Before you begin training your dog, you need to decide on a training method. Positive training methods are the best way to go, because rewarding a dog for doing something right will quickly have them repeating that behavior.
Aversive methods that involve punishments or harsh corrections should be avoided. Dog training 101 is all about making training as enjoyable for you and your dog as possible. Keeping things positive will help the two of you to build a strong bond, setting yourselves up for a good relationship in the future.
Dog training is a process that isn’t just limited to professionals. Teaching your floofy buddy basic dog commands like how to sit and how to stay can be a really rewarding experience for a pet owner. Set your best bud for a lifetime of safety and happiness with these easy-to-follow steps. When done correctly, you’ll most likely be a proud hooman to the goodest boi in the neighbourhood. Just remember to bring loads of patience and paw-sitive reinforcement to get Doggo motivated, like these yummy dog treats you can make at home.
What are the 7 basic commands for dog training?
Here you’ll find lots of advice on the basics of dog training. For more detailed and advanced dog training advice, try contacting a professional trainer. Visit Dog Guru or Dog Zen by Mark Vette for some options.
1.Name
Whether a puppy or an adult rescue, the first thing any dog needs to learn is its name. The goal is to teach your dog to turn its attention to you anytime you say it. Since this is the first and most basic command, it’s also a great primer on teaching the rest.
2.Leave It
This command is important for conditioning your dog to avoid things and situations you tell her to. That may be as simple as not picking up a piece of food you drop while cooking to more consequential stuff, like avoiding a skunk.
Training a dog is simply a case of reinforcing desired behavior. While there are several ways to do it, they all use a similar methodology: when your dog does what you want, create a positive association between command and behavior by reinforcing it. I prefer to apply direct rewards by providing treats.
3.Come
The real trick with come is to make sure the reward is more exciting than the distractions. By consistently applying high-value treats and other reinforcements, you’ll ensure that your dog remains stoked about coming back to you, rather than chasing a squirrel.
That positive reinforcement is key to the rest of these commands. Through training, you want to create a partner and friend who’s able to express their own personality and interact with the world on their own terms, not through a cloud of fear. The result will not only be a happier little buddy, but a more reliable one, too.
4.Teach your dog to “stay.”
There are some commands that can literally save your dog’s life and the “stay” command is one of them. Keeping your dog out of dangerous situations, in addition to simply keeping it out of trouble, can be achieved more easily when you can train your dog to stay put.
- A pup has an instinctive understanding of how to stay when being threatened and the mother uses a very distinct “stay” command as well. This instinctive and early training should help you to train your dog to follow your command to stay.
5.Teach your dog to “heel.”
This command is often the most complicated one to teach. However, most dogs can learn it if you are consistent with your training. Teaching your canine companion to heel will save your back, your shoulders, your dog’s neck, and dignity for both of you (although, dignity may be low on the priority list for your dog).
- Your dog will probably naturally want to jog at a canter and sniff and veer off in many directions. You need to show him or her that there is a time for exploring and a time not to.
6.Drop It
The cousin to the command “Leave It,” “Drop It” is for when the dog disobeys the “Leave It” command. Drop it teaches the dog to get rid of whatever it might be holding in its mouth – especially those expensive sneakers! Another important aspect to consider is that your dog won’t be in front of you 24/7, so they might get into something without you right there to command them to leave it. Instead, you’ll most likely end up sitting on the couch watching as your dog comes prancing out from your bedroom carrying a loafer or bed pillow in their mouth, prompting you to tell them to drop it. When teaching your dog to drop it, it’s important to have something to replace the item with, such as a treat.
7.Look
Since dogs are so easily excitable, it’s important that you teach them commands that improve their focus early on in their life or your time owning them. “Look” is one of those commands. Once they successfully grasp the command look, then it will be easier to move on to other commands because they will know to pay close attention to you. Your voice will cut through the distractions.
What are the 5 golden rules of dog training?
Establish Boundaries
If you’re training your dog, it’s important to establish boundaries. By setting house rules and establishing consistent boundaries, you can provide a clear understanding of what is acceptable behavior for your pup. This will help them understand the expectations you have of them and ensure that they stay within those boundaries. Doing this will also help keep the peace in the home and prevent any potential issues from arising.
Providing structure and consistency is key in any successful dog training program. If a pup knows what to expect from their owners, they can more easily adapt to new situations and commands. That being said, it’s important to remain calm when introducing new rules or reprimanding undesirable behaviors so as not to confuse your pup with mixed messages or cues.
Positive Reinforcement
When it comes to dog training, positive reinforcement is key. Using reward-based training techniques and positive reinforcement techniques such as clicker training, treat training, and praise training are effective ways to teach your pup desirable behaviors. With these methods, you can reinforce good behavior by giving treats or verbal praise. This helps dogs understand that they receive rewards when they do something correctly. For example, if your dog sits on command, you can give them a treat as a reward for their successful attempt. Additionally, positive reinforcement helps dogs build trust in their owners and encourages them to stay focused during training sessions.
