Dogs are smart, have a high desire to please us and love to learn.  When you put in the time, dogs become well-mannered members of the family.  Check out our pro tips for how to train your dog.

Dog Training Basics

If you are unable to get your dog’s attention, you will not get the behavior you want; this is true for both hearing and deaf dogs.  Begin by teaching your dog that looking at you is good choice.

Raising a well-behaved dog that you can be proud of involves manners training.  The foundation to good behavior includes sit, down, settling on mat, waiting at an open door, and coming when called. These foundational behaviors are not only important from a manners perspective, but they are also important to keeping your dog and others safe from injury.

Remember, people can’t run before they learn to walk; just like your dog can’t be expected to be well-behaved outside their home, until they learn how to behave inside the home.

Invest in Management Tools

Training new behaviors is a learning journey; one which doesn’t happen immediately.  And so, during the process it is important to leverage management tools until the new behaviors are fully understood. 

Common management tools will include a no-pull harness for loose leash walking, retractable lead for recall drills and a confined space or an enclosure like Xpen during potty training.  Utilization of management tools during the learning process sets your dog up for success.

Avoid management tools such as prong and electronic collars which can cause your pup pain or discomfort and can cause fear or aggressive behaviors.

Use Positive Reinforcement

For the fastest and most humane way to train your dog use positive reinforcement.  Simply put, positive reinforcement dog training adds something pleasant like treats, ear scratches or play to make a behavior more likely to occur again. 

Yelling at your dog for bad behavior is not effective nor recommended way to train your dog.  For starters your dog will not understand what it did wrong, after all dog’s don’t speak English.  Moreover, a learner is incapable of learning when in a stressful or scary situation.

Owners can feel good about the behavioral results they will get from their animals using positive reinforcement methods because it also makes training more fun for both you and your pup!

 

Train Through Play

Dog training can be fun, especially when you make a game out of it.  Many dogs have poor impulse control.  This is why I teach all my client dogs to play games with rules. To keep excitement levels from boiling over, I weave in manners training in between frisbee tosses, tug sets and flicks of the flirt pole.  

Practice Makes Perfect

Learning something new, whether you are human or canine, takes practice.  Manners training is difficult for a dog because what is polite in the canine world is very different in the human world.  Dogs, for example, don’t mind a rushing through the door at once, and jumping on things is fun. 

To keep your dog motivated during training sessions use rewards like food, toys, and praise.  Rewards will help them learn what is expected of them more quickly.

Training sessions don’t have to last for an hour a day and take place every day, but new practice sessions do need to occur for your dog to learn what’s expected of them.

 

Consistency is Key

Recently a client complained their Doodle jumped too much and they were looking for a training solution to prevent this behavior.  After chatting, I discovered the client encouraged the dog to jump on them and family members for hugs.

Just like how it can be frustrating when you are not sure what to expect from day-to-day, the same holds true for your pup.  When you signal to your dog that it’s OK to jump on you when you come home from work, but it’s not ok to jump on people they meet, they will be confused.

Being a good dog parent means being clear and consistent in your messaging and the rules.  Consider your actions and how your dog might apply it to various situations. Adherence to rules make it easier for your dog to know what’s always expected of them.

 

Give It Time

Sure, there at times when dog training can be frustrating, especially if it seems like your dog is progressing in reverse or your dog seems to have lost interest.  Under these circumstances the best course of action is to take a break.  Whether you return to training in 5-10 minutes, much later in the day or another day entirely, a renewed energy will do everyone good.

“But my other dog (or) my friend’s dog” is a phrase that is equally as frustrating to you as the Trainer.  When you are training your dog to learn something new, it’s important to remember that each dog is an individual and learns at their own pace. 

Proofing the Dog's Behavior

Humans are very good at taking a skill they’ve learned and applying to a variety to different situations. For example, once you learn how to swim at camp, swimming at a neighborhoods friend’s pool or the rooftop pool in Miami, is simple.  However, dogs are not like people.  Dogs do not possess that same ability to apply what they’ve learned at home to different environments and even with different handlers. 

To ensure your dog performs when it matters most, be sure to train for all types of situations: when it's noisy, in the presence of other dogs, in different locations –under all conditions.  The more proofing training is done, the better your dog will perform when in an environment where you have never trained them before.

 

Training Your Dog Can Be a Breeze

Training your dog is a challenging but it is also a very rewarding experience. Remember to follow these pro Trainer tips to make the process much easier.

If you find yourself overwhelmed or uncertain consider searching for a "certified professional dog trainer near me."  At Mind Body Paws we don’t aren’t just dog lovers, we’re dog experts.  Please connect with us, and we would be happy to help.

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