Basic obedience allows owners to communicate with their dogs. In dog training, there are standardized words/cues we used to convey what we want our dog to do. These cues make up the basic obedience commands. They include:

Find it, focus, name recognition, sit, down, settle, stay, come, targeting, loose leash walking, heel, leave it, drop it, and place.

There are many different ways to teach basic obedience cues. We will focus on one common method of teaching each basic cue. We hope you find this to be a useful reference for training the dog in your care.

*Reliably means your dog is successful at something 90 percent of the times attempted.

Remember you want your dog to be successful. If he is not successful, he is not having fun and neither are you. If your dog is struggling to perform at one level, make it easier.

We will learn how to teach one cue every month beginning with focus. This month’s cue is sit.

Sit

Start with a treat in your hand and lure the dog to sit by placing your hand, palm up, right above the dog’s nose. Then move your hand slowly back over his head. When he follows it back bringing his nose up, his butt will touch the ground and he will be in the sit position. Mark with a “yes” and give him the treat. When he does this 8 out of 10 times, then lure with your hand but without the treat. When his butt touches the ground, say “yes” and give the treat from your other hand. After he sits 10 out of 10 times with just the lure you can add the verbal cue “sit” before the lure.

Down

Begin by cuing your dog to sit. You will then lure him into a down by holding a piece of high value treat in your hand. Start with your hand close to his nose and lure him straight down to between his paws and then slowly move your hand forward like you are making an L shape. Do not move your hand forward till he is almost down or he might stand up. Have patience. This is sometimes a challenging behavior for dogs to learn. As soon as your dog lies down, mark it with a “yes” and give him the treat. Sometimes the dogs are sensitive to what surfaces they lie down on. Some dogs are more likely to lie down on a soft surface. If you are practicing on hardwood floors or concrete, try moving to a carpeted area or put down a blanket or towel. Remember to only give him the treat if he is in the down position. Be consistent. Once he is going into the down position easily and reliably with the lure, add the verbal cue before you lure him.