Socializing with other dogs is an important part of becoming a well-mannered canine companion. Through proper socialization with both humans and other animals, puppies learn how to accept new situations and interact with people and other animals confidently.
Be Consistent with the training
The first golden rule of dog training is to be consistent. Dogs thrive on routine, and they learn best when they know what to expect. If you want your dog to learn a behavior or command, you need to be consistent in your training approach. Use the same commands and cues, and reward your dog every time they exhibit the desired behavior. If you are inconsistent in your training, your dog will become confused and may not learn the behavior or command you are trying to teach them.
Socialize your dog
Socialization is a crucial aspect of dog training. Dogs are social animals, and they need to interact with other dogs and humans to develop proper social skills. Socialization should start early, and it involves exposing your dog to different environments, people, and animals. This will help your dog develop confidence and become a well-rounded, well-behaved pet.
Always Use Positive Reinforcement
Positive reinforcement is a training technique that involves rewarding your dog for good behavior. It is the most effective and humane way to train a dog. Positive reinforcement can be in the form of treats, toys, or praise. When your dog exhibits the desired behavior or responds to a command, reward them immediately. This will reinforce the behavior and encourage them to repeat it in the future.
What is the best age to train a dog?
Most experts agree that puppies start picking up on commands around three weeks of age. This is the time when they start exploring the world and wean themselves off their mother’s milk. Use your puppy’s name repeatedly, and use basic commands like “No” and “Good boy” to help him distinguish between good and bad behavior.
Your new puppy is learning during every waking moment! Every interaction you have with your puppy from the first time you meet will be a form of training. Housetraining, household manners, and social experiences are all forms of training you’ll be doing with your puppy from the first time they come home. In some situations, puppies will even begin some amount of formal training before they go to their new home, such as a start on housetraining, greetings, and how their actions can lead to rewards.
What is positive punishment in dog training?
There are total four types of Dog Training Techniques that works!
- Positive Reinforcement
- Negative Reinforcement
- Positive Punishment
- Negative Punishment
Positive Reinforcement
Positive reinforcement is when you reinforce a behavior by adding something, let me give you an example. You wish to teach your dog to sit on command, to achieve this you wish to use the positive reinforcement technique, you should have treats in your hand and when say to your dog in a clear authoritative voice “SIT” at the same time raise your hand above the dogs head so the dog sits as their focus is on the food in your hand and when the dog sits you will reinforce the sitting behavior with a by giving the treat. Continue this over time until the behavior is learned, however you must remove the reward of food slowly over time and replace with a “well done” or which ever verbal praise you wish to give and maybe a cuddle and a scratch.
Negative reinforcement – risks
Although correctly applied negative reinforcement can effectively change an animal’s behaviour, increased stress can result from the use of negative reinforcement training.15 When negative reinforcement is used incorrectly or inconsistently, it is difficult for an animal to learn which behaviour gains relief from the stimulus causing pain, discomfort or fear.
When this training technique is used, dogs may change other behaviours in an effort to escape the stimulus they dislike. Because an animal does not know which behaviour is correct during the learning process, the animal can try several different behaviours to escape the stimulus, some of which may be undesirable to the handler. If the behaviours performed are significantly undesirable, some handlers then punish the animals for those behaviours, further increasing the animal’s stress. An example is inappropriate use of a choker chain to create a sense of breathlessness to train a dog to walk more slowly and not pull. The dog may in fact pull more or have increased activity due to the need to escape the feeling of tightening around the neck. In response, some handlers will jerk the choker chain to cause pain in an effort to punish this behaviour
Does scolding a dog work?
Scolding and punishing your puppy is never fun, for you or for him. It leads to hurt feelings, anxiety, and lack of trust. This can be the absolute worst when it comes to your furry best friend, just because of a little bad behavior. Of course, you should never put up with unwanted behavior, but you absolutely do not want your dog to be afraid of you, either! Do you ever see dog trainers punishing animals? No, of course you don’t!
You might think that yelling at your dog when he’s barking is a way to stop the behavior, but your dog might interpret your noise as a welcome addition to his cacophony. Again, dogs don’t speak English, so shouting, “Fido, knock it off! Quit barking!” isn’t going to convey what you hope. A better strategy is to pinpoint the cause of your dog’s barking (Is it territorial? Attention seeking?) and take the appropriate steps to treat it.
It can be challenging to break a scolding habit, but your bond with your dog will improve if you address the source of the problem instead of the symptoms.
Thank you for reading this! Please check out our other posts too. Have a good day & Take care of your dog.
