Dog training can make all the difference between enjoying your new pet and living with daily nuisance. Proper training makes your dog easier to care for, cleaner, safer to be around, and more fun to be with. On the other hand, neglecting training can lead to a dog who makes a mess, barks, bites, roams around annoying the entire neighborhood, and leaves you with a liability if it attacks a neighbor or causes a car wreck.

Fortunately all this can be avoided by following a few basic dog training principles which have been practiced for centuries and proven effective. Here is a crash course in how to housebreak your dog, teach your dog obedience, and train your dog to do simple tricks.

Housebreaking Your Dog

Housebreaking should begin as soon as you bring your dog home for the first time. Ideally it should be part of your dog’s puppy training. But you can also housebreak an older dog.

A time-tested method of housebreaking is the den-bed method, also known by other names such as the crate method. There are two secrets behind this method. The first is the fact that a dog likes to keep its bed clean. The second is that a dog uses its sense of smell to distinguish its bed area from its toilet area. By combining these principles, you can train a dog to separate the spot designated as its bed and the spot where it goes to relieve itself.

Zenhaus Indoor Dog House

First, you will need a box or crate to serve as your dog’s den. The den should have holes so your dog can breathe. It should be large enough that your dog can comfortably turn around, lie down, and gnaw a bone, but not large enough that it has room to make a mess without lying in it. It should also have a gate you can close.

If your schedule won’t permit you to attend to your dog frequently enough to leave it in a small den, you may need to use an exercise pen instead.

Canine Castle Dog Kennel with Mister

The next step is getting your dog used to its den:

• Choose a command phrase you will use to communicate to your dog when it’s time to go to its den, such as “Go to bed” or “Go lie down.” Use this phrase consistently when you are training your dog.
• Place a pad or blanket in your dog’s den. This will create a smell your dog will come to recognize as its den.
• Give your dog the command you have chosen, put your dog in its den, close the gate, praise your dog for being a good dog, give it a treat, and then let it out.
• If your dog resists going into the den, use a treat to lure it in and to reward it after it goes in. If that does not work, start placing its meals in the den entrance. Put the meal a little farther inside each time until the dog gets used to going in the den.
• Gradually increase the amount of time you leave your dog in its den with the gate closed while you leave the room. Start with 5 minutes, then 10, then 15. Eventually most dogs will be able to remain in their den for a full sleep cycle. Do not leave an adult dog in its den more than eight hours.
• Be careful not to use your dog’s den as a form of punishment, or it will undermine your efforts to get it to like going in its den.

If you are using an exercise pen, cover one third of the pen with a blanket, leave one third uncovered, and cover the other third with newspapers to distinguish the dog’s toilet area from its sleeping area.

Once you’ve gotten your dog used to its den, the next step to housebreaking is establishing your dog’s feeding and exercise schedule. You can actually start working on this step while you’re accustoming your dog to its den. A regular eating and exercise schedule will train your dog to relieve itself at the same time every day.

• Pick a feeding schedule appropriate to your dog’s age and consistent with your own routine. Puppies need four meals a day until they are four months, then three meals from four to seven months, and two meals after that. Let your dog eat 10 minutes and then take its dish away. Do not leave food available at times other than its feeding time. However, leave fresh water available throughout the day until about 8 p.m.
• Set an exercise schedule that fits your dog’s needs and your own timetable. Most puppies need to eliminate two to three times as often as adult dogs. Except while sleeping, a puppy will not be able to last longer than about four hours at most until it is about six months old. After that it should gradually be able to last up to eight hours. Start off by taking your puppy out immediately after its meal. Over time you can increase the amount of time between its eating and exercise period.

As you are training your dog to get used to its schedule, you can also start working on the next step in housebreaking: establishing your dog’s toilet area.

• Select a spot, ideally one in a straight line from the house.
• Take your dog to that spot when it is time for it to go out. Take a scooper with you.
• Stay with your dog while it is going to the bathroom. Sit still and quiet until it is done and it has had time to sniff around.
• Praise your dog and play with it a few minutes after it has finished.

Follow through on this training with consistency. Stick to your schedule, and learn to recognize the signs when your dog needs to go out. Usually it will begin sniffing the ground in a circling motion.

