Since I will have the dogs at 8 weeks old, I will train them right from the start commands that would be essential for their roles as a pet, and a guard dog. I will use a trainer to train them for their guard roles, but everything else will be my teaching. If I want to give separate commands, or want them both to perform the same command, I will call them by name, and the follow up with the command. There will be some commands that I feel all dogs should know, and they are as follows:
- Come
- Follow
- Food
- Give
- Play
- Potty
- Shh
- Sit
Commands
Come is pretty self explanatory. The dog will come when called. This will be especially useful if in a dog park, or open outdoor space. The dogs will come as quickly as possible, and therefore be at my side quickly.
Follow will command the dogs to follow behind me and walk at my side without the need for a leash. While a dog is required to be on a leash when walking within the city of Pittsburgh, the leash will be loose, and not really necessary. Instead, the leash will only be to comply with laws. Under normal circumstances, they will not be leashed, and the follow command will assure for that.
Food will give the dogs permission to eat. I do not want excited dogs going to food. That could lead to food aggression which is obviously not a good thing. When the dog is calm, and submissive – they will be allowed to have their food. The idea is I will be allowed by the dog to intervene, and take their food if the need should arise. The dog will recognize that the food is mine, and I am just allowing them to have some. In addition, I will need them to ignore food given by someone else. This is so a bad actor breaking into my apartment can’t entice the dogs with a slab of raw steak.
Give will be to release whatever is in their mouth at my feet. This could be important if they happen to grab something they should not have. This is not only a command issue, but something for the safety of the dog.
Play is as the name sounds. Go out, and have fun. Enjoy, chase, be chased, jump, and rough house. This will be especially important when taking the dogs to the dog park. I don’t want them to just run into the park and be out of control. They will walk in with me, and wait for me to give the command to play.
Potty is permission to defecate, or urinate on command. This will be especially good so the dog does not seek to do their business while crossing the street. And yes, I had that happened to me. When the area is safe, and we are on the sidewalk, I will issue the command for potty. On another note, they will learn to defecate in a particular corner of the outdoor space to make it easier for me to clean up.
Shh is the command to cease barking. When someone knocks on the door, and the dogs start barking, the Shh command will come in handy to quiet the dogs. Keep in mind, that there will be no doorbell. Instead when someone pushes the intercom button for my residence, the house phone will ring. The dogs will learn that the phone ringing is nothing special.
Sit is a pretty basic command. Obviously, to help keep the dogs calm, they will be required to sit when waiting for their food.