Dog training simple commands work the best. Complex commands are harder for dogs or especially puppies to understand. If you go to an obedience training class, this point will be made, but it can still be a while till you really have the habit down.

For instance, let's say you want your dog to lie down. You say the command once but if the dog doesn't immediately hit the floor, the temptation will be for you to say it again. and again. Sometimes dog owners will say something like "Hey, get down now! I already told you! You know what I mean!" All this language does not further the cause of obedience training. The purpose in sticking to simple, short words for commands is to help the pet develop a habit of recognizing and responding.

Canine behavior has a lot of habitual aspects to it -- as does human behavior, come to think of it! When your dog training is based on using simple words that you repeat once per request, this is easier for the animal than if it has to guess at your meaning as you chatter away. Of course, dogs can pick out words that way if they want to, as anyone knows who has had a conversation with another human is which they said something like, "Shall we take Buddy to the park?" Buddy may easily pick out his name and perhaps the word "park." The domestic dog has had a lot of practice in listening to human speech! So use one-word, easily pronounced commands -- which, by the way, are also sometimes called cue words. That expression gets away from the idea that you have to be the boss and the dog has to obey! While there are certainly times that do call for obedience, such as when you need the dog to come rather than go into the street, by and large the best dog training evokes willing compliance from the dog.

When you are teaching your new puppy, do use simple terms like come, sit, stay, and down. These are time-tested training commands that work well. Incidentally, an all-too-common puppy behavior is to jump up on people.

You will want a command to stop your dog from doing that. Since "down" means "go down to the floor," that isn't exactly what you need. A better word here is "Off!".

Want to know more about using dog training simple commands? Visit Rosana Hart's website for many easy-to-use dog training ideas.