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Down
Put your dog in a sit, and then pick up both of
her legs and slide them down until her elbows are
on the ground. As you do this, say 'Ruby, down.'
Keep her in position for about thirty seconds, and
then let her go and praise her enthusiastically.
Stay
Every dog should know how to stay. Command your
dog to sit or lie down, then take a step away from
him, saying 'Theo, stay.' Hold your hand, palm
towards the dog, up. If the dog leaves his
position, shout 'No' and return the dog to his
original spot. When he obeys, say 'Finished', 'OK'
or something similar in an excited tone, and
beckon the dog towards you. (This will be your
'release command', which you use whenever you want
to tell the dog you've finished an exercise and
that he can move now.) Praise him and tell him
that he's the best dog in the world.
Heel
Does your dog take you for a walk? A lot of
dogs pull on the lead - in fact, it is one of the
most common of the undesirable behaviors dogs are
wont to develop. Heel is a hard command to teach
an adult dog, as she may have already learnt to
pull to get from A to B faster. As soon as the
leash goes taut, turn back towards your house
without a word. Repeat this until your dog learns
that the walk ends when she pulls on the leash. If
this doesn't work, consider purchasing a special
kind of harness, such as a Gentle Leader, that
controls lead-pulling.
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