Dog Obedience Training
Three Principles on Dog Obedience Training
Dogs, even when their breeding is maximized and well-adapted to human needs, will always need some basic obedience training as they would never figure this out on their own. Obedience training requires the use of some principles which differentiate effective training, from training without results. They are the following:
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.
For example saying the word “come”, does not make any sense to a dog. He does not understand things the way humans think and he does not understand the language we use. 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.
An example would be if you use the word, “come”, then you need to make sure everyone else in the household using the same word. When using the word command, “Come”, you should work with the dog to understand this means to approach the giver of the command. When you are using this command be sure not to use any signals or body movements that would be confusing to the dog.
Don’t be deterred in your training efforts if the dog does not come to your right away, be patient and don’t force or scold him. If you punish the dog over and over after giving the command they will begin to associate the word 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 example, if you are using the command “come”, other people in the household should not replace it with words like “here” or, “come here boy”.
Principle Two: KEEP IT SHORT
The hours devoted to training and the words used as command should be kept short. Dogs tend to have a short attention span, it is best to limit the training so they keep the interest level to it’s peak during the days lesson. Puppies usually react to a specific stimulus, but not for a very long time, they may begin to chase a moving toy, and quickly lose interest, then move on to the next thing.
They simply don’t possess the same amount of interest they had when they started the activity and they become easily bored. 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.
Make sure not to over do it when training your dog. A good trainer realizes dogs do not learn things instantly and so they are very patient and show understanding towards the animal they are working with. If you are angry the dogs can sense it but does not know why.
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.
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