Good manners are a set of small skills taught one at a time. This section covers the beginner obedience every dog benefits from, loose-leash walking, and the reward-based basics that make teaching anything easier.
Basic obedience for beginners
Start with the skills that make daily life easier: responding to their name, sit, down, stay and a reliable recall (“come”). Teach each one in a quiet room first, in sessions of a few minutes, and only add distractions once your dog gets it right most of the time. Most “my dog knows it at home but ignores me outside” problems come from moving to harder places too quickly, not from a stubborn dog.
Step-by-step guides to sit, stay and recall are being written now.
Leash pulling and loose-leash walking
Dogs pull because it works: pulling gets them to the next smell sooner. Loose-leash walking is about making the opposite true, so that a slack leash is what moves you both forward. The basic recipe is to reward your dog often for being near your side, stop or change direction when the leash goes tight, and practice in boring places before busy ones.
Equipment can make management easier while you train. Many owners find a well-fitted, front-clip harness reduces pulling force. We don’t recommend prong, choke or shock collars; they work by causing discomfort, which reward-based guidance advises against.
Our loose-leash walking plan and harness guide are in progress.
Reward-based training basics
Three skills make every other lesson easier for you as the trainer: a marker (a word like “yes,” or a clicker) that tells your dog exactly which moment earned the reward; good timing, so the marker comes as the behavior happens; and choosing the right reward for the situation, from kibble at home to something special in a distracting park.
Guides on markers, clicker training and choosing rewards are coming soon.