If you catch your dog in the act of going inside, sharply call its name and clap your hands. If it stops, take it to its toilet area. If not, let it finish, so you won’t have a bigger mess to clean up.

Disciplining your dog after it has finished will not work. It won’t recognize why you’re punishing it. Wait to catch it in the act instead, and review whether you are making a mistake elsewhere in its training. You may be skipping or adding a step somewhere without realizing it.

After your dog has gotten used to going out to relieve itself, you can train it to go faster by saying the command “Hurry up” just when it’s about to start. This will train your dog to need to relieve itself upon hearing this command.

These techniques will work with the majority of puppies. The same general principles will also apply with most older dogs, though it may take more training if the dog has to be weaned off ingrained habits. Some breeds such as toy breeds are also more resistant to housebreaking than others, and may require more creative dog training.

Dog Obedience Training

Dog obedience training should begin after a puppy is eight weeks old. Teach one command at a time, giving three 15-minute lessons several times a day. Do not begin teaching a new command until the first one has been learned.

The key to successful obedience training is consistently following up your verbal command or action with the desired behavior and a reward, or a punishment if you are trying to discourage a behavior such as barking. Speak to your dog gently but firmly, using a tone of voice that clearly indicates whether you approve or disapprove of the action. Make sure to communicate immediately at the time of the action, or else your dog will not associate your words with the action.

Basic commands you should teach your dog to obey first include teaching it to sit, stay, release, lie down, come when called, walk on a leash, and heel.

You can teach your dog to sit in three stages. First, train your dog to associate sitting with getting a treat. Say “sit” as you bring a treat above its head. Hold the treat about two inches above its head, which is low enough that your dog doesn’t need to jump, but high enough it must sit. When your dog sits, give it the treat and praise it. If your dog doesn’t sit on its own, coax it by placing your right hand on its chest and your left under its tail behind its knees, and then wait until it has sat five seconds before giving it the treat. Practice this five times in a row for five days.

After your dog has gotten used to this, begin teaching it to sit on command. Put the treat in one hand at your side and slide your other hand through your dog’s collar at the top of its neck, palm facing up. Tell your dog to sit. If it does, give it the treat and praise it. If it does not, pull up on the collar and wait until it sits, then give it the treat and praise. Practice until your dog sits on command without you having to guide it by the collar.

Once your dog has gotten used to this, you can train it to sit without the treat. Begin rewarding the treat only every other time. Gradually reduce the frequency of the treat reward until you are only rewarding it on a random basis.

After you’ve taught your dog to sit, you can teach it to stay. In the beginning stage, train your dog to stay for meals. When it’s feeding time, hold your dog’s bowl and tell it to “sit,” then “stay,” before lowering the bowl. Before the dog begins to eat, pick up the bowl again, and start over. Repeat this five times, then tell the dog “Okay” and let it eat.

Saying “okay” is releasing your dog from the stay command. If you are not consistent about teaching your dog to release as well as stay, it will start releasing itself after a while, undermining your training.

In more advanced stages, you can train your dog to stay when a doorbell rings or a door opens, or to stay at heel.

After your dog has learned a sitting position, you can also teach it to lie down. Begin by teaching it the down command. Holding a treat in your right hand, sit your dog at your left side with two fingers of your left hand under its collar on the side of its neck, palm facing you. Show your dog the treat and lower the treat straight down in front of your dog as you apply downward pressure on its collar and say, “Down.” When your dog lies down, give it the treat and praise it, leaving your hand in its collar.

Next, teach your dog to move from a lying to a sitting position by reversing this process. Bring the treat above its head and apply upward pressure as you say, “Sit,” then give your dog its reward.

Repeat this down-sit cycle five times in a row for five days. You can then start teaching your dog to go lie down. Tell it, “Go lie down,” and then take it to its favorite spot and guide it through the “down” command. Keep your dog in the down position for a gradually increasing period of time before releasing it. Start with 5 minutes and gradually increase to 30.

You can teach your dog to come by playing a game with your dog and another person. Start indoors. Say your dog’s name and tell it, “Come,” then guide it to you by its leash. When it comes, put your hand through its collar, and follow up with a treat, petting, and praise. (Make sure it comes close enough for you to grab its collar before you reward it, or else it may start playing “catch” with you by staying just out of reach.) Then pass the leash to your partner and have your partner repeat the same exercise. Continue until the dog responds on its own without the leash.

