Basic Commands to Teach your Puppy

It’s very important to teach your puppy some very basic commands. Here are 3 easy ones for you to try at home.

1.    Sit - A basic and easy command.

2.    Lay Down - An easy, but important command.

3.    Fetch/Retrieval - How to teach the activity of retrieval.

How to teach your dog to Sit

Stand beside your puppy and put your hand under the puppy’s neck, and the other on top of their bum. Push up with your hand under their neck, while pushing down with your other hand on their bum (directing them into the sitting position) as you say “Sit”. As they sit, praise them. Repeat this and your puppy will learn to sit by verbal command only.

How to teach your dog to lay down

Stand beside your puppy and say "Lay Down". Hold a small treat in your hand at nose level of the puppy, and as you say "Lay Down", bring it down to the ground. If they aren't completely lying down, help them with your other hand. Give them praise and the treat. Repeat.

How to teach your dog fetch

Most likely your puppy already likes balls so this process should be easy.

Throw a ball (not very far), and say "Fetch". Your dog will go get the ball. Now say "Come" or "Here" to get your puppy to return to you. When your puppy returns with the ball, ignore the ball and give your puppy praise. Do not take the ball away from the puppy. Now give the command to "Sit" and "Stay". The reason you don’t want to try to take the ball away is the puppy might get in the habit of dropping the ball before they even reach you.

Now teach your puppy to give you back the ball or "drop" it. Puppies enjoy chasing the ball might do this all on their own. Say "Drop it" as they drop the ball. When they drop the ball, give them praise. Throw the ball again while saying “Fetch” and repeat the process.

Take a look at some possibilities of what some amazing dogs can do!

Teaching your puppy tricks/ or new commands can be very time consuming and will take a lot of patience. Remember to practice and keep a positive attitude.