Many dog and puppy owners will tell you that if they could accomplish one thing in their life, it would be some high-quality dog obedience training!
Dogs and puppies seem to have a mind of their own, and while they are certainly trainable, some seem as if they are purposely doing everything they can to drive their owner absolutely insane with their behavior.
It’s a good thing they’re cute, isn’t it? But in all seriousness, dog obedience training doesn’t need to be as difficult as some people make it out to be, if you know how to do it right.
If you’re in the middle of trying to teach your puppy or dog some obedience training, here’s some tips to set them up for success:
Tip #1 – Reward, reward, reward.
Far too many dog owners focus on only punishing their dog when it comes to dog obedience training.
The key to getting your puppy or dog to do what you want is to consistently reward his behavior when he does it.
This is an important concept because the behaviors we teach naturally don’t have any meaning to your dog until we give it meaning. For example, when teaching the sit, the behavior of sitting isn’t naturally reinforcing to your dog.
It isn’t until we reward your dog for the act of sitting that he starts to like and do the behavior more and more often. Your dog starts to associate the act of sitting with you and food.
Dogs crave approval more than anything, so it’s important to consistently reward your dog for doing the right thing during dog obedience training.
Tip #2 – One step at a time.
It’s a common occurrence among new dog owners to completely overwhelm their dog with all the tricks they want them to perform.
It’s like playing with a new toy – you just want to go through all the features and options right away.
For dog obedience training, you, as the teacher, have to slow yourself down and focus on one thing at a time.
Going too fast too soon will result in your dog failing to perform the behavior you want, and he may lose interest in obedience training.
Remember, obedience training is something you want your dog to enjoy, not dread. To start, teach him how to sit and practice this for at least two weeks before you introduce another command.
Continue to practice the sit making sure you slowly increase difficulty. Allow your dog to understand the first command you’re teaching before moving on to the next command.
Remember, dog obedience training can be a bit overwhelming for the dogs and the owners so trying to accomplish everything at once is just going to be too much for the dog and for you. So slow down and be patient, with the dog and with yourself.
Tip #3 – Have fun!
You don’t want your dog to view obedience training as irritating or overwhelming.
Be patient with your dog and make training a fun experience.
make it a game instead of a chore. Find out what motivates your dog and use that to your advantage if your dog likes chasing play with him as a reward if he likes food train him with his food as a reward.
Soon, your dog will run to you to do some obedience training because he enjoys it, not because it’s what you said. Dog obedience training shouldn’t be devastating to you or your dog.
Make every experience fun, and you and your dog should be well on your way to great dog obedience.
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