Good Dog! Obedience Training

As the title suggests, praise and positive re-enforcement are your keys to quick and easy obedience training for your dog.

The old saying "dogs are man's best friend," didn't work its way into our every day life by accident. It has taken centuries of man working alongside the Canine and breeding desirable traits into the popular breeds of today. From the tiniest Chihuahua to the biggest Bull Mastiff and everything in between, each breed carries a desirable trait for its master. Along with size, color, type of fur and demeanor. The inherent trait of wanting to please its master, is probably the most desired and useful trait a dog could own. Using your dogs trait to please its master is the most effective way to train any dog. Ever hear the old saying "You attract more bee's with honey?"  Well, the same holds true with training your dog. Good dog obedience training is simply about praising the good behavior of your dog and ignoring the bad.

Praise that can re-enforce wanted behavior can be anything from a simple "GOOD BOY" to a nice piece of steak! A good pat on the head or scratch behind the ears are a couple of my favorites.

This type of training can be done under many situations. Let's say you are working on the command "sit." If you find your dog in a nice sitting position even without your command. You can use this as an opportunity to positively re-enforce the command"sit." As the dog is all ready sitting you can tell him/her "good boy! Sit, that is a good sit!" (pet or give him a treat).

Now lets talk a little about handling the not so good behavior. I know that this can be the most challenging part of training a dog. Let me point out the most important thing you have to remember when it comes to dealing with bad behavior.

IF YOU DON'T CATCH YOUR DOG IN THE ACT there is no chance for learning or correcting the behavior. If you do catch your dog in the act of say chewing on your brand new dinning room table, (which has happened to me), you must first control your emotions. Then firmly say,"NO!" and re-direct them to what they are aloud to chew on. Now comes the really hard part... praise them for chewing on the correct chew toy. Keep your rage for that Saturday morning kick boxing class.

So, remember "Good Dog!" Obedience Training. Is the best and fastest way to train your dog. And you will be rewarded as you develop confidence in your dog and your relationship with your dog. An unbeatable combination for a long lasting rewarding companionship.

Happy training, thanks for reading.

Matt

Koda, Maggie and Aspen graduate from the PetSmart Puppy Training course. Each dog made great progress in the 8 week class. We all had fun, the dogs learned a lot, and the humans learned even more. Bud and his family were also part of our class but they were out of town for the graduation. I have to highly recommend these classes for any puppy and more importantly, for any puppy owner!
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