What Should Every Dog Listen to?
Seven things every dog should be able to do
What should every dog obey to ensure a smooth living relationship? This is a question almost all owners ask themselves when they get a new dog. If dogs learn to obey commands from a young age, it makes things much easier later on. However, interacting with other dogs and people also needs to be learned to navigate everyday life in a relaxed manner.
"The foundation for a good relationship should be laid in puppyhood," explains Verena Helfrich, author, long-time owner of a dog school, and coach for personality development with dogs. "The mother dog and well-led puppy play sessions at dog schools contribute greatly to the socialization of small dogs, so that they can later interact with people and other dogs in a relaxed manner. There are also some basic commands that are important later on for controlling the dog. This type of training usually begins as soon as the puppy is allowed to move in." If you want to teach your dog something, the basic rules include a lot of patience, regular repetition, and positive reinforcement—that is, rewarding desired behavior with, among other things, petting, praise, or treats.
Experienced dog owners can essentially teach their dog everything themselves. Beginners, on the other hand, should seek advice from a dog school and then practice the exercises at home. This will also help them learn how to create a good environment for training. Regardless of your level of experience, professionally trained dog trainers can always help if problems arise, such as a lack of progress or a dog refusing to learn.
Every dog should listen to this
1. Sit – Basic Command for Control
"Sit" is one of the commands every dog should master. First, it helps calm the dog down in agitated situations by asking it to sit first. "Down" also encourages the dog to lie down. "At the same time, 'sit' is also an important starting point for practicing other exercises. It helps the dog concentrate fully on its owner, allowing it to respond appropriately to further commands," says the expert.
2. Stay – Patience and Self-Control
"Stay" is essentially the same as "sit." It prevents the dog from running away or getting into dangerous situations, such as crossing a street. "During training, it helps to gradually increase the length of time the dog is supposed to stay in place. And if that works, the owner can move away a few meters or even change rooms," advises Helfrich. "If the dog stays where he is as instructed, this behavior should be positively reinforced."
3. Here or Come – Recall Signals
With a trained recall command, owners can call their dog to them at any time, even when they're not on a leash. "Dogs are always distracted while out for a walk or can get into dangerous situations near a road," explains the trainer. "A reliable recall, even from distracting, challenging situations, is one of the most important aspects of dog training. It should therefore be well-structured and practiced gradually."
4. Off – Letting Go of Things
With "Off," your dog learns to let go of objects. This can be helpful when playing together – but it primarily protects your dog if he picks up potentially dangerous objects on the side of the road that could, for example, injure or poison him. Commands like "No" or "Stop" can also prevent him from picking something up at all.
Exercises for relaxed coexistence
5. Leash Training – Walking Together
Walking on a leash also requires training, so that the dog always walks next to its owner on a loose leash and orients itself to the owner. If it pulls against it, this can cause stress quickly. If the ground is slippery in winter, it can even be dangerous. The expert tip for practicing: "Orienting itself to its owner is also important preparation for letting your dog run off-leash. Therefore, it should be practiced from the beginning so that the dog cooperates well with its owner and stays close to the owner."
6. Socialization – Interaction with other dogs and people.
A dog that has been accustomed to interaction with other dogs and people from an early age is more relaxed and less likely to react fearfully or aggressively. "This isn't so much about performing certain exercises with strangers or animals. It's enough for a dog to have positive and calm experiences interacting with others in its first weeks of life," explains Helfrich. "In general, especially during puppyhood, care should be taken to ensure that social interactions are not completely random, but rather with competent dogs. Contrary to popular belief, there is no such thing as puppy protection – not every adult dog is friendly around puppies. An adult dog may regulate a puppy if it physically harasses it – but it should do so appropriately."
7. Practical example: Medical training - a relaxed visit to the vet
"With so-called medical training, dogs and other pets get used to going to the vet. On the one hand, this is intended to convey the feeling that a visit to the vet is not a bad thing, so that the dog can be brought to the practice and treated there in a relaxed manner. On the other hand, it is also about getting used to the many special touches: both the vet and the owner have to examine and touch the mouth, ears, or paws repeatedly. A dog that learns this as a puppy has fewer or, in the best case, no problems and can be cared for and treated more relaxed," says the dog trainer.
Even senior dogs can still learn.
Like humans, dogs learn quickly, especially during their early development, and reliably internalize the lessons they learn. But that doesn't mean that a senior dog can't learn anything. "Patience is especially important here, because senior dogs or animals from animal shelters can still learn, too; it may just take a little longer to change established behavior patterns. You should keep trying and reward even small improvements. Then, on the one hand, greater progress will gradually become visible – and on the other hand, the relationship between dog and owner will also improve through regular, intensive cooperation," says the trainer.