Dog training may seem complicated to understand but it doesn’t have to be, here’s everything you need to know about dog training for beginners!
What is Dog Training
Dog training is the application of behavior analysis in dogs and providing your pup with consequences for there behavior.
Dog Training For Beginners
Dog training for beginners ultimately comes down to, two simple concepts, being able to understand your dog’s behavior at the given time and the application of consequences to your dog’s behaviors!
Dog training for beginners should boil down to a couple of concepts which are:
Cause And Effect
In simple terms you want to teach your dog cause and effect, showing your dog that his behavior makes things happen whether it’s positive or negative.
The easiest way to ensure your dog begins to understand this is by rewarding your dog for good behavior and removing the reward for bad behavior.
For example, if you have treats in your hand and your dog jumps up on you in an attempt to get the treats you can simply say “no” and put the treats behind your back, the moment your dog puts his paws on the ground you then can reward your pup.
This scenario shows your dog that the action of jumping up on you made the reward go away while having all four paws on the ground gave him access to the rewards.
Consequences
The next concept of dog training for beginners needs to know is the application of consequences.
if your a dog trainer for beginners one concept you must know is providing your dogs with consequences for there behaviors.
in simple terms all we want to do is either provide your dog with a good consequence for his behavior, making the behavior more likely to occur again in the future or provide your dog with a negative consequence making the behavior less likely to occur again on the future.
If your dog did something you like you provide your pup with a good consequence like a treat if your dog did something you dislike you provide your pup with a negative consequence like the removal of something your dog wants.
Timing
Timing in dog training is critical to effectively communicate to your dog what behavior your pup did right or wrong.
Dogs learn at the moment and must either be rewarded or punished the moment your pup did something right or wrong.
The reason the timing is so important is that dogs cant make the association between something they did at 9 AM and the reward or punishment they receive at 9:30 AM, too much time has passed.
Instead, when you do want to reward or punish a behavior your dog is doing you must catch your pup physically in the act of performing the behavior you want to either reward or punish.
Attention Before Commands
One of the most important concepts of dog training for beginners is not just focusing on teaching dogs commands but getting your dog’s attention before anything!
Too many owners training there dogs focus on teaching there dogs the basic sit and down, while there’s nothing bad about teaching your dog to sit or down you want to prioritize building up your dog’s focus and attention.
When you focus on building your dog’s attention instead of teaching your pup commands you’ll start noticing that distractions won’t be a factor as much anymore and that your dogs focus on you will be with laser-like precision when you need it!
Go At Your Dogs Pace
One of the biggest mistakes in dog training is pushing a dog to soon before being ready for the challenges given.
Pushing a dog too soon will be detrimental to your pup’s training instead in dog training for beginners you want to go at the appropriate pace for your dog, not the pace you envision your dog.
Every dog is different and an individual it’s up to you as his owner to understands your dog and go at the appropriate pace for your specific dog, some dogs catch on to things fast while other dogs may need a little more time to comprehend some concepts.
Conclusion
Dog training for beginners is ultimately a combination of teaching your dog that his behaviors make things happen whether its a positive consequence or a negative one, proper timing in the application of consequences, building your pups focus and learning what is the right pace for your pup!
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