Whether you're a new pet parent or an experienced dog guardian, training your dog is essential.

Mastering these three key behaviours can be invaluable to responsible pet parenting, ensuring your dog's wellbeing, your safety, and the safety of those around you.

“Nobody likes reading stories about dogs that got loose, hit by a car, caused cyclists to crash, ate something poisonous or even worse, attacked people or other pets,” said Michelle Le Long, PD Insurance COO.

“But it does happen, so we asked our resident expert for her essential recommendations for the safest dog ownership.”

As Le Long has noted, a dog doesn’t have to be aggressive to be a danger to itself or others; even a miniature Poodle running loose on the road can cause mayhem.

The expert is accredited dog trainer and certified dog behaviour consultant Maria Alomajan, and she said there were three behaviours everyone should teach their canine companions.

“These behaviours are ‘non negotiables’ for me and are crucial for keeping your dog safe in all imaginable situations. They are, ‘come’, ‘stay’ and ‘leave it/drop.”

Several researchers have found dogs can understand up to 165 words. That doesn’t mean your dog needs to learn that many, in fact a handful is fine. What it proves is that they have the capability – but will only get there with training and reinforcement.

Start with why

Before getting to the ‘how’ of training your dog with these essential behaviours, Alomajan said knowing ‘why’ is important. “You want to be sure you can keep your pet and those around them safe, even in stressful or unexpected situations.”

These situations could include anything from a broken leash to your dog sneaking past as a gate is opening, a sudden noise scaring the pooch, or a loose rabbit or anything else you can think of.

“As we all know, the world is an unpredictable place, and sometimes weird things happen. During these times, you want to be sure your dog has some well-rehearsed, fluent behaviours on cue that can be used to keep him or her out of trouble or danger.”

Her advice was to start as early as possible, teach and generalise the behaviours, and always keep in mind the secret to success: the 3Ps of practice, practice, and practice.

“You want these behaviours well-rehearsed before you need them. Until your pup is fluent, use basic training aids including a lead, a long line, and a muzzle if needed.”

1. Come/Recall

Off-leash time is true freedom for a dog. But a free running dog must have solid recall. “You cannot let your dog off lead with nothing but a hope and prayer of them returning when called,” Alomajan stressed. “This is unsafe.”

Teaching reliable recall isn’t difficult and works best with positive reinforcement (snacks!) coupled with a single word behaviour cue: ‘Come!’. “Make yourself the most fun and attractive thing in the environment and your dog will want to come to you. Once you have a solid reinforcement history, your dog is going to want to come to you over and over because the cue (come) predicts something good happening.

Remember, there are endless distractions in the environment - other dogs, people, smells, food, prey. So, bring your A-game in training, use a longline as you build distance and distraction, use treats, and always the three Ps, until your dog comes reliably in all manner of situations,” she explained.

2. Stay

For your pup, the ‘stay’ cue simply means staying exactly where he or she is, without moving until you say ‘go’, or ‘OK’. “When coming back to you isn’t the best option, you really want your dog to freeze,” said Alomajan.

If the pup stays put, it buys time for the next action – if there’s traffic around, for example, and you’re separated from your dog for any reason. “You want your pet safe and not causing any further commotion until it’s OK for them to move, or until you can get to them.”

Alomajan notes that this behaviour is essential in a wide range of circumstances. “Roads, wildlife, unforeseen dangers like broken glass on the ground, an elderly person with an unsociable dog passing between you… or even if you want your dog to chill so you can have a conversation.”

3. Leave it/ Drop

Dogs can get their teeth into all sorts of inappropriate things and when they do, you want a well-rehearsed behaviour on cue to which they instantly respond so the thing and the teeth are again separated.

“’Leave it’ and ‘drop’ are really two behaviours,” noted Alomajan. “However, train your dog so it understands that ‘leave it’ means ‘stay away’, and ‘if you’ve just picked something up, spit it out’.”

These two cues are traditionally taught as two different behaviours, but Alomajan advises combining them.

“In those situations where ‘come’ or ‘stay’ won’t stop your dog from getting into trouble, this behaviour does the trick. For example, if your dog has gotten into a poisonous plant or vermin bait, medication, food off the table, your favourite shoe, or wildlife, ‘leave it’ can really save the day.”

Without a thoroughly ingrained ‘leave it’/ ‘drop’ cue, Alomajan points out that a dog’s natural response to the threat of possibly losing something in its mouth is resistance or simply swallowing it. “And that’s the very last thing you want.”

Good training means fewer bills

A well-behaved, responsive dog wins kudos from other people out walking or enjoying communal areas. It also means reduced vet and other bills, said Le Long.

“We’ve seen horrendously expensive claims when dogs have swallowed things they should have ‘left’, or big vet bills when they should have responded to ‘come’ or ‘stay’ cues – sometimes resulting in being hit by vehicles,” she explains. “So, there are numerous good reasons for getting these basics bang on.”