10 Rules for Raising & Training a Dog

[MaryAnn]

1. THINK DOG....Understand how dogs learn and what makes them tick as a species. Dogs are not humans, but so many people tend to treat them like they are their babies.

2. TALK DOG....Learn how to communicate with them effectively in "dog" language. Dogs can't speak English, or any other human language. You, however, can learn to talk "dog".

3. TOP DOG....Who's in charge? You are. You have to be a confident leader. Your dog will be much happier if he/she has an effective leader to follow.

4. ACCENTUATE THE POSITIVE....Reward good behavior. Good things happen when your dog does well!. Ignore or correct behavior you don't want to encourage. Sounds simple, but so many people do exactly the opposite without meaning to. Never, ever use harsh punishment.

5. PERFECT TIMING....Get the timing right when rewarding or correcting. Dogs won't associate a reward or correction with an action if you leave it too long to respond. You need to give feedback within "one second" of the behavior. (If you choose to "Clicker" train...you must be precise.)

6. HE SAYS, SHE SAYS....Be consistent at all times - - and that goes for everyone in the family. Use the same commands and agree on your house rules. Can the dog sit on the sofa or not? Mixed messages confuse dogs and make them anxious because they can't work out what they're supposed to do.

7. KNOW YOUR DOG....Your dog is an individual with his own strengths and weaknesses, likes and dislikes. Whether he/she's a purebred or a mixed breed, their are breed characteristics to take into account, too. Go with the flow.

8. VARY THE PICTURE....Offer a variety of different experiences to stimulate your dog's brain and senses. Dogs like to play and they get bored, just like we do. Don't just train in the same place or using the same posture. Teach your dog to respond to you in every situation.

9. LIFELONG LEARNING....Start training early and keep reinforcing the learning all through the dog's life. You can, and should, teach an old dog new tricks. Never stop training.

10. EASY DOES IT....Make it easy for your dog to do well and succeed. Manage his environment. Put the shoes or whatever away so he/she can't chew them. Hide the trash can so he/she can't get into it. When you're training your dog, accept failure as part of the learning process. Successful training requires patience. Always end each training session on a "high" note when your dog is successful.


A lot of what I said here you heard me say over and over again in some of my other posts. I thought it would be easier if I summarized into one new post.

[Sarah]

good post MaryAnn! I would like to add 'be patient and determined while training your dog, don't get frustrated and give up. This will confuse the dog even more.

[Sue Mc.]

I decided to take my young Yorkie to a local obedience class at a store. So far, he is doing nicely. He wants to please and get his treat. He is a bit shy -- he is the smallest in the class. But, the instructor is definately all about rewarding the positive behavior! We are using those little "clickers", and I am doing better using it than I thought I would! Like our instructor told us, we will not be giving little food treats 'constantly' just until we get the desired behavior well-reinforced in the dog's mind. It is interesting just how fast the dogs respond to the "clicker sound" now! The 'clicker' is really good to get a dog to 'look up a you' when you say 'watch me'! We've added the command 'sit' and a 'click' this week. My pup does well with this easy command, but I've noticed he's much quicker to 'sit' on rugs than on the cool linolium floor--Ha!
The only person having difficulty in our class is a lady with a small chocolate poodle. She will give him a command 'over and over' and also 'click' several times in a row when the dog has not done the command yet...as if clicking at the dog is going to make him obey (Her husband is with her, and I think he will be the one who may get the dog to practice correctly at home.) We'll see how things go next Sunday at class.

[MaryAnn]

Clicker training is great IF you are precise.. The important thing to remember if you are using a clicker is to pair the clicking sound with a reward.

The click means: "You got it right!" You don't ask a dog to do something by clicking: You confirm that he is about to be rewarded.

Did your instructor tell you that you should always "charge up" the clicker with a reward? A tiny food treat is good for this.

I hope your instructor has explained to you (especially the couple with the chocolate poodle) that a command is only given once. A true "Pet Parent" (as any parent) needs to learn PATIENCE!

You give a command....you wait...the dog must learn to figure out what he / she is being ask to do.