What should I keep in mind when teaching my dog a command?

As your dog becomes comfortable with a command, you should begin giving the command in a variety of situations.

For example, practice the command in different rooms in the house. You can also vary how you give the command, such as saying the command while sitting or standing and giving the command when the dog is to your left and to your right.

This will help your dog learn that the command means the same thing no matter where you are or what you are doing.

I have an older dog. Will his age affect how I should train him?

Training your dog will require time and patience, no matter how old he is. An older dog may have a better attention span than a puppy, allowing him to learn faster. When training a re-homed dog, keep in mind that the dog’s previous training may cause him to misunderstand some of your commands. For example, if your dog has difficulty with the Come command, you may have to choose a different command word for that action.

• When you begin training your dog, you and your dog should be alone in a quiet room.

• You should train in a room that has as few distractions as possible.

• Removing distractions from your training area makes you the most interesting item in the room so your dog’s attention will be on you.

• As your dog becomes more comfortable with commands, start adding distractions.

• With time, you can move your training to other rooms in your house and outdoors with your dog on a leash. When you change the training location, your dog learns that a command means the same thing no matter where he is.

Note: Each time you move to a new location, you may need to go back a few steps in your training.