10 COMMANDMENTS OF DOG TRAINING

by Joseph C. Simple Person

1. Thou shall be patient

Dogs do not readily take to verbal instructions, and must be guided visually in the early teaching stages. loosing patient will have a huge impact on how fast your dog learns.

2. Thou shall teach one thing at a time

As trainers, we must be clear when we teach our pets. Teaching too many thing at one time can confuse the dog and can get in the way of learning.

3. Thou shall not consistent

When teaching you must always be consistent with both your visual as well as verbal cues. if you teach your dog the command “sit” while you are bending over, then he may not understand when you ask him to sit when your standing straight. Or when you teach him to sit by saying “Sit, sit, sit” he may not understand what you mean when you only say “Sit” once.

4. Thou shall be forgiving

Your pet may not immediately get what you’re teaching him and may commit mistakes and give him time to get it. When he does get it , reward him profusely!

5. Thou shall be creative

Remember that there’s more than one correct way of teaching a behavior to your dog. Making it fun for your pet will help him to learn the lesson faster and minimize frustration.

6. Thou shall not be stingy

Rewards are important when teaching a dog. Every time your dog gets what you’re teaching him, reward him generously and reward him with something he really likes. Rewarding your pet for getting the command right increases the probability that he will do it again. An inadequately rewarded dog maybe a little less enthusiastic and less likely to remember what you have been trying to teach him.

7. Honor thy dog’s talent

Many trainers try to make their in to something they are not. Our job as trainers is to sharpen the skills and capabilities they are born with. If you have a dog that retrieves naturally, build on that skill and engage him in fun activities like Frisbee. If you have a natural scent dog, work him on finding things with his nose.

8. Thou shall be an observer

Being a good observer is one step closer to being a good teacher to your pet. Dogs express themselves in the most subtle ways. We often do not recognize when our dogs are having a light bulb moment or when they are already getting stressed or loosing interest in a lesson.

9. Thou shall rest

Overtraining your pet may result in a bored and less than enthusiastic dog. Always end when a dog has successfully gotten the lesson. End the session on a good note and finish with play! Doing things over and over does not necessarily lead to weaker behaviors and frustration.

10. Thou shall always be positive

Train only using reward-based methods. Animals trained with positive reinforcement are happy, willing, enthusiastic animals. Positive-reinforcement training increases the dog’s eagerness to learn more and teaches the dog to look forward to training time!.