I was not trained to train dogs. But my dogs are all very well trained in the basics. Many people will look at them work and say Who trained your dogs? Me. I say, a little surprised. Don’t you train your dog? You can you know. It is easy. I just know a little and do it often. I think about it like toddlers building with blocks, little by little, step by step, learning one lesson then moving to the next. Patiently using five minute training sessions five times a day. Every day. Anywhere and at any time. You can train your dog. 
I made this all up so it is all just common sense really. Here is my system for training dogs. Now remember. You are the boss of the dog not the other way around. He needs your guidance. So train that dog.
Decide how you want your dog to be. This is a high value decision so do not begin any training until you have decided what you want your dog to learn. Do you want a big fat lazy dog who does nothing but lie on the couch and watch the tele with you. Admittedly there are advantages to a big fat lazy dog. But you will need a big couch for the pair of you. And he will need to learn Stay.
Do you want a dog who will guard you and your family. Or are you training your dog to move and protect the animals on your farm. Or do you want to walk to the supermarket and leave him sitting outside. I had a dog like this once. His name was Mazoulet Mazoot the Marzipan kid. I would leave him to the side of the supermarket door, I seldom have my dogs on a leash – he was left on two commands Down then Stay… unfettered. By the time I came back out he had belly walked to the center of the doors (still down and mostly stayed) watching to see where I was and taking every pat that came his way. He was a black lab and lived until he was very old.
Now, decide are you going to use treats or praise. I use praise. I use praise because then I can train anytime, anywhere without having to find the treats.
You need to do at least Five training sessions Five times a day. They are very short and can be done anywhere. Training Time is training time not play time. Training Time is 5 minutes, 5 times a day – (or more) forever! Be very clear that this is training time, then after that we play. Start your training session with a command that means’ it is time to work’.
I say ” OK” , patting my hollow sounding chest. Getting his attention.
Always say your dogs name before the command.
Accompany each command with a big hand gesture. In case by some unhappy chance you lose the ability to speak. I use grand gestures so I can issue commands from a distance. 
Work on one command until you have it right then go to the next one, reviewing the others as you go along. If he gets it wrong, say No, firmly and go back to the beginning. 
Work with one dog at a time. But use his name every time so he knows you are talking to him. Because soon you will have to work both together.
I start training at 6 weeks old. Just coming to their name. By 8 weeks TonTon was retrieving. By 8 weeks Boo was sleeping with his legs in the air. So I named it – it is called Loll About. But the first thing to teach your dog is to come when he is called. Do not go any further until he does this. Boo took his time coming. Ton did it immediately. But either way they must come the moment you call, every time. Then go to your next lesson. 
Then That’ll do Dog which means training is over. Next is Sit, then Down then Wait then Stay. In that order over the course of time.Building on to the previous commands. Later we learn to do all of these from a distance. Remember to work for only a few minutes -the moment your dogs attention wanes and he gets wriggly say “That’ll do dog” End of training. Be very clear about this too. Say it then reach for the toy to play or the treat, or pat pat and walk away. That’ll do Dog is a very important command -make sure you instantly change to a new game or pat, pat and walk away.
Sit and Down are TWO SEPARATE COMMANDS. Don’t tell your dog to ‘Sit Down’ and then wonder why he is confused. The three following commands need to be practiced forever. 5 times – 5 minutes a day.
Sit. Hand under the chin and keep it there, then hand on bottom and push gently down. Sit. My hand command for this is an open palm raised. Boo – Sit.
Down follows the same sequence but pushing the head down saying Down until they are on the ground. My hand command is like a big bow, hand sweeping down. Boo – Down.
The third building block is in two parts First we practice Wait. Then later when the dog is older and working well move to Stay. Wait means stand by. Stay means Don’t you move a bloody muscle until I say. So start with Wait.
Mine also learn Head Down. When they have to put their heads right on the ground. Do you remember when those hunters were shooting on our property that autumn. Ton was irate. He felt that I was being threatened and he was going to bite someone. He had to go down, then put his head down. He was growling at them with his head on the ground. If you need to chastise your dog go for head down.
After a few months of these commands when you are working well together you can go onto other work. Like sitting in a chair every time I reach for my boots. Or Bring It which means give me what is in your mouth (usually something disgusting if it is Boo) . Or Gimme when I point to an item and they pick it up and give it to me. I also train my dogs to find lost animals and people. Just on the farmy, nothing special. To begin I name a person. Bob. Then say See Bob. Bob calls the dog and he runs to Bob. (Treat or Pat). Retrieve the dog and do it again and again. Every animal is named as we work with them. See Daisy. See Mama. See piggies. See Sheila. As I go to feed them I send Ton to find them (usually they are where they were). Like me. I am where I was.
Repitition. Repitition. Repitition. Be dogmatic.
Name the areas in the house for them. train them to go to the different mats, or doors. Go to bed, will be his sleeping corner. Go home will be the porch.
