Right from the beginning of your dog training routine, you should be thinking only of your desired results, rather than what you don’t want. When you begin each training session, you need to have clear understanding of exactly what you want to happen, and concentrate on that. Steer your thoughts away from the actions and behavior that you want to avoid.
If you don’t know where you’re going, how can you get there? This is so true with everything in life, and it’s true of basic dog house training as well
Sometimes we fall into the habit of thinking mostly about what we don’t want. This happens a lot with dogs! Not wanting our dog to pee anywhere inside our house is right up there, or start chewing slippers, or disobey our commands, or start barking incessantly when our sweet old aunt comes to visit.
But consider this for a second. Assuming you’re looking for new dog or puppy to bring into your family. Would you actually relish the thought of relinquishing the next ten to sixteen years of your life chasing your dog around saying, “No no no”? Wouldn’t it be better to guide your dog into behaviors that you want?
A prime example springs to mind is when we think, “The dog had better not chew my shoes, or furniture,” try, “I will encourage him to play with his toys.” Instead of, “I don’t want my dog to jump up on my guests,” change it to, “I would like my dog to sit to greet people.”
By concentrating on what it is you want to achieve, you’ll have a clear destination in mind. What better way to start your training program.
Reward Good Behavior
Probably the best thing that has happened in housetraining puppies in the past few years is the shift from emphasizing correction, or penalizing mistakes, to rewarding obedience and favorable actions.
Using rewards is a whole lot smarter for most trainers – especially for puppy toilet training. Perhaps the most important reason is that if you make a mistake using punishment, the results can be pretty sad. Punishment can make a dog feel threatened when she could become frightened or even aggressive in response to the punishment. Other dogs shut down. They simply lose their bounce and energy. Some may even appear completely broken spirited.
Many people also find that reward-based training feels better. It’s a great feeling to be the bearer of rewards and praise for a well behaved pet.
But the best news is that this approach to dog obedience training works extremely well. Primarily because rewards training techniques build strong relationships which are key to good behavior. When he learns that a particular behavior gets rewarded, your dog will associate one with the other and learn to repeat the behavior when called upon. When you learn how to apply that simple rule, this technique will have your dog behaving like the perfect gentleman (or lady).