Top Five Commands

When I am working with a new client I have to prioritize what behaviors are most important for me to teach in the first few lessons to set the dog and client up for success. Oftentimes this means adjusting what I normally would teach based on the training experience the dog already has as well as what behaviors we are primarily working to adjust, such as reactivity. Very rarely do I get to work with a dog that is a blank slate, that has never had any type of training before. Most dogs I work with are typical pets with owners who only want a dog that is easy to live with and enjoy as a companion. With that in mind, I don’t expect obedience trial level perfection of commands nor do I expect them to behave like my dogs, who live with me and have had years of training put into them. Typically I just expect to have the clients and dogs leave my care with a better understanding of how to communicate and live together harmoniously.

 

That being said, there are a few commands that I strongly recommend every dog know and know well for a variety of reasons, including safety. I don’t care if the dog doesn’t know anything other than these commands, unless I am teaching new and different behaviors to them then of course I want them to understand those commands as well. My top five commands I think every dog should know are: recall/dog’s name, leave it, walking nicely on a leash, stay, and sit. I’m sure some of these are self-explanatory, but let's get into them anyways.

 

  • Recall/Dog’s name

I consider this command to be absolutely the most important thing your dog knows. Even if they know a thousand other tricks and behaviors, this one is the one I most rely on when it comes to safety. It is so incredibly important to be able to call your dog back to you in the event that they get loose or are chasing after something they shouldn’t be, or even running straight into the road! Having a reliable recall even around distractions can make the difference between life and potential injury or even death for your dog. 

I also lumped your dog knowing their name into this command since most folks call their dog’s name when trying to recall their dog. Ideally your dog should know that their name belongs to them and when you call it it means ‘come here’ or ‘pay attention’, just like it does for people. If your dog doesn’t know their own name that will make doing any kind of training difficult since you can’t get their attention as well. 

Some tips for training a recall:

  • Never call your dog to something they consider unpleasant, such as a bath or leaving the dog park
  • Start small at a short distance away with as few distractions as possible. You may even have to start inside your home only 6ft away from your dog at first to be successful
  • If your dog doesn’t come right away, try reducing the distance you are away from them and removing the distractions present to be successful
  • Gradually increase the distance you are away from your dog and the distractions present once your dog has proven to be successful at recall in an environment over multiple sessions
  • When working outside or in an area that isn’t enclosed, use a long line to prevent escapes and reinforce that your dog can’t just run away when you call them by gently reeling them in
  • Always make it a positive experience when your dog comes to you with lots of treats, praise and happy talk

 

  • Leave it

Leave it is a command that in my book means back off, look away and don’t touch whatever it is I’ve asked the dog to leave, whether it be a piece of food on the ground, a squirrel, or even another dog. This command is important because it can be used in so many different scenarios and can prevent your dog from ingesting something dangerous. Consider how many times you drop something on the ground that might be harmful for your dog to eat, like medication or even food while cooking or eating. Leave it is also useful for dogs that like to counter surf and attempt to snag food or other items off the counter tops. It can also be used to de-escalate your dog’s arousal level if they are reactive by getting them to look away from the dog, person, or other animal that is making them stressed to the point of reaction. 

Some tips for teaching leave it:

  • Never reward your dog with the item you’ve asked them to leave–this teaches them that leave it means ‘wait for an allotted amount of time before taking the item’. Instead reward from your other hand or with another item
  • Start small by asking your dog to leave a low value treat in your closed hand, marking and rewarding when they lean or look away. As your dog starts to have success with this, increase the difficulty by opening your hand more, dropping the treat on the ground, using a higher value treat, etc. 
  • Once your dog is reliably leaving it one cue, start to wait for eye contact before marking and rewarding. We want eye contact to be part of the command so we can be sure the dog is really leaving the item or person alone
  • When using leave it with a person, dog or animal, start from a good distance away before your dog is fixated on the person/dog/animal
  • Use a treat as a lure to completely turn your dog away from the person/dog/animal and reward when your dog’s back is to the person/dog/animal

 

  • Walking nicely on a leash

What I mean by walking nicely on a leash is simply that the dog doesn’t pull the owner over and ideally is walking on a loose leash. I’ve had a few clients who ended up with significant injuries due to their dogs pulling them down or charging after something while on leash and I absolutely hate to see that. Leash walking is something that most dogs experience on a daily basis, whether it be on walks through the neighborhood or park or simply to get from the car to the vet’s office. It’s something many of my clients come to me struggling with and it’s one of my favorite things to teach since it makes such a difference for both dogs and their owners. Once leash manners are taught, usually the owner ends up taking their dog on more walks and to more places since walking their dog is now enjoyable rather than painful and frustrating. 

