The Complete Pet Training Guide

Training your new pup is essential to having your dog understand that you are the alpha and he has to listen to you. Without obedience training, your dog will do what he wants, when he wants, including running out the front door, wandering off, jumping on everyone that comes to your house, and even eating things that don't belong to him. Your dog will have a lot of fun, but you -- not so much. Train your dog to be obedient and to listen to you. See below for training tips to help you at home.

Sit

Teaching your dog to sit will help him to understand when he needs to remain calm. To teach your dog to sit, begin by placing a hand on your dogs chest and the other on your dogs behind. Tell him to "sit" using a stern voice, while gently guiding his behind down into a sitting position. Once he's sitting, tell him "good dog" and give him a small training treat. Positive reinforcement will help to train your dog, so always tell your dog "good dog" when he's done something you asked him to do. Continue doing this until eventually your dog will know the command "sit."

Stay

The stay command is a little more difficult to teach to your dog. It requires your dog knowing how to sit first, then staying until you you give him a command to move again. This is an important training command to teach to your dog, as it can actually save his life. If your dog wants to run across a street to run after a cat or some other animal, you can give him the stay command and prevent an accident. To teach the stay command, first get him to sit. Then repeat the command "stay" while backing away slowly. Go just a few steps, then call your dog to you. Give him a treat and tell him "good dog." Then repeat the process moving further and further backward away from your dog each time. This is one that may take some time for your dog to learn, so be patient.

Other Obedience Tips

• Positive reinforcement and repetition will go a long way with your dog.
• Be sure to use the same commands each time. If you tell your dog to "sit," don't change the command to "down" later; it will only confuse your pet. 
• Never hit or yell at your dog. These two things are not going to help you train your dog. It may, however, anger your dog, make him afraid, or make him want to bite.
• Be patient with your puppy/dog. These commands are all new to him and will take some time for him to learn all of them. It can be frustrating at times, but he will get it.

Enrolling your dog in an obedience training class, such as those from Petrichor K9, will also help. You can learn more training tips there, in addition to the two basic training commands above.