Also train them to obey these commands when you are shouting with a panicked tone especially Go Home. This command is often issued when you need the dog out of the way immediately.
Get other people to tell them to Sit or Stay.
Get in behind is a very important command. The dog must get behind your heel. When walking he has to walk beside and slightly behind. When it is time for them to run I say Off you go . And they take off like bullets. When training to Get Behind (or on the leash) turn lots of imaginary corners so they learn to watch your body for changes. If you stop command the dog to Sit. Soon he will do it automatically.
Step through a door or gate before your dog. Never let your dog push past you to go through the door or gate. They must be commanded to Sit then after they have sat Wait, you walk through and then Dog has to wait for the command to Come so that they can then walk slowly though while you hold the door. The same goes for going up or down steps.
Bad. Boo Boo. Sit. Boo Boo. Sit.
Sigh says Big Dog who has been taught nothing at all and is old and crotchety.
To recap : Decide your commands and stick to them. Write them on the wall so everyone uses the same commands. Then practice often: If the most important thing you need is to have the dog Stay then work on that as often as you can. Sit then Down, then Stay while you are doing the dishes or the laundry when you are gardening, or when you are in the bathroom. Use a firm teachers voice when issuing commands. And if your pup loses the plot, don’t get angry. Just finish the session That’ll do Dog, Off you Go pat, pat and resume your day. Then come back to it later. Again and Again and Again.
And remember to keep the training going forever. Even older dogs need to be kept up to standard.
Good morning. There is more but that will do for a start. My Dogs are on Down and Stay (Boo in his chair, Ton on his mat) waiting at the door to begin work.
TonTon is a Border Collie and Boo is a Blue Heeler. Both these dogs need to be very well trained and kept close and busy or they will get in trouble. And we all know what kind of trouble they can get into. So they will have training sessions for the rest of their lives. This is why I have devised short anywhere, anytime training sessions. It works.
Have a lovely day. Off you go!!
your friend, celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
94 responses to “How to train your dog in Five minutes, Five times a Day.”
Wow!!! I love it! Fantastic advice…makes me want to rush out and get another dog…we miss our Luna so much!
Morning Charlotte darling girl, how is the weather in Italy this morning, or are you travelling about in the summer>. I will pop over to see. c
Excellent post. My dog was originally clicker trained but eventually became too dependant on the treats – so we had to transition to praise and pat pat. He is 13 years now and responds to commands when I need him to – they pick up intent from you too. Another useful thing learnt is to only enter/exit one car door – that way I can open any other door in the car and he will not attempt to enter/exit the car. My little 3year old great-nephew taught the dog ‘stand away’ which basically means ‘ get out of my face’ 🙂 . repetition and consistency are key – always. Laura
Stand Away an excellent command. I think it is great when kids use commands for dogs too, good for everyone. The door thing is a good idea. My two have their own doors but are not allowed out until i tell them. It does sound exhausting but in fact it becomes second nature for the dog and the person. c
C. this is a wonderful tutorial…as I was reading it to Sophie and Tillie, they just laughed at me and tottled off! But no, I really am in charge of them…they just don’t know it! 🙂
Absolutely, are you having a lovely day in the garden chris? It is pouring down rain here which is excellent! We need it. c
Reblogged this on Grannymar and commented:
This is the best tutorial about dog training, I have ever come across. Thanks Cecilia!
You are welcome and thank you very much for sharing it!.. c
Oh My Goodness – What a Dog’s Life Indeed – loving your captures:)
You have a lovely day too, are you adventuring off somewhere soon? I must pop over and see.. c
Have some wine events coming up in October. Hoping to serve as a volunteer on Sunday for the Duck Race down the river here – smoke and ash in the air right now – not good for one’s health to be outside for hours though. How about you??? Happy Friday – Happy Weekend:)
Wine events sound like fun! Is the duck race with real ducks? or rubber duckies.. smoke and ash .. hmm.. not good.. c
Wine events sound like fun! Is the duck race with real ducks? or rubber duckies.. smoke and ash .. hmm.. not good.. c
Great advice! Now, how can I train my husband to be consistent in training the dog??? He’s the only reason the dog misbehaves (out of sheer confusion). Sigh.
We have a good one, though. Because it rains a LOT here, and the dog lives inside – we taught her ‘feet’ which means stand still and wait for us to dry off her feet and ankles (and more if needed). I’ve had company over who were blown away by this simple command. Oh! And our previous dog had ‘shake’ which meant to shake off water, not a handshake! That was incredibly useful 🙂
My two cats also have a few commands, ‘get down’ (off the kitchen counter) and ‘out’ for when they have both followed me into our tiny bathroom and I would like to leave the room. They can’t be in there, there’s tasty plants and hair ties to maul…
Our john is the same, he lets Boo walk from the dog chair to johns chair and sit in his lap! Terrible! I spent a winter teaching Ton to wipe his feet, but really all he does is stand in place and lift his feet up and down, an excellent idea to make them stand for the drying off. I must remember to teach Boo that too. Shake is a great one. Have a lovely day.. c
Wouldn’t life be boring without a dog, or dogs..I just can’t imagine it.
