Puppy obedience training teaches your puppy to respond to simple commands such as sit, stand, come, down, stay, heel, and many more. It's one of the first stages in puppy training, and is the first step towards a well-behaved puppy.
Teaching your puppy obedience training commands is easy - all you need is a little patience and understanding.
The 'Watch' Command
The 'Watch' command teaches your puppy to look at you and pay attention to you, ignoring everything else around him.
The 'Watch' command can make other puppy obedience training easier as you will have your puppy's full attention before starting another exercise.
Your dog is more likely to respond to your commands when he's paying attention.
Puppy Obedience Training - The 'Sit' Command
Teaching your puppy to sit on command is a very useful exercise as it can be used in many situations.
It's a good discipline to have your puppy to sit while you put on his collar and lead, before you feed him, before opening the front door to visitors, or to allow you to walk through a doorway first.
Apart from putting your puppy into a calm, submissive state, the 'Sit' command will help to reinforce your status as the pack leader.
Puppy Obedience Training - The 'Down' Command
Another useful puppy obedience command is the 'Down' command, especially if you have visitors with young children.
The 'Down' command helps to keep your dog calm and quiet, and helps to avoid a jumping, over-excited puppy knocking over a young child.
When your dog is in the down position, he is in a submissive state, and your position as the pack leader is reinforced.
There will be many times when you want your puppy to stand for you - whilst grooming or bathing him, or whilst he's being inspected by a vet. Your puppy will need to learn how to 'Stand' on command if you intend to take him to obedience classes, or you plan to show him when he's older.
The 'Be Quiet' Command
One of the easiest ways to stop your puppy barking is to train him to respond to the "Be Quiet command.
It sounds contradictory, but the aim is to train your puppy to bark and then teach him to stop barking!
Puppy Obedience Training - 'Wait' And 'Stay'
Wait and Stay are two different commands to be used in different situations, and it's very important to know the difference before teaching your puppy either of these commands.
There will be times when it will be very useful to have your dog lie down and stay there until you are able to make a fuss of him or attend to him, for example, while unpacking the shopping.
The 'Down and Stay' command is very useful when your dog is unecessarily boistorous or seeking attention from you.
Your dog must have mastered both the 'Down' and 'Stay' commands separately before you try and teach him this command.
Puppy Obedience Training - The 'Drop It' Command
When training a puppy it's important that the "Drop It!" command is amongst the first few commands that you teach him.
There are many good reasons for this, for example, your Cocker Spaniel puppy may pick up something that you really don't want him to chew, or something that could harm him - or worse, poison him.
Teaching your puppy the "Drop It!" command as early as possible will prove very useful indeed!
Puppy Obedience Training - The 'Leave It' Command
You may be surprised how much you use this command. For example, out walking, your puppy may stumble upon the carcase of a rabbit or something equally unpleasant, something which you wouldn't want him to touch let alone eat or roll in - which, of course, he'll try to do.
One of the most important commands you'll ever teach your puppy is the 'Come' command as, at some point, it may be used to remove him from potential harm.
Follow this link to learn how to teach your puppy the 'Come' command.
We hope you've found our puppy and dog training tips useful and are well on your way to having a happy, well-mannered Cocker Spaniel puppy!
