It is a myth that to make your dog obedience, one must be overly cruel or excessively lavish in one’s praise and reprimand. Far from it, the process of dog obedience training is a process of partnership, rather than dominance. Remember, the process of training is a never-ending one, and it starts with the one being trained and by equipping yourself with the knowledge on how to train your dog to obey will benefit you in long term.
You will get your chance to develop and build a relationship with your new pet, and it only takes a few sessions for that relationship to blossom into a bond.
Clicker training is the most effective method of training in the long-term. A clicker is a device that makes a clicking noise when pressed. It is used in tandem with treats, because the dog has to learn to associate the clicking noise with a reward. Basically, the dog is taught that clicking means that a reward is coming.
Clicker training is easy to learn and it is simple to carry out. I taught my first dog (which had been my rescue) all his puppy tricks using a clicker, and that is why I moved to clicker training for all my dogs, both for training and for behavior modification.
I’m beginning training my second rescue dog, and looking forward to help her develop good obedience habits. I make use of the clicker for her to understand what I want her to do.
All dogs like to be appreciated for their good behavior…they likes being loved and are very grateful for any kind of attention given to them. The best way to show your puppy what you want him to do is to praise him as you see it happen. This is positive reinforcement.
When your dog disobeys your command, he does not receive a treat or special attention. He sees the behavior as unwanted or negative outcomes. When the puppy has the idea that you want him to do what you want, he becomes more restless until he eventually does what you want. This is the basic principle of dog training.
A critical aspect to remember is that you should not yell at your dog. Yelling serves no purpose. In fact, your puppy may get confused and could end up misunderstanding what you want him to do.
Instead, show him what you want him to do. If you want him to sit, show him by motioning with your hands how this is possible. And when he sits, give him a treat. Your puppy will soon get the idea that he will get a treat when he obeys.
Where many people go wrong is making the dog perform the command and then going to reward the dog for not performing. That is the wrong thing they do. So when you command “Fido bring it” and he comes, you’re rewarding him for performing the command and not for wrinkling, or dashing out the way.
Dog training can be a combination of both formal and informal. Formal training is learning to teach your dog to sit and stay while informal training is general training that teaches your puppy to work with you and find the fun ways to get objects, people, and places. Make a decision what you want to do with your puppy and you will find the steps that work best for you in getting your dog trained to be obedience.
Some people like to send their puppies to puppy behavior schools. This method of training is OK but you will find that the training is pretty basic. Puppies like to be taught basic things and there should be some interaction between the puppy and the owner. It is recommended that instead of taking your puppy to a behavior school that he be taught these basic steps by you to blossom the bond.