Dog Training Basics: The Five Cues Every Dog Should Know

How a training session should look

• Keep sessions to two to five minutes, several times a day — dogs learn far better in short bursts.
• Train before meals when your dog is hungry and motivated, in a quiet room with no other pets around.
• Pay with something your dog actually values: soft, pea-sized treats beat dry biscuit for new skills.
• Finish while it is still going well, not after the first mistake.

The five cues, in order of usefulness

• Name response — say the name once, reward the head turn. Everything else depends on this.
• Sit — lure the nose up and back with a treat; the rear drops on its own. Add the word once the movement is reliable.
• Down — lure from sit toward the floor and slightly forward, rewarding each stage rather than waiting for the finished position.
• Come — start indoors at two steps away, make it a party every single time, and never call your dog to something they dislike.
• Leave it — reward for turning away from a covered treat, then build up to food on the floor and items on walks.

Loose-lead walking

Pulling is rewarded every time the dog gets to move forward while the lead is tight, so the fix is mechanical: the lead going tight stops all forward progress, and a slack lead starts it again. Expect the first few walks to cover very little ground.

A front-clip harness makes this much easier and takes pressure off the neck. Add a release word for sniffing time so your dog still gets to be a dog — sniffing is genuinely tiring in a good way.

What slows training down

• Repeating a cue three times before the dog responds — say it once, then help.
• Training too long, too late in the day, or in a room full of distractions.
• Punishing mistakes: it suppresses behaviour without teaching the alternative and damages trust.
• Different rules from different people in the house.
• Skipping the fade-out: once a skill is solid, move from a treat every time to occasional rewards so it holds up in real life.

When to bring in a professional

Growling, snapping, bites, extreme fear, or distress when left alone are not stubbornness and do not improve with more repetitions. Look for a qualified, reward-based trainer or a veterinary behaviourist, and involve your vet early — pain is a common hidden driver.