Darf Blog

3 Commands That Can Save Your Dog’s Life

3 Dog Training Commands That You Should Teach Your Dog First

This post was written by Nancy Richards (see website below). We are posting it because we cannot improve on it.

Whether you are getting a new dog or beginning to work with an old dog, obedience training is a must! There are a number of dog training commands that are important to teach your dog. What dog training commands are the most important to begin with? The three most important dog training commands are: come, wait/stay, and let’s go. These dog training commands are important for both a well mannered dog and also for safety. The three most important dog training commands:

1. Come: This command is vital and could really be a case of life or death in the event of an emergency. For this reason, come is one of the most important dog training commands to teach your dog. Your dog should be trained to understand to come to you on the first command, and although no dog is ever 100% reliable, you should work to be as reliable as possible with your dog. Come should always be trained in a positive and fun manner. Never be a kill-joy! Don’t use come only to end the dog’s fun. Instead, practice it LOTS with toys and treats and reward the dog as much as possible so that coming to you is always fun. Also, never get in the habit of chasing your dog when you need it to come. This only sets up a bad habit and makes your come very unreliable.

2. Wait/Stay: Another one of the most important dog training commands is wait or stay. Wait is about asking your dog not to cross an invisible or real boundary line until you have given it permission. Generally, it is best used when you want the dog to stay back from entry ways, such as the front door, or you want the dog to remain inside a car with an open door. Stay asks the dog to hold a particular position, like sit or down, and stay in a particular location. Teaching a good, strong stay means you know you can place your dog in a position and hopefully count on it to stay there.

3. Let’s Go: Let’s Go represents the last of the most important dog training commands because it is the phrase you give your dog on the walk. It represents for the dog a style of walking and lets him know when you are moving from one place to another. Let’s Go should be a nice, looser leash walk that is controlled. A good Let’s Go means your dog can walk reasonably well on the leash. Your dog understands this command means you are moving on, so it can be used to move the dog away from something it is currently doing. For example, if your dog is visiting another dog or person, and you are ready to move on, Let’s Go tells the dog you are leaving and to follow you. These three dog training commands represent an excellent starting point in your training. These are the most important dog training commands to begin training with and to build from.

About the Author

Nancy Richards has been involved with http://www.trainpetdog.com dog training  for several years. Her website gives step-by-step instructions on housebreaking, http://www.trainpetdog.com dog obedience training http://www.trainpetdog.com/dog-training.html dog training commands, grooming, diet and care for all dog breeds.

Article source: http://keyknowhow.com

Get your cat to “sit!”

After you have figured out what your cat likes as a reward, lure him into a sit by raising a treat above his head backwards while saying “Sit!”.  Reward him when he does it.

Some cats will automatically sit.  If your cat doesn’t sit, gently maneuver his bottom down while saying “Sit!”  Reward him after he does.

It is very important to train a cat in between naps and, if treats are used as rewards, when he his hungry.

Teach your dog to play dead!

After your dog has mastered “Down!”

Have your dog lie “Down! Stay!”  While holding a treat in front of your dog’s face, say “Play, dead!” and move the treat around to the back of her encouraging her to lie down on her side.

As your dog gets better at this trick, lengthen the time she has to stay in the play dead.

Don’t get discouraged, it took the dog in this video 3 months to master this trick.  She now can hold it for 20 seconds.  In fact, it helped her learn that she didn’t have to be afraid to be in this vulnerable position.

Get your dog to “High Five”

Try this trick after you have mastered “shake!”.

The beginning of "High Five!"This girl should raise her hand higher so the dog will raise his paw to hers.

Have your dog sit.

Reach you hand like you would for “shake!”.  When he reaches for your hand swing it around so your fingers are pointed up and say “High Five!”   If he reaches up for your hand, give him a treat.

If he does it, do it once more to imprint the trick.  If he doesn’t, try it 5 more times. Let him rest for at least 30 minutes.

Soon, he will lift her paw to high five when you ask her. When he high fives on command,  reward with treats only one out of four times he does it.  (Always use “good boy!” voice reward.

Teach your cat to do tricks!

What reward works with your kitty?

Yes!  You can teach your cat to do tricks!  We’ll describe how to do the tricks in later posts.  Your cat can learn to do tricks if you choose a time and reward that works for your kitty.  If edible rewards are used, choose a time when the cat is hungry.  Also, make sure your cat is well rested.

Before your begin, find out what your cat considers a reward.  Some cats like tuna fish or cat treats.  Some cats like toys or catnip stuffed toys.  Our cats like attention (they don’t respond to treats).

I test my cat to see if she is ready to learn by calling her.  If she comes she’s awake and wants something.

Housebreak your dog with an iPhone or iPod

iPottyTrain Main Screen

The new iPhone/iPod Touch App called iPottyTrain really works!

You can housebreak your puppy or to schedule potty breaks for your adult dog by using the app’s scheduling, alarms and log.

iPottyTrain tracks a dog’s daily intake and elimination routine.

This great app helps you understand the relationship between your dog’s food and water intake and his/her potty breaks, you can successfully schedule your dog’s potty breaks.

Features:

- Visual and audio potty break alerts

- Alert intervals can be set from 1 – 8 hours

- Logs dog’s food, water and potty routine

- Comments can be added to log

- “Dog whimpering” alarm can be muted

- Alarm can be set to repeat every 5 minutes

Available at fingertappers.com or at the iTunes App Store.

Get your dog to go potty on command

Fergie, a 15 year old Yorkie who had very lax housebreaking habits, now has become a very reliable and housebroken dog. How? We made her go out more often than she needed to and told her to “go potty”. When she did we gave her a tiny treat. After one  month, she became very reliable.She gets it and will now go out and pee. Come in for her treat. Then go out again to go poo and come back in for a treat. She knows what she’s doing.

We HIGHLY recommend this solution for anyone having housebreaking challenges.

How to get your dog to shake

Have your dog sit.

Ask her to shake. Lift her paw. Give her a treat.

Do this 5 more times. Let her rest for at least 30 minutes.

Try again. Offer her your hand, ask her to shake. If she will does it without you lifting her paw, treat her. If she doesn’t lift her paw, ask her to shake again, lift her paw and treat her.

Soon, she will lift her paw to shake when you ask her. When you feel like she shakes on command, only treat her for shaking once of every 3-5 times she does it.

How often and how much to treat your dog

Dogs don’t care about the size of the treat you give them…they care about getting the treat. So, treat your dog more often with very small morsels.

One big treat each day, teaches them that they get one big treat a day. When you give your dog smaller treats each time they do something good they learn that good behavior elicits a reward.

If you want to give your dog a treat,  make him/her do something for it. Each time you reward her for an accomplishment, she learns something.

What sized treat should I give my dog?
Give toy-sized dogs approximately a 1/2 inch x 1/2 inch treat.

Give big dogs just enough so that he can tell you’ve given him a treat. Try a 1/4 inch x 1 inch circle.  Go as small as you can.

Remember, treat LESS more OFTEN!

Hello Dog and Cat Lovers!

Welcome to Darf’s NEW Blog where we discuss everything dogs and cats.  Your source for information, entertainment, fun and games and fabuous products.