The 15 Best Dog Training Tips & Exercises
- Anja Boecker
- Updated: 24 January, 2023
Maybe you have seen how obedient other dogs are and what great tricks they can do. But with you and your pet it just doesn't work that well. Despair not, for we have the best dog training tips and tricks you could possibly need!
Sit!... Down!... Roll!... Paw!...
There are so many tricks you can practice with your dog. What's more, the best part about it is that you both can have a lot of fun doing it.
You can train many things with your pet. Among the most important skills are obedience and impulse control. But the two of you might also enjoy practicing a few tricks.
There are several reasons why dog training makes sense. For one thing, your pet will listen to you more.
On one hand, your dog will no longer pull on the leash, ignore your orders, and may even perform commands like "Sit!", "Down!", and "Paw!". On the other hand, it strengthens your bond and the trust between the two of you.
Dog training should be fun for both of you. Your pet gets exercise, is kept busy, and you spend time together with them
Training then becomes an essential element of raising a dog: your pet will have basic education and therefore react properly to difficult situations.
To make sure that your practice works as intended, we'll explore some of the best dog training tips any owner should be looking at. There are lots of complement training exercises that need to be considered for raising a well-behaved pet.
10 Things You Should Keep In Mind When Working Out
1) Train Your Dog Early
It is important to provide your dog from the beginning with a basic education to teach. Obedience is especially important. The younger your dog is, the more teachable they are.
They have more energy and a great urge to move. So young dogs make training twice as much fun.
But don't be unsure if your dog is already fully grown. Even older animals can be taught a lot.
2) Stay Consistent, Not Strict
Always remember that during training, you are the pack leader. You give the commands and decide which exercises will be performed.
If you are not firm enough with the exercises, your dog will probably not react to them at all. In any case, you should not appear indecisive.
Nevertheless, a nice tone of voice is very important. After all, you want to deepen the trust with your dog, they should also have fun during the training.
3) Give Commands With a Different Voice
If you give the commands in the same voice you always use, your dog probably won't respond. Pets do not understand our language.
The words we use don't really matter. Our pets can distinguish what commands we give them by tone of voice and melody.
Therefore, the words should be short and precise. But make sure that the tone of voice does not become too strict.
4) Add Hand Cues
Since dogs do not understand our language, they can better distinguish commands through gestures.
The trick can usually work too without words. Additionally, the combination of speech and hand signals increases the learning factor: your dog will remember the commands much faster.
5) Call Your Dog's Name Frequently
If you say the name of your puppy every now and then during the training, they will remember it faster.
With time, they'll understand you're calling them. After a while, your dog will also respond to their name. This also strengthens your relationship with them.
6) Shower Your Puppy with Praise
How is your dog supposed to know they've done something right if you don't explicitly show that? They are happy about any attention they get from you.
You are your dog's point of reference during the training. Therefore, it is a special incentive for them to make you happy. So, the approval in the form of praise is very important for successful training sessions.
Don't forget to praise them later, too, when you've completed the training.
7) Give Treats as Rewards
This little bribe is especially important at the beginning of the training. When your dog gets a treat for a well-mastered exercise, they associate it with something positive and will try to do it more often.
Finally, your pet has the hope that they will get a reward every time they perform a command. This way you guarantee their complete attention during the training.
Of course, later you can't keep giving your dog treat, for every little action. Regardless, you should also reward him from time to time after training.
8) Teach One Exercise at a Time
It is not effective if you vary an exercise from time to time. This would only confuse your pet. They don't know what exactly they should do, which is why they don't learn as quickly.
So pick a fixed sequence that you repeat every time. For example, you first give the command together with the hand signal.
When your pet has completed the exercise, praise them and give them a treat.
You should praise them directly after the performed trick without any delay. Otherwise, they will not associate the two actions.
Furthermore, it is useful to give hand signals and wording at the same time. Then your dog can clearly assign the command.
9) Avoid Distractions
Training is much more effective when your dog is not distracted. Cars, fellow animals or noises are much more interesting than the training. But for the exercises, your dog's full concentration is necessary.
It's best to find a secluded spot like a meadow or a deserted road for dog training.
If your dog can then train in these quiet places perfectly, you then have to accustom them slowly to distraction. After all, they should be able to exercise on the street, too.
10) Don't Train Too Much
Especially with young dogs, it is important not to overtax them. Rather, train in short periods of time, but more frequently. Otherwise, their attention wane, and they lose interest and fun in the training.
In the infographic you can find different types of rewards that can help your dog with training
Extra Dog Training Tips: Follow These While Teaching!
Now you know exactly what you should pay attention to when training your dog. Now we'll be looking at what exercises you can practice with your pet.
There are numerous ways to train your dog or teach them tricks. Below, you'll see a few tips that are easy to follow, even for beginners.
1) Release the Leash From Time to Time
You should always keep your dog on a leash near roads and people. Otherwise, the risk of something happening is too great.
But if you are walking along an empty road, your dog will be happy to explore the area on their own. However, this only works if they listen to your word and don't stray too far from you.
This exercise is easier to do with puppies. Older dogs often already have badhabits that are difficult to break.
It is especially important to train in remote locations. If people or other animals are nearby, the temptation to simply run after them is too great.
If you are sure that nothing will distract your dog, you can let them off the leash. You can then go for a walk yourself.
