Did you know that February is Dog Training Education Month? Making sure your canine pal knows basic doggy obedience commands is very important! Read on as a Savannah, GA vet discusses Fido’s education.

Basics

All dogs should know basic doggy obedience commands. The five most important ones are Sit, Stay, Heel, Come, and Lay Down. Start with these, and teach your pup one at a time. Make sure Fido has each command down before you move on to the next one.

Training Methods

There are many different schools of thought when it comes to training dogs. We recommend sticking with methods that use positive reinforcement. It’s much better to focus on rewarding Fido for doing well than to punish him for not picking something up quickly enough. Man’s Best Friend doesn’t really understand punishment, so negative reinforcement tactics can backfire, leaving your cute pet feeling anxious, scared, confused, or even angry.

Treats

As mentioned above, positive reinforcement is typically the best option for training. However, if you offer your canine student a report card with a gold star, he’ll probably just tilt his head at you, or possibly try to eat it. Offer your furry buddy yummy treats as a reward when he does something right. (We recommend using small snacks. If Fido gets too full in class, he’ll be more interested in napping than in the day’s lesson.)

Class Curriculum

We recommend working with your canine buddy for about 10-20 minutes a day. This is much more effective than long weekly classes!

Keep It Pawsitive

Only work with Fido when you are feeling upbeat: otherwise, your pooch will pick up your mood, and may become wary of training.

Tips

When training dogs, consistency is very important. For instance, don’t confuse Fido by using different vocal words and phrases for the same command.

Advanced Training

Once Fido has mastered the basics, you can move on to showing him more advanced commands. Leave it and Wait are both very useful ones. Of course, you can also show your four-legged pal some fun tricks!

Seeking Help

If you aren’t having much luck training your pet, don’t be afraid to seek help from a professional dog trainer. It will be well worth it in the end! Please do not hesitate to contact us, your Savannah, GA pet hospital, for all your canine pal’s veterinary care needs. We’re happy to help.