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

The first rule in obedience training is to be consistent. This covers the use of words, tone, and the actions that accompany the word or command. During the beginning of the training, the trainer or the dog owner must decide what should be the parameters of training, such as what and how you are going to teach the dog.

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. So to make the training understandable, you should use the command in a very consistent manner so that the dog will learn to associate the word with the meaning you attach with it.

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. The command "Come" specifically means that the dog should approach the giver of the command. So if you are using this command make it a point not to do actions that would make the command confusing for the dog.

If he does not come to you, do not force the dog to come to you and then punish him for doing so. 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.

Being consistent in your dog commands is to be followed by anyone who works with the dog. For instance if you are teaching the word "come", others should not use the words, ’come here boy’ or ’here’, because this will only confuse the dog.

Second Principle: 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. For example, puppies love to explore and play with something for awhile, then soon they are off again to explore the next new thing that may catch their attention.

They simply don’t possess the same amount of interest they had when they started the activity and they become easily bored. The same thing happens in training therefore, it should be limited only to 10 minutes to 15 minutes of regular training.

Principle Three: DO NOT USE FORCE and PUNISHMENT

A trainer should never hurt the dog in any way, you should make it a goal to have the training be a positive experience for all involved. Also, never force the dog to follow the command if he is not prepared for, or punish a dog for something he did during training that he did not understand.

Make sure not to over do it when training your dog. The dog does not understand that he should learn things "instantly" and he does not realize that you are becoming impatient with the speed he is picking up the training. 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.