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Teaching Your Pup to Answer Commands: Tips on Training Your Dog

July 20, 2021

Since you absolutely adore your bundle of fluff, you would want to keep her safe by ensuring she learns basic obedience to commands.Dogs easily fall prey to distractions. One moment Betsy is chewing on her favorite toy in the park, the next, she’s running fast ahead, chasing a butterfly. 

Teaching your Betsy basic commands will prove useful to keep her away from potential danger and of course, skunk attack!  Another upside is the fact that you can take the leash off of her and have a successful outing.

To help you make that dream come true, here are basic tips on how to teach your pup to answer commands:

  1. Get All Your Materials Ready

To start on the right note (or nose!), you need to get the necessary tools that are required for successful training. You will need a leash, a proper collar, and, of course, a large supply of treats for positive reinforcement.

Having something to eat motivates every dog. 

  1. Speak In Clear Tones

When uttering commands to your little pup, you need to speak in a normal, rational tone—that inspires trust and confidence. 

Yelling passes the message that you’re upset and it could stress her out, making her more anxious. It could even risk damaging the precious bond with your puppy.

Use an excited voice when you want to praise your dog for following commands. When you want to deliver a correction, employ a growly tone. But when you want to issue commands that speak with more authority and less correction, use a flat, low-pitched tone. 

  1. Use Concise Commands

Choose commands that are not just clear, but easy to remember for consistency. This will prevent your dog from being confused. Some common commands include:

  1. Have Brief Training Sessions

Dogs have a short attention span, therefore, it’s advisable to have brief training sessions that span around 10-15 minutes. Introduce the commands bit by bit. 

Recall that these commands are habits that your dog needs to pick up. And like all habits, repetition strengthens them. Do 5-20 repetitions of one command before moving to the next one.

  1. Practice Outdoors

Practicing indoors with your little buddy helps her build behaviors without distractions. However, you need to certify that your dog can listen to commands in an unfamiliar environment. 

Hence, outdoor pieces of training are necessary. Here, your dog will understand that commands you issue inside or in your backyard, means the same in all situations. 

  1. Reinforce Good Behavior

Positive reinforcements are meant to reward your dog and help her understand when she performs well. Reward her with treats, but ensure to keep it small; since you’ll be using them many times. 

Also, avoid treats she would need to actively break apart—it would only lead to distractions.

In addition, mix verbal rewards with food rewards; eventually cutting down on the frequency of treats.

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Puppies are little pricy, but the atmosphere is awesome and the people working thier are so helpful! Definitely go there, show some puppy love
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Bob E
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This is a wonderful place to pick up a healthy and clean pet. Not your kind of dog that is at the pound. I have personally visited some of the sources for these dogs. They are NOT coming from puppy mills. These dogs are living better than me. I really hate that there are so many people who automatically have that opinion of all pet stores. These dogs are loved and cared for there entire lives so far. Shame on you if you have not even visited the store and put negative comments here. On that note have a blessed day.
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Zac S
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They were very kind and helped getting are new dog, they did everything correctly.
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The only place I could find that had a harness small enough for my Tea Cup Chihuahua puppy. Employees were knowledgeable and found what I needed quickly.
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Had a great time petting some cute puppers, only got bit once! Staff is super friendly and helpful
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Lauren S
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It was amazing
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Kids enjoyed getting to see pet and play with the puppies.
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They have a very clean and friendly environment for the puppies as well as customers, very thurough and detailed care instructions and several options on how to pay and take home your furever friend!!!! 10/10 service!!
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Amber p
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I came today and had an amazing time playing with the pups. Shaggy really stole my heart! Libby, Brandon, and Mila were amazing & provided great customer service and were a great help!
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