While raising your dog, you will encounter a variety of different situations where you need to clearly and effectively communicate with your pet. It is important that they understand a few simple commands and respond accordingly. To help with this, you can sign them up for dog obedience training classes at Rob Cary Pet Resort in San Antonio. Learn more about commands below and enroll your dog today at Rob Cary!

Their Name
First and foremost, your dog needs to recognize their name. You can’t get much training done if you can’t get their attention! Ensuring that they react when called makes teaching them other commands a whole lot easier. One thing that helps with this teaching process is to reward your dog in some way when they react to their name — this can be a treat, praise, or general affection.

Come
The next essential command that you should teach your dog is “come.” The purpose of this command is to make sure that you have control of your dog and can summon them at any time. This is especially helpful if you are in a public setting around people and other animals. It is also useful if you see your dog eating something that they shouldn’t or going somewhere that you don’t want them to go.

Attention Grabber/Redirect
A word or sound you can use to get their attention on you and off of whatever they’re interested in. Can be their name, a loud noise or a special word. It tells them that they should be looking at you in anticipation.

Sit or Stay
If you need to calm your dog down quickly, “sit” or “stay” are two useful commands. This is often one of the first things that owners teach their pet because it allows them to keep control of their furry friend and helps with their impulse control. You won’t have to worry when you are around other people because you will know that you can calm your dog down at any time.

Reward Marker
A command that is used to mark a behavior you want and encourage that behavior in the future. This tells them they’re doing it right!

Drop It
One thing that you can count on with dogs is that they are naturally curious and occasionally get into something that they shouldn’t. In some circumstances, they can latch onto an object that you don’t want them to have or that is potentially harmful. “Drop it” is also a command that makes playing fetch easier because you don’t have to wrestle the ball from them after every throw.

Leave It
Leave it tells your pet they shouldn’t touch or interact with whatever has their attention. It can be used to get them to drop a toy so you can throw it or get them to stay away from a skunk or snake in the backyard.
Dog obedience training isn’t always easy, but it is necessary to ensure that you can effectively communicate with your pet. If your pet learns nothing else, Recall and Leave It can prevent big vet bills and even save your pet’s life! If you need assistance with your animal, contact Rob Cary Pet Resort to sign up for classes now!