11 Essential Dog Commands
Dogs are considered to be man’s friends. Now, many people buy dogs not only for their protection but as their friends. They live in their house and sleep with them. According to RSPCA, there are over 29 million pets owned by Australians out of which 40% are dogs.
Most people buy dogs to play with and to have a friend. When you buy a puppy they are not trained and don’t know how to behave and interact with humans and other households. So, you have to train them with some essential commands so that both of you have the best time together.
Let's see some of the essential commands you can teach your dog.
- DOWN or SIT
Sitting is one of the basic commands a dog can learn. It is easy to learn and also easy to teach. To teach this command, you put the dog treat close to its mouth and move it down. But don’t let the dog eat the treat. When the dog sat down, say “sit” and give a treat to the dog. Repeat this process multiple times and eventually, your dog will know when to sit. It might take a few weeks to learn it.
This command will let you handle the situation when your dog shows annoying behaviors. Behaviors like bumping into other dogs, getting too excited when seeing something new, and others. And it also helps you in teaching your dog other commands.
1. UP or STAND
Standing is similar to sitting or down. First sat your dog down by using Sit command. Then put the treat near the dog’s mouth and rise it upward. Let the dog smell the treat and rise upward and say “Up” or “Stand”. When the dog stands up, give him a treat.
Standing command is one of the essential dogs commands your dog needs to learn. This command is essential in preparing the dog for some action, helps in learning other commands, etc.
Repeat this activity several times and you will see results in a few weeks.
1. NAME RECOGNITION
Name recognition is one of the most important commands a dog needs to learn and the master need to train the dog. Whenever you need the dog you just call its name and the dog comes to you. This command lowers the burden many folds in learning different commands and strengthening the bond between the dog and its owner.
To teach the dog its name, all you need to do is to call its name whenever you need to get its attention. When the dog sees you reward him either in the form of treat or affection.
Name Recognition is one of the initial commands your dog needs to learn. It becomes a lot easier to teach commands when you have your dog’s attention.
1. COME
This command can be taught by moving a few steps away from your dog and pulling the leash and then saying “Come”. As the dog come to you give them a treat. This activity helps build your relationship with your dog and helps in gaining discipline.
This exercise must be repeated many times a day to ensure its memorization.
1. STAY
This command is very useful to keep your dog away from danger and it also helps in learning other commands.
To teach your dog this command, command your dog to sit. Then slowly move backward and say “Stay” repeatedly to your dog. If the dog doesn’t follow say “no“. When following the command reward with a treat.
This command should be taught at an early age for the safety of dogs and the safety of others. This command keeps the dog in self-command. Stay command helps the owner to handle complicated situations efficiently.
1. GO
The “GO” command is mostly used when playing with the dog. It is also fun for the owner. This command is comprised of three commands; “sit”, “stay”, and “go”.
First, you command your dog to sit then you through Frisbee. Say your dog to stay and when it reaches it at some distance say “go” to your dog. If he follows the command reward him with a treat. If don’t say “no”.
This command is essential for dogs to play some fun games, take part in competitions, and learn fun activities.
1. GRAB IT
Many dogs when they are untrained grab multiple things into their mouths. Some of them are dirty, some are good, but some are dangerous for both dogs and the people around them.
To teach this command to your dog, move the ball near to his mouth. And say “grab it” then put the ball in his mouth. When the dog grabs the ball reward him with a treat. Repeating this command multiple times a day for 4–5 weeks to ace this command.
This command is very helpful in eating medicine, it acts as the basic command to learn other commands, and play sports.
1. DROP IT
After the grab command, your dog should learn the “Drop” command. To learn this command, your dog must know the grab command. Because it is the first step of this command.
To teach this command to your dog, first, ask your dog to grab the ball then pull the ball gently out of its mouth and say “Drop it”. When the dog follows the command reward him with some treat. Multiple repetitions of this command in a day for a few weeks and your dog will grasp this command.
Drop command will facilitate the owner in handling dangerous and panicking situations with ease. Such as, if your dog grabs some unknown medicine or if your dog panic and grab someone’s arm, then this command is very handy in those situations.
1. NO
Sometimes the dogs are notorious and not in the mood. They do activities they normally don’t. In those times, this command is very helpful to prevent something to break or some damage to happen.
If your dog tries to do something wrong or dangerous, say “no” and take the thing away from him and reward him. If the dog resists, repeat the command a few times. Animals like dogs become aggressive sometimes, repetition of this activity multiple times reduces the chance of these activities.
This command helps in solving many situations, such as, handling dangerous situations, teaching correct commands to your dog, and many more.
1. QUIET
On some days, when your dog is irritated or not in the mood or for no reason starts barking. Your try to cool him down by giving him food and treats but to no avail. In these situations, the command “quite” came in handy.
To teach this command to the dog, when your dog is barking in its usual days say “quite” repeatedly until he stops. When the dog stops barking reward him with treats or affection. Repete this command multiple times and your dog will understand this command even under intense conditions.
This command is quite handy for the owners of new dogs and aggressive ones. It normalizes the situation and helps in building discipline.
1. DO YOUR BUSINESS
This command is a must for all dogs to learn. It is one of the necessary commands you need to teach your dog in emergency conditions. The best place to teach this is outdoor.
To teach this command to the dog, first, inspect the routine of your dog. When he poops and when he pees. When it’s about the time of his business take your dog outside and say “do your business” and reward him with some treat. Repeat this command every time and after some time when your say “do your business”, your dog will go outside and do his business by itself.
Every owner should teach this command to his dog immediately if the dog doesn’t know it previously. Otherwise, it takes a lot of time to clean the house off dog waste and your house smells stinky every time.
Bonus Command
1. BED
Like humans, the animal has its place of its own where it sleeps and rests. Many owners buy a small comfy bed for their dogs where the dog sleeps. But most of the time dogs sleep everywhere except the bed. So, you need to train them.
To train this command to your dog, when there is bedtime say “go to bed” to your dog and take him to its bed and reward with affection or belly rubbing. Repeat this exercise daily and you will see some results after some weeks.
This command helps in building discipline in your dog and lets him know that the dog has its own space.
Conclusion
Teaching your dog some commands is one of the best ways to strengthen your relationship with your dog. They also help in disciplining your dog. Some of the common and important dog commands are listed above. Training those commands is not difficult you just need to know how to train them. (See this article to train your dog).
