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.

Focus

A focus cue is important for any dog. You are teaching the dog that he gets good things when he pays attention to you. You are also teaching him to focus on you instead of all the other stuff going on around him. Some people call this cue look, or watch. You will reward your dog when he makes eye contact with you. You can also lure the behavior by taking a treat in your hand, getting the dog’s attention with it, then bring it up by your eyes. When the dog makes eye contact say “yes” and reward. Then, you will add the focus cue when your dog looks at you reliably. A focus cue is a great way to get your dog’s attention and refocus them on to you.

Stay tuned for more cues.