The “stand” command can be very helpful for your dog to keep him upright in certain situations. With positive breeding, this system can be easily established with three simple steps. Let’s evaluate how to teach your little buddy to respond to and maintain the “stand” command.
Why did you teach your dog the command to “stand”?
Teaching order to your dog is always beneficial, as it helps to develop and strengthen the relationship between the animal and its master, their complicity and the trust that they have in each other. Any learning can motivate the dog, but also to diversify the exercises and the physical, emotional and psychological mechanisms that he mobilizes to perform.
Through the teachings, the master can also assert his dominant position and establish himself as the leader of the herd in the eyes of his animal. A position that the dog respects and that enhances his desire to please his master by making him happy.
The “stand” command is useful for teaching your dog to get into a position where he is upright on all fours. Prepare and alert, standing position is an intermediate step that can be useful between two other things, such as moving from “down” to “sitting”, from “sitting” to recalling, etc. Standing can also be useful in certain situations, such as when you have to put on a coat or belt, or clean up in the shower to facilitate your efforts.
Note also that the command “stand” can be associated with the pose “stay still!” Which teaches the dog to remain still. Very useful for keeping the animal in place when necessary.
How did your dog learn the command to “stand”?
The “stand” command is a basic command that puts the dog in a normal, upright position on all fours. However, it is best to teach him the ‘sit’ and ‘lay down’ commands beforehand, which your dog should master just as well as they correspond to the starting positions for this new teaching.
Here are the steps to follow to teach the “stand” command to your little buddy.
The first step: the lying position
Put food or dog food in your hand. Your little buddy should see it.
Sit facing your dog. Raise your hand to the dog’s muzzle and ask him to sit, then lie down on the floor.
The second step: standing position
When your dog is lying on the floor, give him your hand that has the treat always at the height of the dog’s muzzle.
Then gently raise your hand to encourage your little friend to keep moving until he is completely straight. When he’s on his feet, say “Stand!” So that relates it to the position. Praise him and reward him with treatment.
If your animal does not respond to hand movement or if its obedience is erratic, help it by placing your other hand under its belly in order to raise it slightly while saying “Stand!”. This should inspire movement.
If your dog obeys but does not remain in a standing position, you can place your hand back under his stomach to encourage him to maintain this position.
Step Three: Training and Acquisition
It is important to repeat the exercise several times a day and for several days in a row. Do short sessions, 10 to 15 minutes max, but very regularly to make it easier to learn and to get in good order, without causing fatigue.
With repetition, offer your hand without a reward until your dog learns to obey the “stand” command by only following your hand and the verbal command “stand!”. Little by little, he should be able to stand at just the word “Whoa!”. Of course, remember to systematically congratulate him with foreplay and personality.
Positive Education: The Key to Successful Learning for Dogs
Several years ago, positive education has largely prevailed over traditional education and has clearly established itself. Positive education is based on the principles of benevolence, respect, congratulations, encouragement, appreciation of success, patience and firmness.
More specifically, the dog is congratulated for making the correct gesture and encouraged to repeat it thanks to the reward. And so the animal is happy to please its master, because their relationship in learning is based on trust and mutual respect. It is a matter of appreciating achievements and ignoring mistakes and bad behavior in order to encourage the dog to stop them on their own.
This positive technique makes the dog fully participate in its learning, as it is voluntary. The master is also a leading player because he participates in learning by motivating and rewarding his dog.
However, the importance of assertiveness should not be overlooked. It’s not a matter of being violent, but simply creating a coherent and logical framework and rules that you have to enforce and keep. Like a young child, a dog needs healthy boundaries and framework to develop in a balanced environment on a daily basis. So it is a matter of establishing and maintaining these coherent rules in order to encourage him to respect them until they are fully integrated. For example, if you sometimes allow your dog to climb on the sofa and prevent him in other circumstances (when your young children are there, certain times of the day, etc.), your pet will not be able to understand why he is there. Sometimes it can go up there and sometimes not. For him, this rule has no coherence, even if it does for you. It is best to systematically ban or allow it on all occasions to be consistent and for your dog to understand the rule to follow.
The benevolent method is opposed to the traditional method which is based on penalty for errors. So certainly, over time, the dog does not reproduce the behaviors that are considered bad, but this does not teach him the correct behavior to take. Preventing your dog from doing his homework will not let him know where to do it. Teaching him good behavior is better than punishing mistakes without reason.
Be patient, your dog may need time to understand the instructions. And if he refuses to get up, you don’t have to be stubborn. End the session and start again later when he’s ready. Also, make sure you master each step well before moving on to the next, otherwise you risk going back to square one.