Obedience Behaviors
Learning a new skill is a journey, and for a dog, that journey begins with imprinting and builds toward more complex behaviors. This guide outlines the progression of training, from foundational lessons for young puppies to advanced, specialized tasks for mature dogs. Puppy imprinting focuses on building a communication system and a bond with your pup. As they grow, they can begin to learn basic obedience behaviors, which create the core commands for everyday life. Finally, intermediate and advanced behaviors challenge your dog to perform tasks with more duration, distance, and distractions, helping to build a confident, reliable companion.
Puppy Imprinting
Name Recognition – The puppy learns that responding to its name always results in a reward. Distractions are added, and the puppy learns that it’s more gratifying to respond to its name than to engage with anything else in that moment.
Collar Conditioning – Helping the puppy to tolerate to a fabric training collar. This includes an introduction to being led on a walk while wearing the collar.
Potty Training – Teaching a pup to control its bladder and to communicate to its humans when it needs to be let out. This includes educating owners on the best ways to set their pup up for success regarding this lesson.
Basic Obedience Behaviors
Tasks include, but are not limited to:
Sit – The dog is taught to assume a static position sitting upright.
Down -The dog is taught to assume a static position, resting on their chest and stomach.
Recall – The dog is taught to come when called.
Place – The dog is taught to go to a target location, usually a dog bed, and remain there until released.
Free – This is a release command that tells a dog they are free to move about at will. It is primarily used to release a dog from a stay.
Stay – The dog is taught to hold whatever position they have been put in.
Drop it – The dog is taught to release what is in their mouth.
Leave it – The dog is taught to abandon its attempts to occupy their mouth with an item.
Intermediate Obedience Behaviors
In addition to all basic training, intermediate obedience challenges your dog with those basic behaviors, but with greater distance, longer duration and added distractions.
Additional intermediate behaviors include, but are not limited to:
Sit and Stay – The dog is able to “Stay” at a distance from the owner, and with distraction. The dog assumes a sit, down, or a place stay, and holds that position at significant distance from its human and for a substantial duration. Distractions at varying levels will be introduced to challenge the dog and proof the behavior.
Intermediate off-leash Obedience – The dog is trained to follow commands and perform tasks without being tethered to its human from 5-10 feet.
Obedient in Public – the dog is trained to execute obedience tasks while being exposed to the stimuli and distractions found at public locations. This can include, but is not limited to accepting a friendly pet from a stranger.
Advanced or Specialty Obedience Behaviors
Tasks include, but are not limited to:
Send to Place – The dog is sent from a significant distance to a target location, (typically a bed or crate) and then stays until released.
Come to Heal – Training a dog to start from a sitting position in front of, and facing the owner, to circle around the owner and then take position at the owners side (typically left side).
Reverse – The dog is trained to walk backward.
Various trick behaviors and tasks can be taught.
Out of sight – The dog maintains basic obedience commands even when its human is no longer in its line of sight.
