TRAINING FUNDAMENTALS

The four most important requirements for training your dog: Timing Patience Motivation Consistency

Timing is an important part of any training. Your reaction to a specific behavior must be made in a timely manner, or the dog will confuse the correction and associative action. For example - You see your dog turning over your garbage can. You yell at him but nothing happens. You may even run around looking for something that you can throw in his direction to get his attention. When you finally find something, he is out of the garbage and walking away. Out of your frustration, you make the throw anyway, and your dog runs away from the object. But what lesson did he learn? What he learned is that, when your arm comes forward, something makes him jump, so he will just stay clear of you when you are moving your arms. This is not what you wanted to teach, but it is what the dog learned. Bad timing will compound the problem or create another one. If you were prepared for the situation, you would have done a better job of correcting it. Seeing your dog do something unacceptable only tells you that you must be prepared to correct that problem the next time it occurs. Even if it means setting him up in order for you to catch him in the act. Then, you must be ready to apply a correction "On Time" in order for him to respond positively. Praise and/or correction must be applied within three to five seconds in order to have the dog associate it with his actions.

Since the dog does not understand our language, he has to be taught the command and action desired. Only then will he be able to associate the desired response with the command. You cannot expect to talk to the dog and have him understand what you want. You have to teach him. He is not going to learn an action on the first attempt, and you will have to repeat the command and action until he understands what it is that you desire of him. He may be distracted from the lesson by other things that he considers more important. He is a dog, and he is curious about everything. You want his attention, but he wants to sniff the ground. This is a part of his makeup, and sniffing tells him all that is going on around him. You have to be patient and work around the problem in order to correct it. Allowing your frustrations or angry to prevail will not make him pay attention, or respond any better. They will make him want to be away from you during those periods, so be patient with him. He wants to please you, but he has not yet learned your wishes. Dogs do not start out their day looking for ways to upset you or get even with you. They are just being dogs and doing what comes naturally for them. If you have had a bad day, or if you are not feeling well, it is best not to train the dog at that time. You must remain patient with your dog while training or you will suffer more setbacks than progress.

Motivation can be either positive or negative. Positive Motivation (praise) will have your dog performing the tasks that you request of him. Negative Motivation (correction) will stop the undesired behavior. When your dog receives praise, soothing tones, and is patted, he is motivated to continue the behavior he has just displayed. However, when he receives a correction or Negative Motivation, he understands that the behavior was undesired. Corrections will curtail undesired behaviors. As your dog receives the signals or commands to perform, he associates the word or sign with a pleasurable experience, Positive Motivation, and he will perform. Knowing the difference between Praise (Positive) and Correction (Negative) will have him performing the proper behavior in order to receive praise rather than undergo a correction for improper behavior. These motivators are the operative actions of a pack, and one the dog readily understands.

Whatever method you choose to train your dog, you must be consistent with that method. Changing methods from day to day will only confuse the dog. Giving a command for an action and then altering the word or phrase may confuse him. Consistency provides the repetitious action that a dog requires in order for him to learn. Choose a method that is comfortable for you, and begin training the dog. Give the method some time to work. Do not expect to find a miracle method that teaches the dog without any involvement or effort on your part. If that method does not appear to be working for you after you have given it a reasonable amount of time, then change the method, but stick with the change. Do not continually alternate between the two and expect the dog to learn. He has to process what it is you desire, and the only way he will be able to do that is if you are consistent with your training method and commands. Most owners simply want a dog that will obey their commands, but have the misconception that Obedience School is meant for those who perform in Dog Shows. Obedience Schools are designed to help you train your dog to display good manners. Instructions are aimed at teaching the owner how to teach their dog to respond to their wishes. This training puts the owner and the dog on a level field of learning, while the trainer simply guides the owner through the methods. He is the mediator between you and your dog. He keeps you on track and helps to calm your frustrations when you are having a problem communicating with your dog. In all the years that I have been teaching, the one thing I hear from owners after graduation is this: "I will never own another dog that has not been obedience trained." Training your dog to have manners is no different from training your child to be polite. Your well-mannered, attentive dog becomes more acceptable to you and to those around you, and your dog respects you for being a leader.

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