Some tips for leash walking:

  • I recommend using a slip leash for most dogs (unless they have a sensitive neck/trachea) as it allows for the best transfer of leash pressure compared to a harness or regular collar, and it does not require as much conditioning as something like a gentle leader or prong collar would require
  • Start by walking in the driveway or a cul de sac. Gently apply a little bit of pressure by pulling on the leash steadily and holding that tension until the dog turns and looks at you, mark and reward, release the tension in the leash. This is teaching the dog that leash pressure means ‘pay attention to the person on the other end of the leash’. 
  • Another drill is to walk until there is tension on the leash from the dog pulling, immediately turn and walk back the way you came with a cheerful ‘let’s go’ command. If the dog does not pull, keep walking in that direction until they do, then repeat. Keep walking back and forth until the dog reduces their pulling
  • With the above drill, I like to practice this one right before a walk to calm the excited dog down enough that they aren’t pulling as heavily on the walk and it reminds them that pulling means we go in the opposite direction they want to go in
  • If while walking the dog is walking nicely and not applying tension to the leash by pulling, quietly praise the dog. We want to remember to reinforce the dog when it is doing something good!

 

  • Stay

Having a reliable stay even amongst distractions is something that could potentially save your dog’s life. Imagine being able to ask your dog to stay before they walk out the door or get out of the car so you can put their leash on safely. Or having your dog stay out of the way while you get the groceries in and the front door is open. Or even having your dog stay while you help someone else wrangle their dog! There are so many different moments throughout the day that I use stay with my dogs to do something safely and knowing that my dogs have a reliable stay means I can focus on whatever task is at hand without having to worry about where my dogs are and if they’ll get in the way or put themselves in danger.

Some tips for teaching stay:

  • Just like with recall, start small with limited distractions and no distance. Ask your dog to stay right in front of you for a few seconds at a time to start
  • We start without adding any distance whatsoever because most dogs will get up to follow their owner if they take even one step away because they are so used to that. We want our dogs to be successful, so even though it seems silly we ask our dogs to stay right in front of us
  • I like to count out loud with “Good dog one, good dog two, etc” to verbally reinforce my dog staying still as well as give myself a quantifiable goal. Ie, this rep we stayed for five seconds, can I make it to seven seconds next rep?
  • Once your dog can reliably hold a stay for 20-30 seconds, then start to add distance one step at a time. For some dogs, even just leaning away can trigger them to get up so go as slow as you need to and gradually build up your distance over time
  • Once you’re able to add distance, start to slowly add distractions such as squeaking a toy, having a helper make kissy noises at the dog, throwing a toy nearby, dropping treats, etc. Get creative!
  • Remember, if your dog is not having success with the distractions, take it back a few notches to ensure your dog can successfully stay even with distractions

 

  • Sit

Sit is one command that the majority of dogs I’ve met already have under their belt but it truly is one of the most versatile commands in my book. Before I give my dogs anything, (their dinner, a treat, throwing the ball, etc.) I ask them to sit and usually do another trick or command. This helps reinforce good manners and reduces jumping up on me in excitement for whatever it is. I also ask my dogs for a sit before they get attention, which is a great way to reduce jumping up on you or guests. Your dog can’t sit and jump up at the same time! Using a sit command before you give your dog something, let them outside, put their leash on, etc. helps instill patience in your dog by making them work for whatever it is and can make your life a whole lot easier by having a dog that patiently sits for something rather than demanding it like a spoiled child. 

Some tips for using sit:

  • Like I mentioned above, I have my dogs sit for anything they want to ‘work’ for the privilege of whatever it is so they understand that life doesn’t just come for free
  • Sit is a gateway command to many others, such as sit-stay, lay down, beg, and so many more. Try something new next time you’re in a training session and you ask your dog to sit!
  • Next time you have guests over, keep your dog on a leash and ask them for a sit before you allow them to greet guests. Reward your dog for staying seated politely while guests pay attention to them.
  • If the dog gets up to try and jump, ask your guests to back away for a moment and ask your pup to sit again before the guest can come back and pay attention to them

I hope that this article has been helpful for you! If you have any questions about these commands or want to work on improving the skills your dog already has, please reach out to us to schedule a lesson or bring it up at our next session. Thanks for reading!