Dog Obedience Training
First and foremost,
remember you are raising a dog, not just teaching commands and tricks. You need to ensure your dog has good manners and remains safe to himself and others throughout his life.
If you haven’t read “How to Raise a Dog“ or looked over our Methodology, please do! That will explain much of what you’ll be learning about if you work with The Pooch Coach.
However, basic commands are important. The 4 commands we feel are requirements for a safe dog are: sit, stay, come and off. If a dog has mastered all of those commands, the rest will be a breeze.
Sit:
Sit is a basic command to help your dog settle down and teach him how to say “please”. Having a dog settle for a sit is like teaching a child to say please. Your dog can ask: ”Please pet me”, “please feed me”, “please let me go out the door”, or “please throw my ball”. A dog should not learn that whining, jumping, barking or swatting with his paw gets him what he wants. A dog needs to be told what to do – just as much as what NOT to do. You don’t want me to jump on guests? What DO you want me to do? Sit to get petted?? I can do that! He should learn that sitting might get him what he wants… at least it’s a good start!
Stay:
Your dog shouldn’t lunge into her food bowl the second you try to put it down, or try to cross the street in front of you. She also should learn to be patient. After all, dogs in the past had to wait for hours for prey or food. So, any dog should be able to wait at least a minute for food, toys, treats, etc. Teaching a dog to sit, relax and wait is invaluable for when you want to allow a child to pet her or allow an elderly person to pass by on the sidewalk. Making sure your dog can get into a calm state and wait patiently is an important part of raising her and ensuring her safety and mental health.
Come:
Your dog needs to come to you when you’re ready to leave the park, or if he slips out of his collar on a busy street, or if he gets out of the front door that was inadvertently left open. He also needs to come to strangers and sit and allow them to look at his ID tag so they can call you and reunite you quickly and easily. A dog that doesn’t come when called is hard for even the Animal Control officers to capture. So, you want to make sure your dog always responds eagerly to this command and comes right up to people and allows anyone to look at his ID.
Off:
Dogs need to know some things are off limits. Some people do not want their dogs on the furniture, and most people don’t want their dogs jumping on their counters. No one wants their dog to eat something disgusting or dangerous she found on the beach. Dead animals, feces, chicken bones – we’ve seen it all. Save yourself an ER visit and teach your dog to get off of – and stay off of – anything you command. This command is a definite life saver, let alone a great convenience for bringing your dog around others or into new environments.
If you’d like to have the best dog obedience training in the San Francisco Bay Area, give us a call!
Testimonials
Dog Training For “Stubborn” Riley
My dog would not stay off furniture or listen to my commands. He went through puppy classes, and even advanced training classes, but nothing worked at home. Beverly from the Pooch Coach was able to show me how to communicate with Riley and better control him around the house. Now he behaves exactly how I wanted! – W. Giff, San Mateo, CA
Trixie – Teaching An Old Dog New Tricks
I moved from Austin, TX to San Francisco in March with my 9 year old Shih Tzu mix, Trixie. She did not know any commands – not even “sit”. After working with Beverly, just 4 months later Trixie passed the AKC Canine Good Citizen Test!! She comes, sits, downs, stays, walks off leash and even knows some tricks too. She is a new dog. She now plays with toys and with other dogs – something she never did before in the 4 years I’ve had her. She has never been happier or healthier, and neither have I! Thank goodness for the Pooch Coach! – Kelli, San Francisco
These are actual clients who have gotten real results with our help.
See what they have to say!
If you’d like to have the best dog obedience training
in the San Francisco Bay Area, give us a call!
