Five articles about dog training to read whilst you’re stuck at home during the coronavirus restrict

Many people who are unable to leave their homes at present are seeking ways to put their free time to good use, perhaps by taking a remote course, learning a new skill, or brushing up their knowledge of one of their favourite topics.

If you’re a dog owner, why not take the time to brush up on your dog’s training skills, or even teach them something new? If you’re looking for inspiration, want to improve your dog’s skills and responsiveness, or are planning to get a new dog or puppy when the coronavirus stay at home restrictions end, it is wise to make sure you have a solid grounding in the dog training basics.

Why not use the time when you are stuck at home with lots of free time to learn more about dog training, and begin to work on your knowledge of the subject and polish up your dog’s skills?

This article will provide an introduction to five useful articles on different dog training topics to read to get you going, in no particular order.

Training a dog is important – but so is training their owner

Training dogs to follow commands and display good behaviour is vital, but can be complex; and many dog owners think that training is something done to the dog, rather than with them.

Training the owner is just as important as training the dog, and just as dogs don’t know instinctively what to do until they’re trained, so too is this the case for people. If you want to train your dog effectively, avoid training problems, and make sure you don’t undo or sabotage your dog’s skills, this article is for you.

Teaching your dog good recall

Recall, or getting your dog to return to you when called, is an essential command for the safety of your dog and other people and animals; but it is also by far the hardest command to teach, and one that few dogs comply with with 100% reliability, as it goes against some of their instinctive evolutionary urges to hunt and chase prey.

Learn how to manage chasing and poor recall in your dog here.

Does your dog know the five key commands?

How many commands any given dog can learn and exhibit reliably can be highly variable from dog to dog and from breed to breed. However, all dogs should be able to learn at least five basic, straightforward commands if they are taught them properly; and if your dog is only capable of learning five commands in total, it is important to pick the right ones!

Teaching your dog complicated tricks is all good and well, but the most important commands to teach a dog are those that keep them (and others) safe, and that promote good canine behaviour and manners. Learn the five most important commands to teach your dog in this article.

How to teach a dog a command

Starting off with good intentions to train your dog to be obedient and responsive, picking a training methodology, researching how to train the breed you’re working with, and drawing up a list of the skills you want to teach your dog is a great way to start off your life as a dog owner.

However, many first-time dog owners or those who have owned dogs but never trained one before get this far, plan out a training session, get the dog in front of them… and promptly realise that they have no idea how to actually teach a command, in terms of the bricks and mortar cause and effect of letting the dog know that a certain word should be followed by a certain action.

Whether you’re teaching your dog to sit, the most basic command of all and the first command that most dogs learn, or are working on complex chain commands, the principles of teaching a command remain the same, and this is regardless of what training method you’re following.

Find out the universal principles of dog training and how to teach a dog a command here.

What training method should you use anyway?

There are probably as many different dog training approaches, schools of thought and frameworks out there as there are diets, and like diets, some are more effective than others, some are outright foolhardy, and some will suit certain people more than others!

Picking the right training method is vital to training a dog effectively, and to do this, you need to be able to compare methods and weigh up their pros and cons objectively.

Whilst there are any number of dog training books and methodologies recommended by different trainers and potential experts, they all tend to fall into one of a much smaller number of key categories and types – which you can learn about and compare by reading this article on five different dog training approaches, and how they work.