The First Dog Training Exercises

For a complete dog training resource, including wonderful explanations of all the dog training exercises you'll need, we recommend Daniel Steven's Secrets To Dog Training 

You’re ready to start training your dog. You’ve bought all of the necessary equipment, and you’re excited to begin your dog training for home. There’s only one problem. You’re not sure how to get your dog to learn the commands. Traditionally, the first commands a puppy obedience class will cover are the basic sit, stay, down commands. But in order to do that, you need to be able to make your dog focus on you. Here are a couple of dog training exercises you can do that are designed to make your dog understand he needs to pay attention to you. Training Exercise to Get Your Dog’s Focus

Click here for an excellent description of all the dog training exercises you'll need.

It’s important that your dog be able to focus while training. You need a way to get his attention. You can teach him a command that will let him know that you want him to focus on you, and not on anything else. Start by choosing your word or phrase. “Focus” or “watch me” will work.

You don’t have to make your puppy sit while teaching this technique. Chances are he will anyway, but the most important thing here is to get him to look at you, regardless of what he’s doing. Show him a treat in your hand. Put it near his nose if you need to, until he notices. Slowly raise the treat toward your face, saying your command as you do.

Your dog will automatically keep his gaze on the treat as it comes close to your face. As soon as he looks at you, reward him with the treat. If you’ree using a clicker, click as soon as his eyes reach your face.

Repeat this exercise until your dog consistently looks at you. Begin making him hold your gaze for longer periods before rewarding him. Start with a few seconds, and gradually increase until your dog will look at you for at least ten seconds. This should be enough time for you to let him know you’re ready to begin training, or to give him another command, such as “come” if you need too.

When your dog is consistent enough, start varying the location of your practice sessions. He needs to learn how to focus on you, even if there are other distractions around. Eventually, you should be able to start getting (and keeping) his attention without the use of treats. This is a good foundation for success with all the other dog training exercises you’ll be doing as you progress dog obedience training.

Training Your Dog’s Focus While On A Leash

As you walk your dog, you need him to pay attention to you. He needs to notice which way you are moving, where you are going, and where he should be in relation to you. This training exercise will help him learn to stay with you, and to pay attention.

The ideal walking position for a dog while on leash is right by your side. You don’t want him to be behind or in front of you. Walking him in a figure-eight will help. Place two chairs across from one another, with enough space between them for you and your dog to comfortably walk through. Keep a treat in your hand to encourage your dog to stay next to you as you walk.
Begin walking in a figure-eight pattern around the chairs. Be sure to reward your dog as he stays next to you. He will have to learn to adjust his speed and position to match yours. When he is on the outside, he will have to speed up, or his leash will tighten and he won’t get his reward. On the inside, if he doesn’t slow down, he risks running into the chair and being stepped on by you.

This dog training tip is simple but useful in training your dog to pay attention while he is on a leash. Gradually reduce the number of rewards he gets. Eventually you should be able to walk the entire figure-eight one or more times, rewarding him only at the end. In time, he shouldn’t need to be treated at all, and will know to watch you while on walks. This exercise provides a great foundation for the leash training exercises you’ll be doing when there are distractions around.

Being able to get your dog to pay attention to you is crucial in developing a well behaved puppy which is why these dog training exercises are so good and provide such a good foundation for further training. In part two of this article we’ll look at a couple more dog training tricks.

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