How You Can Incorporate Training Into Your Daily Life
Dog training is essential to pet ownership; however, it doesn’t end once their training classes are over! Maintaining your pet’s training is quite important, not only to get your money’s worth, but also to keep Fido in tip-top shape. Adding basic obedience terms to your daily routine is one of the easiest ways to remind your pet of those specific commands, like “sit,” “stay,” “leave it,” etc. We all want our pets to listen when we give them instructions, follow this guide to add some extra training to your day-to-day activities!
Wait before meals
Challenging your pet to wait several seconds before they start eating is one of the AKC’s favorite ways to remind Fido who is in charge. Set the food bowl down and count to five, then say “ok” to allow them to start eating. Once they accept the challenge, you can start doing longer increments of time to test their patience, going all the way up to a minute. Another time you can try this with your furry friend is with treats too!
Leave it Challenge
The best way to teach Fido how to “leave it” is repetition. Have various items, like toys or treats, around the house, and once your pet makes a bee-line for the object, say in a firm voice, “leave it.” Make sure to keep a distance between the dog and the item; once they look at you versus the toy, give praise and treats! Reminding them what items are off-limits is a massive part of obedience and pet safety.
Stay during stationary activities
Train your pet to stay still while humans are doing stationary activities, like eating dinner or reading on the couch, by simply laying a towel or blanket a few feet away from you and having them lay there until “ok.” Challenging them not to move from that spot until you say so is an excellent demonstration of dominance over your furry friend.
Calling from another room
Practice your pet’s listening skills by calling them from another room of the house with the TV on. Adding background noise imitates being outside or in a public place to further strengthen those listening tactics. Tell your pet to sit in one room while you leave, turn on some sound devices, then call them from the other side of the home. If they come, praise and reward. If they don’t respond, move closer or remove the background noises until they understand.
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