Be Consistent
There are several techniques involved in training. The most important part is consistency. You should use most or all of these described. Remember each furry friend, like people, have their own personality and will respond differently based upon their past experience and environment.
People Need Training Too
A large part of training is educating the people that will interact with your furry friend. Make sure all persons involved agree on commands and hand signals. Consistency is key. For us dog people it’s hard to imagine life without dogs. Protecting and valuing their loyal and unconditional affection and support given to us.
No matter how we try to “humanize” our pooch, we are still very different animals. Barking, chewing, digging, and greeting everyone by jumping on them can be very annoying. Teaching important skills allows us to live in harmony. Dogs are eager to please and are easily taught behavior that humans find acceptable while enhancing everyone’s life.
Advice on how to train your dog is readily available and offered from family, friends and even here.
Some Examples:
Firm hand, ensure your dog doesn’t think it can get away with unacceptable behavior.
Alpha, are you the leader of the pack?
Rewards, not only treats but affection or lack of a reward.
Punishment avoidance, at all costs?
Any or all of these can be beneficial when used properly and at the right time to control your dog. Effective training comes down to consequences for your dog’s behavior by influencing you to use the outlined methods above carefully always giving rewards for good behavior when earned and discouraging poor behavior.
Language Barrier
First let’s try to understand how your dog learns. Imagine someone is instructing you in a foreign language. At first learning single words is easier than phrases in the beginning. How much can you learn? Short consistent words are best. Like “sit” or “stay” but not used together at first. If someone pointed to an apple and said in an incomprehensible language, “This is an apple, it is good for you.” What is the thing called?
Here and Now
Dogs live in the present. The consequences for their action must be immediate. If you came home and found your dog had been on the table, it is not the time to scold them. They won’t know what you are talking about and perhaps think when you get home it’s a bad thing.
Just like us, dogs avoid bad things and seek good things. When behavior results in a belly rub, a treat, playtime with us or other dogs, your friend will work to repeat the action for the resulting benefit. If your reaction is unpleasant like turning your back, ignoring them or losing a reward, your dog will try to not do the poor action again. Again, timing must be immediate and consistent.
Continue to Part Two. There is much more to learn about training.