Tips for Teaching Your Dog to Obey

Every dog has a natural tendency to obey us. For them, we're their reference point, even above their own kind. That's why they centre their life around pleasing us. The problem is we don't always manage to understand each other.

In this article we're going to explain how we should train our dog so they obey us. Every dog should learn these lessons, whatever their age or size.

Why Does Obedience Matter So Much?

It's not about turning our dog into a robot or a circus performer, but it's essential that they obey us. The most logical reason is day-to-day life together. A disobedient dog puts themselves in danger and can also cause problems for others. For example, if they run out onto the road or lunge at a cyclist.

You can surely think of plenty of examples. But it's not only their safety at stake. For their psychological balance, dogs need a routine and set times. They like predictability, and that's what we give them by learning the different commands, such as sit, stay or come here. Without obedience, behavioural problems are more likely to arise.

Dogs learn to interpret our gestures and understand some of our words, but they don't always know what we're trying to tell them or understand the meaning of our whole vocabulary. In a confusing situation for them, suddenly hearing a word they recognise is like a light switching on. At last they understand what we want, what's expected of them, and what's going to happen.

Why Doesn't My Dog Listen to Me?

Accept it. Most of the time, the problem is you. You don't know how to make yourself understood. The dog isn't ignoring you to annoy you — the truth is they genuinely don't understand what you're asking of them. Research and educate yourself before adopting.

Check books written by canine behaviour professionals or ethologists — don't be guided by your neighbour's advice. Go to centres offering classes for first-time owners. Learn everything necessary about canine psychology and behaviour. This way you'll avoid making serious mistakes.

Other times the problem is that we're not being consistent. If one day you let your dog get on the sofa and not the next, the dog won't listen to you because they don't know which is the real rule. This also happens when every family member changes the rules on them. So you need to always be patient and consistent.

The Importance of the Bond

For basic obedience to succeed, it matters that the dog-human relationship is built on proper, solid foundations. The dog needs to trust you and should never be afraid of you. That's why the old training methods based on shouting, hitting or punishment collars are completely inadvisable.

Give your dog the basic care they need for their physical and psychological wellbeing. Besides food and vet care, they need company, affection, exercise, socialisation and stimulation. Make sure you can look after them as they deserve before adopting. A dog whose basic needs are covered is more receptive to obedience.

Design a Work Plan

In practice, for our dog to learn to obey us, besides the bond, consistency and patience, it matters that we set up a schedule and plan our training sessions. Here's some advice for making them a success:

• Decide what you want to teach your dog. It's advisable to start with basic commands, such as "come", "sit", "stay". Once they've mastered these, you can teach them many more, and even agility, canicross and so on, depending on their characteristics.
• Set up a schedule that goes from less to more complex. Bear in mind the sequence in which commands can be learned. For example, the "sit" position can be the starting point for learning "lie down".
• Each lesson should only last a few minutes and focus on a single command, or reviewing several they've already mastered. The dog won't concentrate for longer. Your attitude needs to be calm, unhurried and entirely focused on working with the dog. If you're in a rush, on edge or angry, leave it for another day.
• Start the session at home with just the dog, to avoid distractions. These will come into play once they've mastered the command. At that point you can practise on the street, alongside other dogs and so on.
• The idea is to reward them right at the moment they obey, so they know that's the action we like.
• Of course, no shouting, and far less hitting.
• End the lesson with a reward. If they haven't managed to learn the command, ask them to do another one they've mastered, so you can reward them.

How Dogs Learn

Dogs learn through reinforcing the behaviours we want them to repeat. For example, if we say the word "come", crouch down, and the dog happily comes over, right at that moment we can praise them with a "good, come, good boy" and reward them.

If the same sequence is always repeated the same way, within a few times the dog will have understood that when we say "come", we want them to approach. The trick lies in rewarding, with food, strokes or affectionate words, right at the moment they do what we've asked.

Bibliography Schlegl-Kofler, Katharina. Escuela de perros. Madrid. Tikal Ediciones.