Teaching your dog a few commands isn't just about showing off at the park: it's the most effective way to communicate with it, keep it safe and strengthen your bond. The good news is that no special gifts are needed, just consistency, patience and a handful of treats. Let's see where to start and how to teach the fundamental commands, step by step.
A dog that knows a few basic commands is a calmer, freer dog: you can take it to more places, handle it safely amid traffic or among other dogs, and avoid a host of stressful situations for both of you. Training is also a tremendous mental workout: it tires the dog out in a healthy way, helps it concentrate and prevents many of the unwanted behaviours that arise from boredom. It's never too early or too late to start.
Before diving into the individual commands, it's worth setting out a few principles that make the difference between training that works and training that frustrates both dog and owner.
Positive reinforcement. The most effective and respectful method is to reward what you want, ignoring what you don't. When the dog does the right thing, it gets something good: a treat, a stroke, an enthusiastic word. Punishment, yanking and telling-off teach nothing: at best they confuse the dog, at worst they undermine its trust in you.
Short, frequent sessions. A dog has a short attention span. Three or four mini-sessions of five minutes spread across the day are better than a single half-hour lesson. Training little and often, always ending on a success, keeps enthusiasm high.
Timing and consistency. The reward must arrive at the exact instant the dog does the right thing, not five seconds later: otherwise it doesn't link the action to the reward. Always use the same word for the same command and make sure the whole family uses the same terms, otherwise the dog gets very confused.
The right environment and rewards. At first, train indoors, in a quiet place with no distractions; only when the command is solid will you move the exercise to the garden, then the street, then the park. And choose treats that are small, soft and tasty: you'll use plenty of them in training, so they need to be healthy and low in calories so as not to unbalance the diet.
It's the command almost everyone starts with, because it's simple and rewarding. Hold a treat closed between your fingers and bring it just above the dog's nose; move it slowly back, towards the back of its head. To follow the morsel with its eyes, the dog will raise its muzzle and, almost automatically, lower its rear until it sits.
At the exact moment its bottom touches the ground, say "sit" clearly and give the reward straight away, alongside an enthusiastic "good boy!" Repeat the exercise a few times per session. After a few days you can start removing the treat from your hand and use just the gesture and the word, still rewarding once the exercise is done. Avoid physically pushing the dog's rear down: it must work it out for itself, not be forced.
"Stay" is built on top of "sit", so teach it only when the latter is secure. Start with the dog sitting in front of you. Open your hand showing it the palm, like a little "stop", say "stay" and take a single step back. If the dog stays put even for a second, return to it at once and reward calmly.
The secret is to increase the difficulty in tiny steps, one variable at a time: first duration (stay still a few more seconds), then distance (one, two, three steps back), then distractions. If the dog gets up, don't tell it off: it just means you asked too much, too soon. Go back to an easier level and try again. With time you'll manage "stay at a distance", moving several metres away while the dog holds the position: a valuable, useful and impressive achievement.
"Down" asks the dog to lie down, and it's extremely useful for getting it to relax in many situations. Start from the sitting position. Bring a treat close to its nose and then move it slowly down, to the floor, between its front legs; when the muzzle is on the ground, drag the morsel forward, away from the dog. To follow it, the animal will stretch its legs out and end up lying down.
As soon as the elbows touch the floor, say "down" and reward. At first some dogs try to get up or turn round instead of going down: in that case make sure you start from "sit" and move the treat very slowly, without lifting it. Here too, never force the dog down with your hands: simply make it worthwhile and natural for it to get there on its own.
The recall is probably the single most important command, because it can literally save your dog's life: it brings it back to you if it's running towards a road or a danger. For that very reason it must be built with care and always made highly enjoyable.
Start indoors or in the garden, at a calm moment. Call it by name followed by "come", in a cheerful, inviting voice; you can crouch down and open your arms to make yourself more appealing. When it arrives, make a big fuss and reward it generously. The golden rule is that returning to you must always be the best choice in the world: this is why you must never recall it to do something it hates (like a bath) and you must never tell it off when it arrives, even if it took an eternity. If you scold it on arrival, you only teach it that coming to you is a bad idea. When the recall is solid indoors, train it outside on a long leash, so you keep control while increasing the distractions.
Knowing how to say "leave it" is essential for safety: it gets the dog to drop something it has in its mouth or is about to pick up from the ground, often spoiled food or dangerous objects. A simple way to teach it: close a treat in your fist and let the dog sniff and try to get it. Keep your hand closed and ignore its attempts; the instant it stops insisting and moves away even slightly, say "yes!" and reward it with another morsel taken from your other hand. The dog learns this way that giving up one thing earns it something even better.
Little by little, attach the word "leave it" to this pattern. With time you'll be able to use it even when it already has something in its mouth, always offering it a worthwhile swap instead of wrenching the object away by force, a move that only risks teaching it to run off with the loot.
There's no single stopwatch that fits all: it depends on the dog, the breed, the age and above all the consistency with which you train. As a rule, a simple command like "sit" can be learned in a few days, while commands like "stay at a distance" or a reliable recall even amid distractions take weeks of patient practice.
Frequency counts more than duration. Three small five-minute sessions a day, every day, are worth far more than a single long session at the weekend. Build training into the daily routine — before the meal, during the walk, while you play — so it becomes a natural game and not a chore. And remember to keep revising the commands even after they've been "learned": like any skill, without practice they tend to go rusty.
Some mistakes slow progress more than you'd think. The first is repeating the command endlessly ("sit, sit, sit, SIT!"): this way the dog learns it can ignore you until you say it ten times. Say the command once only and, if it doesn't respond, help it succeed with the movement of the treat, then reward.
The second is a lack of consistency: if every family member uses different words or rewards different behaviours, the dog doesn't understand the rules. The third is asking for too much, too fast, perhaps training straight away in a park full of distractions: it's normal that the dog "doesn't respond" there, the exercise is simply still too hard. Finally, ending sessions on a negative note: if you notice the dog is tired or frustrated, go back to an easy exercise, reward it and finish on a positive note, always.
A detail many overlook concerns the treats: using a lot of them during training, it's easy to overdo the calories without realising. Choose small, healthy treats and remember to deduct them from the meal ration, so as not to make the dog gain weight. If you'd like to better understand the link between treats, portions and a correct diet, it can be useful to take a look at our guidance on how to leash train your dog, the other great cornerstone of everyday training.
To teach your dog commands you don't need magic tricks, but method: positive reinforcement, short and frequent sessions, timing and plenty of consistency. Start with "sit", build "stay", add "down", take particular care over "come" — the command that can save its life — and don't neglect "leave it". Increase the difficulty in small steps and celebrate every success. A well-trained dog is a freer, safer and happier dog, and every minute spent training together strengthens the bond between you.
One last thing: a well-fed dog, with the right energy and the right balance, learns better and with more enthusiasm. This too is why it matters to choose a quality diet, in portions calculated for its weight and lifestyle. The Pappa Fresh recipes are designed exactly this way: a single protein, simple ingredients and no preservatives, for a dog in good shape even during training.
Veterinary surgeon, medical director of the Clinica ARS Veterinaria di Modena. He works every day on canine nutrition, prevention and wellbeing, with a particular focus on the link between a correct diet, behavioural balance and quality of life.
A dog in good shape learns better: give it the right diet, in the right portions, formulated by a vet.
Calculate your dog's plan