Philosophy
- Make training fun for your dog!
When you are
teaching your dog a particular behavior, the dog doesn’t know that he/she is
being trained. The dog gets attention and rewards when performing the
correct behavior. To the dog this is just a fun game. The more fun the dog
has, the more the dog will want to do that behavior.
Patience is
needed. Get out of the habit of saying “No” when your dog doesn’t perform
correctly. Just give the cue command again, and help the dog work on getting
it right. You must praise often and generously. A smile alone won’t do it.
Give abundant verbal praise, scratch his/her ears, toss a toy, etc.
Attention
An
important aspect of obedience training is getting (and keeping) your dog
focused on you. Your dog will not perform as readily if it isn’t paying
close attention to you. Practice exercises that are designed to get the dog
to “watch” you at all times.
Don’t take attention training lightly:
it is intended to get the dog started in the right pattern for learning. If
you look over and catch your dog watching you, praise him/her. Catch your
dog doing something right. You want the dogs’ attention on you.
Relationship
with your dog
There is more
to dog training and a trainer-dog relationship than just the dog performing
for food and toys. The dog should have a relationship with you and work for
your praise. That should be the most important thing in your
training, the relationship, not the treat.
Talking
softly
Talk softly
to your dog. The dog will have to pay more attention to you. This is
especially true when the dog is younger, and is a good habit to get into.
Dogs don’t understand English and they definitely don’t understand English
“louder”. You get absolutely nowhere yelling at your dog.
Corrections
Losing your
temper is counterproductive. You should never train when you are upset,
angry, or downright mad, especially at your dog. If the training is not
going well, stop practicing until you can regain your composure. You will
have much difficulty training your dog if you continually get angry while
you work with him/her.
Training
methods
What training
method is best for your dog? This depends on the temperament and
intelligence of your dog, and your own abilities. There is no one method
that works for all dogs since breed and temperament play a large part in
your dogs’ reaction to any particular method. Just have fun!
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