Three Principles on Dog Obedience Training
Even dogs with some of the best well breeding or dogs that are well adapted to humans still need some basic obedience training, because these skills are not something they pick up on their own. Obedience training requires the use of some principles which differentiate effective training, from training without results. Principles to Learn:
Principle One: CONSISTENCY
Consistency is the first basic rule in effective dog training. You need to be consistent in the words you use, the tone they are spoken in and the actions that accompany them. Before you begin training you will need to come to an agreement with the dog owner on what it is they are wanting the dog to learn and how to accomplish it.
At first the word commands, such as “come”, does not make sense to a dog. It is only reasonable to conclude if he does not understand the way humans are, then he does not understand our language. It is important to make the training effective, by being very consistent in attaching the same voice tone, body movement or hand jester with every command that is given to your dog.
Another example would be, if you are using the command “come”, make sure that everyone in the household use it in a same type of manner. When using the word command, “Come”, you should work with the dog to understand this means to approach the giver of the command. So if you are using this command make it a point not to do actions that would make the command confusing for the dog.
If he does not come to you, do not force the dog to come to you and then punish him for doing so. Otherwise, this would make him attribute the command with the punishment. The dog will not want to follow the same command because in his mind it leads to punishment.
Consistency also covers the use of the same dog commands by all people. For instance if you are teaching the word “come”, others should not use the words, ’come here boy’ or ’here’, because this will only confuse the dog.
Second Principle: Keep It Short
Both the amount of time you spend training and the words you use as commands should be kept short. Keep in mind that the attention span of dogs is very short and that getting them engrossed with a specific activity can be very hard, if not impossible. For example, puppies love to explore and play with something for awhile, then soon they are off again to explore the next new thing that may catch their attention.
They can quickly loose interest in an activity sometimes within just moments after beginning, and will need something else to stimulate their senses. They also often become board during training and that is why it’s best to limit the time to 10 – 15 minutes a day.
Principle Three: DO NOT USE FORCE and PUNISHMENT
Never hurt the dog if you want him to be acceptable to being trained. You should absolutely never punish a dog just because he did not do something he wasn’t prepared for, nor force a dog to do something he does not understand.
Don’t push the animal too hard while dog training. The dog does not understand that he should learn things “instantly” and he does not realize that you are becoming impatient with the speed he is picking up the training. All he knows is that you are mad.
You must avoid negative experiences related to training so you should not force your dog to obey your commands. If he knows that he is praised when he does something right, he should not be praised when he does not follow a command.