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
http://deltacountyhistoricalsociety.wordpress.com
Celi, I don’t have a dog, but I found this so intriguing nonetheless. You’ve taught your dogs – and your blog readers – well! 🙂 xx
Morning celia, hope all is well in your garden.. c
Brilliant post – we work a lot with ours too and people are always saying how well behaved they are – it’s just a littlw work for a lot of reward!
It sure is Tanya, and yours travel a lot so they need to be GOOD!! c
Sigh I would love to be able to train Murphy not to be an absolute nut job on the walks. We’ve so far trained him to do circles on the leash. He bolts out then we say heel and he trots round. We keep working with him but it’s a very long road! He took months to trust us completely. But then again he had a rough go of it prior to coming home to us. He’s a goofy sweetheart in the house though. 🙂
You are very brave to take on a dog with a history, and you are doing the right thing, saying the same things again and again and plenty of praise when he gets it right, perservering .. and at least he is good at home.. that is a bonus. c
He was found in the middle of winter and then spent the next 6 months in 3 different humane societies and had been put on prozac. So we took him off that. He looks pretty fierce on the walks when he goes nuts. I don’t know if he was abandoned or he saw a “shiny” object and took off and couldn’t be found. Or they didn’t want to find him.
They put a DOG on prozac? Feed him fish, it is high in omega 3’s and much better at raising happiness levels. Have you thought of walking him up and down your own hallway on a leash, close to your heel? he must feel safe inside, maybe start his training there? You can do lots of sit, down or stay inside too. I make mine sit (or down) and Stay when I am having a shower, that may sound weird, but they cannot see me but can hear me and learn to be on Stay in a safe place. You will train him, do try the 5 times 5 minutes a day, it really does work. c
One of the humane societies do that as standard practice. Though I do think he needed it a bit as he gets very overstimulated with other dogs around. In fact if he is at the kennel when we travel for more than a week we have to get a mild sedative for him. He loves the kennel and the people there. He’ll drag me to the car and then sit in the car wagging his tail but he is unable to keep himself calm. The fish trick sounds interesting, I’ll have to look into that. I much prefer natural remedies. He’s a happy dog but goes overboard getting worked up. He loves it when I’m in the shower, he hangs out on the bath mat. I have to step round him! I’ll try the leash trick inside the house as well.
I have a 14 month old who is Boo at the front, Ton at the back! Dad a border Collie, mum a heeler with a smidgen of kelpie, I live in semi-rural suburbia, so I decided very early on she needed to be trained well. And she is, I train her similarly to what you do, and we ‘work’ every day. She has beautiful manners, and even rings a little bell hanging on the door to go out. We are now working on ‘push’…..so she shuts the gate. People are amazed at how obedient she is, and ask if they can walk with us so I can teach them and their dogs how to walk nicely on lead….that would be a disaster as Mirrhi would just want to play with the other dog…..but I tell them it’s a full time, all day every day job, teaching them to walk nicely on lead is only part of it. Gorgeous photos!
Well, I don’t think your John is so terrible! Celi, I can’t believe you don’t let them sit on your lap once in a while. All our dogs were poorly trained, I guess. They always entered the house before us. I guess that says it all. We laughed about it though. I understand, however, it is imperative in your case, to have obedient dogs. Just the other day when that salesman came to visit, it was real important that the dogs obey you. Our dogs were never free to roam–just the back yard. City life!
You make me wish I had a dog to train! My cats are trained in that they know their names, come when I call them from outdoors (or in but one won’t come out during a thunderstorm) and they know they are supposed to stay inside the fence, but that’s about it. Any cat tips? Boo looks so happy and like he is laughing in those opening shots, while Ton looks like he’s so over trying to train the youngster and wishing you good luck! 🙂
Boos biggest challenge is being trained not to jump on Tons head at every opportunity so you are spot on with Tons look. He loves to be sent to guard the chicks because Boo has no interest in laying under the trailer with him! Poor old Ton. I have to put Boo inside or in the green truck when i work with Ton. He is a menace sometimes! But will get it i am sure.. Morning Betsy! c
Your excellent common sense and ability to organize a plan for where you want to go is the hallmark of much of your success in maintaining life on the farmy as well as training dogs! I don’t know how anyone achieves any goal without a plan, but for some, this seems to be difficult. I also kind of like having a blueprint! for where I want to land. 🙂 I know your dogs are well-trained, Celi, but they are also so lovely! They have such personality. ox
Fantastic. Will you please come and help me train my Westie? She’s laughing at me right now.