Stay, Come, Leave It, The Most Important Of All These three commands can be life-saving. No matter what other tricks and commands you are going to teach your dog, these three should be covered first and should be mastered.
Although there are many behaviors that promote safety, there are three basic commands that are especially critical: "down stay," "drop it" and "come." Not only should every dog be familiar with these behaviors, but dogs should be trained to perform them anywhere, anytime.
Sit: The “sit” command is one of the easiest tricks your dog can learn and serves as the basis for many other simple tricks like “shake” and “stay.” To teach this trick, keep your foot on your dog's leash, allowing them only a little room to move but not enough to jump up.
Arguably the most important command to teach your dog, “stay” will come in handy daily. For their safety and the safety of others, “stay” needs to be taught at an early age. To teach it, have your dog start by sitting. Then slowly back away from your dog.
Essentially, your dog wants your approval. So, rather than yelling or constantly saying “No”, quicker progress can be made by teaching your dog a 'no' signal – one that tells him to stop whatever he is doing whenever he hears it. A suitable command can be “Leave”.
Practice a minimum of 10 times per day, say the dog's name (from 2 to 6 feet away) and as soon as the dog looks at you, mark this behaviour with a marker word such as “yes” or a clicker and reward with food or play while giving lots of praise.
According to Ray, the basic commands that every dog should learn (in this order) are: heel, sit, stay, and come. Heel – With the dog at knee level on your left side and the leash in your hand, start walking with your left foot first as you give the "Heel" command, using the dog's name.
Go slowly.
Start by working with your dog on favorite or familiar behaviors. Create a positive association with training by rewarding even minor successes. Once your dog understands that training is a good thing, take small steps: Change only one variable at a time.
From there, McMillan explains his playful, positive, and kind approach, starting with his 7 Common Commands: SIT, STAY, DOWN, COME, OFF, HEEL, and NO.
Pit Bull Terriers
Probably the most notorious breed on this list, the pit bull has a reputation for unpredictability and aggression, even against its owner or his family. State and local governments have been vigorous in restricting ownership of this dog with breed-specific legislation.
The three Ds are duration, distance, and distraction, and they affect almost any behavior. Dogs don't generalize well, meaning if they learn to sit in front of you, they don't automatically know that “sit” means the same thing when you're on the other side of the room.
With humans, dogs will learn their own name, but it's more of a habitual thing that needs to be trained into them.
It's never too late to change a dog's name, but the time it takes for your dog's new name to “stick” varies from a couple of training sessions to a few weeks, depending on the dog; the process will go faster if you avoid using the name aimlessly or associating it with anything negative.
Dog trainers agree that a one- or two-syllable name (Lucky, Jack, Lucy, etc.) is best, as it's easy for dogs to remember and simple for people to say. Dogs typically learn shorter words and commands faster, so make it easy for both parties and name them something unchallenging.
Border collie
According to The Intelligence of Dogs, which ranks 131 dog breeds in terms of their relative intelligence, the border collie is the smartest dog breed known to man.
Pitbull Terrier
American Pitbull Terriers are strong dogs and often make it to news headlines for attacking people. These dogs can turn on their owners at any time. The historical background of this breed (bred as fighting dogs) probably offers the best possible explanation for this behavior.
Smell. Smell is a dog's most prominent sense and the one that is the most different from ours. It has been estimated that a dog's sense of smell is 100,000 times more powerful than a human's. Scientists think that dogs have about 2 billion olfactory receptors—many, many more than our 40 million.
Sometimes the environment trumps the trainer and your dog might “forget” to respond when you call him. An easy way to help your dog remember his manners is to make sure that his responses are close to perfect when in a familiar environment, like your yard.
Memory Span
"Dogs forget an event within two minutes," reported National Geographic, citing a 2014 study performed on various animals from rats to bees. Other animals have long-term memories, such as dolphins, but dogs don't seem to have a long-term memory that lasts much beyond those two minutes.
You can teach any dog to respond to the 'no' command, regardless of age as long, as you are willing to put in the necessary work. Younger dogs tend to learn faster and some older dogs "forget" how it works. Since this is one of the first commands you will be teaching your pup, there aren't any real prerequisites.