Training a dog is very important to the dog's development and a responsible owner should always seek to show a dog how to behave.
Although there are a number of different styles and methods to train a dog it is wise to understand how dogs perceive us and how to get them to understand you more effectively.
I have put together five tips to increase your knowledge of how a dog understands you in an instructional situation so that you and your canine friend can enjoy as harmonious a training session as possible.
Although ideally a dog should be trained from a puppy at around seven weeks of age, older dogs can be trained but may well require a lot of reinforcement to undo undesirable learned behaviours.
One Person Should Train The Dog
Unless you are using the services of a professional dog trainer, in which case you can act as the informed re-enforcer, then only one person should ideally train a dog. This is because even in the best-intentioned scenario, dogs and more especially puppies relate very literally to a trainer and even a slight change of style or manner can be confusing for the animal. An ideal scenario, in say a family, is that the person instructing the dog is patient and takes the time to inform the other family members of the behaviour being re-enforced and progress of the dog, especially with a puppy. This so that the dog is learning at a gentle pace in a consistent manner.
The Importance Of Eye Contact
Whenever you command a dog you should first make eye contact. This shows the dog that you are serious and also acts as an excellent ongoing non-verbal signal to the dog who now knows that you are in communication mode
Use Simple Commands
Use simple and clear one word commands, preferably with a visual hand movement. Dogs react well to simple instruction as they cannot understand complex sentences.
Try Not To Personalise A Telling Off
Reserve your pets name for praise and reward. Calling your dog over by name to tell them off is less consistent. This also helps when you want to work on recalling a dog as they will consistently associate their name with a good experience and is a good positive habit to get into. Should you have to tell your dog off it is always better to walk over to them so that they do not associate coming to you as a negative experience.
Keep Your Discipline Brief
Do not chastise your dog for more than a few seconds and do it directly after the incident. Dogs have short attention spans and may forget why you are telling them off and get confused. This also goes for positive behaviours that you want to reward and you should always praise your dog immediately after a positive action so that they have a direct understanding of the situation that they have influenced.
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