 2023

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