Then begin increasing the distance between you and your partner to about 12 feet.

Next, begin having you and your partner hide when you call your dog.

After this, you can begin moving the game to outdoor settings with a confined space, such as a fenced yard.

Finally, begin calling your dog while it is doing something on its own and not paying attention to you. If it comes, give it a treat and praise. If it does not come, take it by the collar, bring it to the spot where you called from, and then give it a reward.

Training your dog to come when called will be easier if you are consistently nice to your dog when it comes to you. It will also help if you make sure your dog gets enough exercise, so that it does not feel an urge to run off for extra exercise.

To train your dog to walk on a leash, first let it get used to wearing a training collar. After it gets used to wearing the collar, start putting the leash on and letting your dog drag it around. After a while your dog will start ignoring the leash.

At that point, you can pick up the leash and start following your dog around.

Then begin using a treat to guide your dog after you in the direction you pull.

Follow up on this by teaching your dog not to pull on its leash. To do this, take your dog to an area where you can walk several steps in a straight line or a circle. Hold its leash in both hands, with your hands planted firmly against your waist for stability. Say, “Let’s go” and start walking. Just before your dog gets to the end of the leash, say, “Easy,” and turn to your right to walk in the opposite direction, keeping your hands on your waist. As your dog catches up with your turn, praise it and give it a treat. It will take time to get the timing of this right, and your dog will probably be ahead of you at first. Repeating this over time will teach your dog to walk within the perimeter of its leash without pulling.

To teach your dog to heel on a leash, begin by teaching it to sit at heel. Have it sit at your left side with both of you facing the same direction and the leash over your left shoulder. Say your dog’s name and, “Heel.” Take a step forward on your right foot, then step with your left past the right, drop down on your right knee, put your right hand on your dog’s chest, and fold your dog into a sitting position like you did when you were teaching it to sit.

After training this, you can teach your dog to heel while walking. Start with your dog sitting at your left side with the leash over your shoulder so that there is about four inches of slack when you start. Wrap both hands around the leash about waist high in front of your body, so that you do not need to touch the leash until necessary. Call your dog’s name and say, “Heel,” then start to walk in a large circle or a straight line. When your dog leaves your left side, close your hands around the leash and bring your dog back to a heel position, with its shoulder in line with your left hip. Reward your dog when it heels. Practice until you can bring your dog to a heel after ten paces without you having to touch the leash.

After this you can practice heeling while turning and walking at different paces. You can also train your dog to go down at heel.

Teaching Your Dog to Do Tricks

Teaching your dog to do tricks like fetching, shaking hands, sitting up, playing dead, and rolling over is the most fun part of dog training. Training tricks follows the same principles as obedience training. Consistent repetition of command, action, and reward is key. It’s also important to break tricks up into steps and teach one step at a time before teaching the next one.

Shaking hands is one of the simpler tricks to teach, and serves as a good introduction to the principles involved. Teaching your dog to shake hands can be broken down into three stages.

First, teach your dog to lift its paw with your help. Sit your dog in front of you, while you kneel or squat to bring yourself closer to your dog’s height. Offer your palm at a level even with the middle of your dog’s chest and say, “Shake.” Take the elbow of your dog’s dominant front leg and lift it off the ground about two inches. Slide your hand down to your dog’s paw and gently shake it while you praise your dog. Reward your dog and release it with an “Okay.” Repeat five times over three sessions.

Next, teach your dog to lift its paw on its own. This time when you say, “Shake,” wait for your dog to lift its own paw. If it does, take it, and reward and release your dog. If it does not, help your dog raise its paw as you did before, and then take it and reward and release it.

Third, teach your dog to place its paw in your palm. Follow the same procedure as before and wait for your dog to place its paw in your palm. If it does, reward and release it. If not, go back to the previous step where you were teaching it to lift its paw on its own. Practice until your dog automatically puts its paw in your palm.

For extra fun, you can build on this by teaching your dog to lift its paw as high as it can for a high five. You can also train your dog to offer either paw by pointing and telling it “the other one” and only rewarding it for the correct paw.

Worthy Dog Training Resources

Humane Society Dog Care and Behavior Tips
Animal Planet Dog Guide
Petco Positive Dog Training

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