Training Commands and Walking
Training Your Dog, Top Commands & Walking With a Harness
Building Calm, Confident, Well-Mannered Companions
Training begins the moment your puppy comes home. Dogs thrive on routine, structure, consistency, and calm leadership. The early weeks and months are the foundation for a confident, respectful family companion.
At Lakewood Ranch Doodles, we believe training should focus on building trust, creating healthy habits, and teaching calm behaviour through guidance and repetition.
🐾 START TRAINING IMMEDIATELY
Puppies learn every single day—even when you are not actively teaching them.
Focus on:
• Calm behaviour
• Routine
• Structure
• Consistency
• Confidence building
• Gentle guidance
• Positive experiences
Short daily sessions are far more effective than long overwhelming ones.
🦴 USE THE CRATE AS A TRAINING TOOL
A crate helps teach:
• House training
• Self-calming
• Routine
• Independence
• Confidence
• Safe quiet time
Keep the crate:
• Small and age appropriate
• Calm and quiet
• Covered on 3 sides if helpful
• Free of beds or loose stuffing initially
• Equipped with a frozen raw animal bone for quiet self-entertainment
Using a divider inside the crate helps prevent accidents by keeping the sleeping space appropriately sized.
🎓 TOP COMMANDS EVERY DOG SHOULD KNOW
✋ SIT
Teaches focus and calmness.
Useful for:
• Greetings
• Feeding time
• Waiting at doors
• Visitors
• Leash attachment
🐾 COME
One of the most important safety commands.
Practice:
• Indoors first
• Using a happy voice
• Rewarding immediately
• Short distances before longer ones
Never punish a dog for coming to you.
🛑 STAY
Teaches patience, self-control, and calm behaviour.
Start with:
• Short distances
• Very short times
• Gradually increase duration
🚪 WAIT
Excellent for:
• Doors
• Gates
• Stairs
• Vehicles
Wait teaches impulse control and improves safety.
🐕 HEEL / EASY WALK
Loose leash walking creates a more enjoyable walking experience.
Teach your dog to:
• Walk calmly beside you
• Avoid pulling
• Focus during walks
• Remain relaxed around distractions
👀 LOOK / WATCH ME
Helps gain your dog's attention during distractions.
Useful for:
• Leash walking
• Training sessions
• Redirecting behaviour
• Nervous dogs
🛏️ PLACE / BED
Teaches your dog to settle calmly in one location.
Helpful for:
• Visitors
• Meal times
• Relaxing indoors
• Calm household behaviour
🚫 LEAVE IT
An important safety command.
Helps prevent dogs from grabbing:
• Unsafe food
• Garbage
• Dangerous objects
• Household items
🦴 DROP IT
Teaches dogs to release objects calmly.
Useful for:
• Toys
• Sticks
• Household items
• Unsafe objects
Trade for a treat or another toy instead of chasing the dog.
❤️ GENTLE
Encourages soft mouth behaviour and calm interactions.
Helpful for:
• Children
• Treats
• Playtime
• Excited puppies
Reward calm, controlled behaviour.
🚶 WALKING WITH A HARNESS
Using a properly fitted harness can help create a calmer, safer, and more comfortable walking experience.
Benefits include:
• Improved control
• Safer guidance for puppies
• Reduced strain on the neck
• More comfortable walking experience
• Better support during training
• Increased safety in busy areas
Harnesses are especially helpful for young puppies learning leash manners.
🐾 START SLOWLY
Many puppies need time to adjust to wearing a harness.
Introduce it gradually:
• Allow puppy to sniff the harness
• Put it on for short periods indoors
• Reward calm behaviour
• Practice indoors first
• Keep experiences positive and relaxed
Short calm sessions help build confidence.
🚶 TEACHING LOOSE LEASH WALKING
The goal is a calm walk beside you—not pulling ahead.
Practice:
• Short walks first
• Stop when puppy pulls
• Reward calm walking beside you
• Change direction calmly when distracted
• Use praise and encouragement
Consistency is more important than distance.
✋ AVOID OVERSTIMULATION
Young puppies can become overwhelmed easily.
Avoid:
• Overly long walks
• Crowded busy areas too early
• Excessive leash corrections
• Forcing exercise beyond the puppy's age and stamina
Keep early walks short, positive, and confidence building.
🎽 HARNESS FIT MATTERS
A harness should:
• Fit snug but comfortably
• Not rub under the legs
• Allow free shoulder movement
• Stay secure without shifting excessively
Check fit regularly as puppies grow quickly.
🚶 DAILY EXERCISE & MENTAL STIMULATION
A tired dog is often a calmer, better-behaved dog.
Include:
• Structured walks
• Training games
• Socialization
• Supervised play
• Obedience practice
• Exposure to grooming and handling
• Frozen raw animal bones for calming chew time
Young puppies only need short exercise sessions. Avoid over-exercise during growth stages.
🐕 SOCIALIZATION IS IMPORTANT
Expose puppies carefully to:
• People
• Sounds
• Car rides
• Grooming
• Different flooring textures
• Household activity
• Other calm vaccinated dogs
Positive experiences help create confident adult dogs.
🌿 HOLISTIC TRAINING APPROACH
We encourage:
• Routine and structure
• Holistic healthy nutrition
• Proper sleep
• Calm leadership
• Raw frozen animal bones only for chewing
• Age-appropriate exercise
• Confidence building
A well-balanced lifestyle often helps support calmer behaviour naturally.
❤️ WALKING BUILDS CONFIDENCE
Daily walks are not just exercise.
They also help teach:
• Confidence
• Socialization
• Calm behaviour
• Trust
• Focus
• Routine
• Leash manners
A calm structured walk often creates a calmer dog at home.
❤️ REMEMBER
Training is not about perfection overnight.
Patience, repetition, structure, and calm leadership help build a respectful lifelong companion.
The time invested early creates the adult dog you will live with for years to come.
“Partnering with you for successful dog ownership.” 🐾
Lakewood Ranch Doodles Education Series