Teaching your puppy basic commands -  ”Come,” “Stay,” “Sit,” “Heel,” and “Down” -  is  essential to your relationship and the  safety of  your pup. As you prepare to work  with  your dog on obedience training, it is    important to remember a few basic rules to

make the process an easy and effective one.

You may think you can do it on your own, but there’s a right way and a wrong way to train. Starting out the right way is much easier than trying to retrain after bad habits are already formed.

Teach the action first, then the command - As you begin training, you really don’t need to say much at all, because your voice commanding “Come” or “Sit” will just be confusing for the pup. In all training, a dog should know and understand the action demanded of a command before you ever add human language to it.

Keep training sessions short - Even though everything you do should be regarded as training in one way or another, structured command training should be done in short sessions - several repetitions is enough - at least three times a day. You want to keep your pup enthused about training and, like children, their attention span is short.

Be consistent - Each family member should use the exact same words each time.It should be “Come,” not “Come here girl,” and “Stay,” not “Stay right there, don’t move.”Never get angry - It will only increase the time necessary for training and will always affect the trust your puppy has for you.Remember, like dealing with your children, deep breaths, count to ten . . . .

Praise each success - Let them know they please you when they perform a command by gently rubbing or petting them over the back or shoulder. Keeping a small handful of treats is also a good way to slip your pup some positive reinforcement. Verbal praise is okay, like saying “good dog” - but be careful not to overdo it or you will lessen the effect of future praise. [ Read Full Article ]