The situation is of course new and very exciting for your pet. Since dogs are so curious, yours will either run much faster than you or sniff everything that seems interesting.
Keep calling your dog's name so that they come near you again. If they still don't come, just keep walking. Do not stop and do not look around.
Maybe you can even hide somewhere and then call their name. Your dog will immediately start to look for you. Alone, your pet will feel insecure and will desperately want to be near you again.
When your dog finds you, they'll finally be able to relax. Praise them for it. They will remember this experience and won't run so far away next time.
2) Teach the "Stay!" Command
The prerequisite for this exercise is that your dog already responds to the commands "Sit!" and "Down!". Most dogs learn these commands very quickly.
Walk your dog a few meters and then stop. First, give them the order to sit down.
Alternatively, the command "Sit!" also works. If they keep up this exercise for a few seconds, reward them.
The next time, add the 'Stay!' command. While doing so, stretch your open palm forward.
After that, carefully walk a few steps backwards and repeat the command. If your dog remains seated and does not immediately jump up again, you should definitely reward them.
At first, your pet will probably not listen to this command. He won't understand why they should do it.
After all, they want to be with you. But if you practice this with them over and over again and reward them afterwards, your dog will quickly get used to it.
Over time, you can increase the distances. It's best to practice this step by step and don't go too far away.
After a while, your dog will sit quietly when you are out of their sight.
3) Jumping On People Is a No-Go
This isn't a problem for smaller dogs, but with big breeds like Great Danes or Boxers is another story.
Visitors won't be happy about being jumped on by a 50 kg dog. Besides, it is a form of obedience that your pet refrains from jumping on people.
Especially young dogs, who are still full of energy, love to jump on people. When you meet your How to Stop Puppies meet them in a squat position from the start so that they don't have to jump.
If they try to anyway, just push them away carefully. If that doesn't help either, you should walk away. This shows your dog that their behavior was wrong.
At older or larger dogs you should step aside when they jump at you. That way, your pet is jumping into nothing.
Always turn away from them or ignore them. If your dog jumps at your visitors or strangers on the street, you should use a leash to be on the safe side.
With time, your pet will realize that jumping at people is a no-no. They get a bad experience from it: their owner ignores them if they jump at others. After a while, your dog will refrain from doing it altogether.
4) Teach Your Dog to Give Toys Back
This exercise takes more time than the previous ones. But it will be even more fun for your dog!
If you want your dog to fetch an object and give it back to you, they mustn't see it as a toy. Their task should be to bring it back to you and also to hand it in to you.
You probably know it when your dog brings back the toy you threw, but then won't let go of it, or even runs away with the object they fetched. This is not the purpose of fetching toys.
Suitable objects are, for example, woods, toys or even a dog bawl. The latter, of course, offers special incentive.
In the beginning, you place the objects at some distance. Later you can throw them. After that you ask your dog to fetch it.
If they don't know what you mean yet, you can also walk with them to the object and show them. Practice this until your dog has no more problems.
It is a good idea to practice fetching objects first indoors and then outdoors. If your dog is already a pro at it, you can also hide the objects. This will be especially fun for your pet.
5) Add a Cue to Finish a Command
An essential aspect in dog training that's not given enough attention. If you gave a command like 'sit,' 'down' or 'stay,' then your dog should now follow this command.
But what then? If you don't resolve this command after that, he will eventually stop sitting or staying on the spot on his own. You should therefore resolve every command after a certain time. Preferably with a word like "Okay". The main thing is that your dog learns that you give a command and also determine when it is resolved.
Take this tip to heart and it will make your dog's daily life much easier.
Conclusion
Dog training is an important part of raising your pet.
With the right exercises, you will not only teach them obedience and various tricks, but you will also have fun and strengthen your relationship.
There are a few things you should keep in mind so that the workout works perfectly:
Work with commands not only using words, but also giving away hand signals.
Rewards and praise improve learning progress, which also motivates your dog. Be sure to follow the correct sequence and avoid distractions during practice.
If you implement our series of the best dog training tips correctly, nothing will stand in the way of your dog's education.
But always remember:
Fun is the most important thing in dog training!
Last but not least: we recently launched our Hundeo app where you can easily learn more tricks and tips for your dog. You will find numerous step-by-step instructions for holistic dog training. Check it out!
My name is Anja Boecker and I am a dog trainer and behavior consultant (IHK certificate). With these articles I would like to help you understand your dog better and build an inseparable bond.
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Hello Claudia,
once again a very detailed post, which is rightly one of the most popular on your blog!
I train with my dog always and everywhere - of course, the fun never comes too short 🙂
But she obviously enjoys the training and in my opinion it's always just a training for the owner anyway, how you have to deal with the dog in certain situations etc... right?
LG Samy
Hello Samy,
thank you very much for your contribution. However... that's how it is, it's not only the dog that is trained. Training also builds a bond between the dog and the dog owner, among other things, where both sides understand each other "properly" and react accordingly 🙂
My18 week old Yorki was almost house trained. Now he regularly goes into the house again. What can I do?
Hello, in such cases it is always advisable to call in a professional in your area who can take a closer look at your puppy's behavior. It is quite possible for puppies to pee in the apartment from time to time. However, this should not develop into a permanent habit. Please also contact your vet to exclude possible diseases (urinary tract, kidney, etc.) or to be able to treat them at an early stage.