subject: 10 Simple Rules for Training Dogs [print this page] 1.Relax. Dogs have an incredible ability to sense tension. Some people claim that aggressive dogs can "smell fear". But even friendly dogs know when you're feeling nervous, unsure, or upset...even if you think you are not putting off any vibes. For your training sessions with your dog to go well, you must start with an easy-going attitude. Take a few minutes to put yourself in a relaxed mindset before approaching your dog for training.
2.Never ever hit. Ever. Period. Don't do it. Dogs do not ever train each other by hitting. And dogs won't understand it as corrective. Instead they will learn to connect a human touch with pain, and that can lead to all sorts of bad behavior. (And sad, fearful behavior.) Even though dogs can be extremely frustrating at times, resist the urge to punish them by striking them.
3.Assume confusion, not bad intentions. When they are being frustrating, it is helpful to assume that they are not being "bad" on purpose (are not dogs amoral?), but that they are confused. Imagine what it would be like to be in a land where you do not speak the language, and someone was trying to give you commands to follow. Is it not possible that you might do the wrong thing, multiple times? If the people speak at you louder, but still in the foreign language, does it help you, or make you more stressed?
4.Use simple, clear commands. One-word phrases, spoken clearly, while looking directly in the eyes of the dog are a good way to cue the dog. Eye contact gets its attention, and it will start to pick up on the sound of the command word. Don't make the dog try to pick out the command out of a long sentence. "Heel" will work better than "Come on, Rover, get over here."
5.Be consistent. Whatever commands you use, be consistent and use them all the time. Don't say "heel" sometimes and "come" at other times. Keep it simple and repetitious.
6.Do not leave a dog tied up. Dogs are social animals. Tying them up will make a "barker" out of a dog. It leaves them with few other choices to communicate. It can also stress a dog, even if on a long line with water, food, and shade provided. The fact that the dog is restricted will keep it stressed (even if it sleeps while tied up...it has no choice).
7.Do not isolate a dog. Dogs are pack animals. If the dog is crated every night, crate it in the room with you. If you crate it in the basement, it will wonder what it has done wrong to be so isolated from the rest of the pack (ie: you).
8.Do not feed a dog first. Many people know that as a pack animal, dogs understand pecking order. Which means that whoever eats first is the boss. If you try to train your dog, then feed it before it sees you eat your meal, it will assume that it is the alpha animal, and will not follow your directions as easily.
9.Use training devices. Though you should never hit a dog, there are numerous devices that allow you to correct a dog by triggering familiar nervous reactions that the animal will not associate with human touch. This can be as simple as a brightly colored plastic bottle with some coins in it that you use to shake at an animal when it is barking, for example. It will learn that when it hears that rattling it is doing something wrong.
10.Relax again. This is so important it starts and ends the list of things to do when training a dog. Keep a positive attitude. Just like we would hope for our kids' school teachers to make learning fun, we should be striving to make the training fun for our dog. Be patient and stay mellow, or risk having a stressed and confused mutt which will be more difficult to train.
