Dog Training Tips That Will Save You Grief and Time

Dog owners have many methods of training their dogs to choose from today. A number of these methods use only positive reinforcement; others utilize positive and negative reinforcement, while others use incentives like treats. The difference in dog training techniques mainly lies in the specific procedures and commands that the dog is being trained in. The most appropriate training technique for a dog depends on the dog owner’s or the trainer’s preference and the desired end result.

Dest Training Technique

No matter the training method, these tips will substantially assist you in understanding and choosing the best training technique for your dog.

1. Start the training when the dog is as young as possible. However, it is not practical to train a dog younger than 49 days.
2. At the beginning, the training sessions should not last over 15 minutes. At advanced stages, dog training may go on for up to several hours, but a beginner dog has a short attention and interest span. Even after the dog is accustomed to the training, obedience training should not last over twenty minutes. If you suspect that the dog is losing interest, end the session.
3. End all training sessions on a positive note. It will not go well if you end the session on a bad note, like after you just disciplined the dog. If necessary, create a positive situation just before you end the training session.

4.  Training sessions

   Schedule the dog training sessions at a certain time of the day. After a while, the dog will learn the timing and will even show excitement when it is almost time for the next training.

5. Lightweight leashes

   Use lightweight leashes or leads that are about six feet long for all training sessions. Using heavy leather leashes is heavy and very distracting.

6. Consistency in Dog Training

   Consistency in the commands you use to train the dog is very important. The dog gets accustomed to certain words that it takes as keywords. For instance, if you train the dog to understand “sit” to sit and “Down” to lie down, it would be very confusing to tell it to “Sit Down”. Try as much as you can to avoid using negatives. The best example is telling the dog “Don’t sit”. It will just grasp the word “Sit” and do what it understands by it. Other phrases that should not be used are phrases like “Please sit”, “come and sit”, “Sit boy”, etc.

7. Dog’s Favorite Game

   Play the dog’s favorite game for at least 5 minutes after the training to make the dog excited about the training. This will boost a positive experience and make them look forward to training sessions.

8. Use of the same Tone.

   Use the same volume and tone in instructing the dog. You can make a special “command tone” so that the dog can have an easy time understanding the commands each time. However, after the training, practicing with different tones, volumes, or even with different people will assist in reinforcing the commands.