When doing your research to get dog training tips and learning how to overcome dog training problems you have probably run into all kinds of specifics and specific training techniques for each behavior. It is also important that you follow some general rules in your dog training program.
Here are seven tips for a great training program:
1. Never give a command that you cannot reinforce immediately if he chooses to disobey you. Every time your dog takes the opportunity to ignore your command, he’s learning that it’s both easier and a lot more fun to ignore you. For example, if you call across the park for him to ‘come’ as he’s playing with some other dogs, the choices are clear-cut to him: he could cut his play-time short and come to you, or he could ignore you – which is easy, since you’re so far away – and continue to have fun.
2. Until your dog is completely reliable with commands, he should be on a long line or retractable lead so that you can enforce them if necessary.
3. Remember to use your voice to the best effect. Praise should be in a light, cheery, happy tone of voice; if possible, smile at the same time. It makes a difference to your tone of voice, and most dogs will study your face to make sense of your expressions, too. Corrections should be uttered in a stern, no-nonsense tone: you don’t need to shout, but your voice should be low and authoritative.
3. When you’re verbally interrupting your dog, it’s more effective to shout, “OI!” or “Ah-ah-ah!” rather than saying, “No”. The sounds are more clear-cut, and you’ll get a better response.
4. Never repeat a command. Remember, you should be training on a leash or a long line: if he ignores you, he gets a short, sharp tug (some call it a ‘flick’) on the lead to remind him that you’re present, and you’re in charge. Repeating yourself teaches him to wait for the command to be repeated at least once before he obeys you.
5. Five to fifteen minutes per day is an adequate amount of time for training. Any more than this in one sitting, and your dog’s concentration will likely lapse: fifteen minutes of intense training, where your dog is concentrating hard on what you want, is enough to send even the most energetic dogs to their beds for a snooze afterwards.
- You can move on to more advanced training and ‘tricks’ if you feel like it, once your dog’s got the basics completely down pat; but it’s not something that you should feel like you have to do.
For further information on typical dog behavior, including resources for training how-to's and loads of detailed information on preventing and dealing with problem behaviors, check out Kingdom Of Pets
