As a professional pet sitting service covering Kenosha, Racine, Milwaukee, and Waukesha counties, we see our fair share of really well trained dogs. We also see MANY not so well trained dogs. The sitters at Wisconsin Pet Care will follow up on commands you have taught your pup and can help expand their training.
In our experience, these are the four most vital commands all dogs should obey:
· Leave it – I’m sure we’ve all experienced dropping something on the floor that our dog immediately dives for. The leave it command is important to keep your pup from ingesting something that you don’t want him to get. It is also helpful to use outdoors for discarded food or even to cease squirrel chasing, among other things.
· Drop it – If you’re out walking and your dog picks up a chicken bone, how do you get it from him before he inhales it? Another safety cue, drop it can be used for anything your dog picks up that you want him to drop. It’s much easier to teach the cue rather than trying to wrestle a chicken bone out of a determined pup’s mouth.
· Stay – There a multitude of situations in which a stay command is necessary. Broken glass over the floor? Command your dog to stay elsewhere so they don’t cut themselves. Having guests over that you don’t want your dog to greet immediately? Another good application opportunity for a stay command.
· Come – Another lifesaving command. In the event your dog would get loose and head for a road, how would you get him back safely? Come means to stop and return. The come cue is vital in any emergency. Some of our team of professional dog walkers have a “cue” word, such as “Check IN!” which redirects behavior the handler, especially if there is a high value treat reward!
