Urgent Three Commands That Can Save Your Dogs Life! We have some great techniques you can use for clicker training to really impress your trainer. And possibly save your dog’s life! Those commands are:
“Focus”, “Leave it” and “Stay”.
These training techniques can be worked on in your spare time bonding with your new pup. Remember no dog is too old to teach new tricks. Please check out our posts below for further reference:
- How To Help Your New Dog Adjust After Adoption
- How Crate Training Works
- Common Problems With New Dogs
- 3 Things to Consider Before Getting a Second Dog
- Introducing Your Dog And Cat
- My Dog Has Fear Aggression
- Basic Training Commands
*Disclosure: I only recommend products I would use myself and all opinions expressed here are our own. This post may contain affiliate links that at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission. Read full privacy policy here.“ I am also not a professional dog trainer and can only offer inspiration and support to others based on my own personal experiences.
Table of Contents
What is Clicker Training?
Clicker training is based on positive reinforcement. You want the dog to relate the sound of the click to a reward such as a favorite toy or treat. Clicker training is also a great way to bond with your new family member. Include the kids in the training if you have kids.
It will also help with bonding and your pet will be learning to listen to their commands as well. Use a soft and patient voice at all times. NEVER SCOLD them or get frustrated! It will set you back to square one and not make training enjoyable what so ever to your dog! The number one rule is “Make it Fun!” You can start without a clicker if you prefer. But I find it can really help with your dog building confidence by relating the sound to the treat.
Supplies You May Need
The trainer we used referred us to Karen Pryor Clicker Training. We got all the supplies we needed. You may also want to check your local pet store for training kits as well. It is handy to have all the treats in a pouch by your hip. The first few commands I highly recommend anyone. These commands are easy to teach your dog at any age. If you make it a good experience for you and your dog. You will be surprised how much more they will want to learn.
Remember the dogs in the videos below have probably had some prior lessons. So have patience and don’t give up. Make it fun and exciting. These commands can save your dog’s life!
Three Commands That Can Save Your Dogs Life-The Focus Command
I highly recommend practicing the focus command first! You want to teach your dog to focus on you at all times. After you notice they are fully focused on you, try to introduce some distractions. Like have another family member stop and talk with you etc. Have them drop something or ring the doorbell. Keep your pup focused on you! Reward them with a special treat. Not your normal treats. Maybe a small slice of cheese or meat.
Eye-Contact
Look at your pet and say “Focus” once they hold eye contact with you. Click and Treat! do not delay the treat! You want them to stay interested. Tell them how good they are!
Three Commands That Can Save Your Dogs Life- The Leave It Command
Practice these Step By Step Instructions- Leave it Command
- Have your dog on a leash, let her smell the dog biscuit – then drop it two or three feet in front of her.
- Call her by name and say “leave it” as she starts for the treat. Restrain her with the leash.
- When your dog looks at you, click and treat with the chicken cube. Praise her as she gives up the dog biscuit for the chicken cube treat.
- Repeat steps one to three. Five times the first session.
- In your next session: repeat steps 1-4. Use part of a hot dog as the bait and liver as the reward.
- In subsequent sessions, teach “leave it” as above, training off-leash in a fenced yard.
- Regularly call your dog away from things that she likes – other dogs, treats, etc., and then let her go back after you have praised her.
Why this is important
This one I always highly recommend to any dog owner, new or old. You need to have your dog fully confident that they will not pick up anything harmful to them. We all know they love to grab things on a walk occasionally. So we need to be able to control that impulse they may have. It could be very dangerous to them or poisonous.
You can also use this command if you find your dog getting a bit rough with a smaller dog at play. If you notice this you may want to practice the leave it with distractions. Prey drive can be dangerous if you plan to socialize your dog with others at dog parks.
Three Commands That Can Save Your Dogs Life – The Stay Command
This command can save your dog from running onto the street. Or following you into a dangerous situation. Practice in a fenced-in area or even your house. Have them sit and stay in a room. Leave the room and wait a few minutes before telling them to come. Reward them with an extra special treat. Give them choices and when they make the right choice, Make sure you reward them well.
Sit and Stay Combined
You will see in the video that she is teaching the dog to focus, sit, and stay. If you want to learn how to do more advanced tricks I have a great post on advanced training with dogs. You can learn the basics such as shake a paw, roll over, lie down. Not all dogs learn quickly and will need lots of practice. It is a great way to not only bond but really wears your pooch out! Mental stimulation can be very effective in keeping a dog calm and busy.
The Stay – Release it Command
Teaching your dog to release what is in their mouth can really help if they decide to go ahead and grab something off the ground. It goes hand in hand when teaching your dog to stay.
- Have your dog sit. Click and treat.
- Say ‘stay.’ Wait six seconds. Say ‘release’ then click and treat.
- Repeat, Say ‘sit,’ ‘stay’ and wait ten seconds. Say ‘release’ then click and treat.
- Repeat four or five times per session.
- Practice this trick in multiple sessions every day, gradually building up to several minutes before releasing it.
Clicker Training is Not Just For Dogs
You can also teach your cat these commands as well. Drop it or leave it can also save your cat’s life as well. I recommend checking out Karen’s Cat Training series and have the cat join in as well.
Final Thoughts
Regardless these commands can help save your pup from many different situations. They are simple and can be fun to include your children in the training process. I am not a professional dog trainer but I have worked with many trainers myself throughout the years and have been able to train some of the hardest dogs to rehabilitate.
Building Trust
Building trust in any relationship takes hard work, patience, and consistency. These exercises will help you take your bond to a higher level. After all, they depend on you to train and teach them. If you enjoyed our post on “Urgent-Three Commands That Can Save Your Dogs Life ” You can download our free printable training flashcards or bookmark this page. Practice one at a time and see how fun training can be.
Free Printable Training Cards
Urgent Three Commands That Can Save Your Dogs Life And 3 More Bonus Commands!
FREE Dog Training Courses
Disclosure: I only recommend products I would use myself and all opinions expressed here are our own. This post may contain affiliate links that at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission. Read the full privacy policy here.
I couldn’t agree more…especially on the leave it and stay commands. I’ve never really tried to teach my dogs the focus command but can see why this could be equally important. I guess most of the dogs I’ve had picked up on that without me being so intentional about it but there’s always situations where that command would be helpful.
Thank you so much for the reply, I couldn’t agree more too 🙂 We had rescued a dog that was older a while ago and using the focus command really helped with training. Especially when they have no prior training. After they have complete focus on you it is hard for anything to distract them. It is really a great command to help with distracting your dog if they have a high prey drive you are trying to correct.