- In order to start up the training you must treat your dog in a motivational way. For example you can offer your dog a food treat, or rub her or anything you think she would enjoy in order to give her a positive motive to do something you want.
- Another way to prevent your dog from doing something you don’t want is to use a negative motivation, like taking his toys, or ignore her.
Example: In order to support/reinforce a behavior you should for example rub her tummy when she sits beside your bed, or you can spray water on her face when she climbs on your bed and stop as soon as she gets off.
Another important thing you must understand in order to effectively train your dog is conditioned and unconditioned reinforcement.
An unconditioned reinforcement would be for example to give food or water to your dog, because these are basic needs that need to be satisfied and should be given to your dog with no special conditions required . This kind of reinforces may vary depending on your dog’s preferences. For example some dogs may prefer food over playing, while others would enjoy playing and do not need any special conditions under which this reinforcement will take place. You should know your dog very well in order to understand what should be given for free.
A conditioned reinforcement would be for example a positive word like Good or Bravo when your dog does something you want her to repeat. Then the dog will associate the appraisal with a certain doing that you want. You can use an additional reinforcer like a treat or patting along with the verbal appraisal in order to enhance a behavior.
Your dog should learn to associate different kinds of rewards or appraisal with certain behaviors that you want her to repeat. It is important that you repeat any action so as the dog associates a behavior with a reward at all times.
Example: Take a cookie in your hand hold it in front of the dog and start moving it up and behind her face until you lead her to sit down as she cannot follow the cookie anymore. As soon as the dog sits you say sit and appraise her, Good Dog, and then give her the cookie. The dog will associate the appraisal and the cookie with sitting. The desired result would be after a lot of repetition; the dog connects the above mentioned actions with sitting and reaches a point where she reacts only to the word sit, thinking that the rewarding will follow. After that the dog reaches a point where she can “obey” to the word no matter who gives it. This means that another member of your family can make her sit, just by saying the word wherever the dog is (during her walk, or in the house etc). In order for her to maintain the desired behavior you should repeat it many times, even under various circumstances and in different places, so as the dog performs in the expected way at all times (at least 9 out of 10).
It is also important to make your dog desire to execute a specific command. If for example you administer a physical correction during the acquisition phase of a particular command, it may decrease the dog’s desire to perform the command at all. That is why it is usually recommended to avoid physical corrections until your dog clearly understands and obeys to your commands.
Example:If you are trying to teach your dog the command “down” and what you do is pull her with the leash or you push her down with your hand, it is likely that the dog will react by moving away from your hand or resisting from being pushed. A good alternative would be to use a cookie or any food treat to lure her and increase her desire to sit down. So FOCUS ON REWARDING your dog instead of correcting her.
If the dog is being asked to perform a difficult exercise and she makes a mistake even after you try to correct her, then you should not repeat the exercise in the same way as it caused the dog to fail. Keep in mind that any corrections should not be given often, the correct timing is very important.
Example: if you are working with a dog on a long leash to develop a dependable recall (“come” – command), the timing of the correction and what you do after it will dictate what the dog learns. When you give the “come” command, if you correct the dog too early and not give her enough time to respond, she may not feel comfortable leaving your side. If you correct her after she has turned toward you or for not coming fast enough, she may learn that coming is not a rewarding behavior. This is why it is so important for your dog to understand what you want before you use corrections.
I would like to make some observations concerning your dog’s health. It is really important for all pet owners to monitor their pets’ behavior. As our beloved dogs, cats or other, are unable to take care of themselves and go to the doctor for their check-up we have to do it for them. We need to be in contact with a vet in order to have all necessary information on what vaccines need to be made or what actions need to be performed in different occasions. Don’t forget that our pets are like us, they might get sick; they may suffer from various problems / diseases, like arthritis, heart problems and other health issues. We need to take really good care of them, monitor their behavior and when we notice any changes, unusual behavior, go to the doctor for advice. NEVER act on your own, always consult your pet’s doctor for the right medication. There are many pet meds and the only person authorized to prescribe them is the veterinary.
Anti flea and tick protection. There are various products/meds that are appropriate depending on the age of your dog, the environment where s/he lives in and various other factors. You can use collars, pills, sprays and other special products.
There are also products that help promote healthy skin and hair coat, reduce unwanted shedding and come in various kinds so you can even use them as a food treat. Also a good shampoo is essential when you give your dog a bath.
You must give to your dog protection against worms on a regular basis. Your vet will advise you on which pills must be given.
You can also give to your pet vitamins, minerals and other nutrients, always in agreement with your vet; all these can help your dog live a healthy and extended life.
Especially for dogs we must be very careful of their weight. An overweight dog is an ill dog, vulnerable to many diseases and dangers. SO, BE CAREFUL WITH YOUR TREATS! If needed there are special food products, diet products that can help maintain or reduce your dog’s weight. The best natural thing you can do to keep your dog in good health is to give her/him exercise on a regular basis.
Another important point that needs to be made concerns your dog’s dental health! Teeth should be in good health because they are really important to your dog. You can choose chewing bones or other chewable products / food treats in order to help your dog keep his/her teeth clean.
Don’t forget to keep your dog’s eyes and ears clean!
A very important rule to follow is to use the things your dog likes in order to teach her/him obedience. If you give your dog things s/he likes for free, then there is no reason to be obedient. S/he needs to understand that you have a “give and take” relationship. S/he has to “give” something (obedience) in order to gain what s/he likes (food treat).
In order to encourage a behavior you should use reinforcers. These reinforcers vary. They can be something your dog really enjoys for example: food treats, rubbing behind her/his ears, playing with a favorite toy or it can be a verbal appraisal like “Good”. The above mentioned reinforcers can be combined. For example: you can say “Good” and also give a food treat in order to increase your dogs awareness of the situation. This combination can stop when your dog responds to what you want 9 out of 10 times.
Considering the above mentioned practices we conclude that: If you give your dog the things s/he enjoys only after s/he has obeyed, s/he will anticipate obedience, because s/he knows that it only leads to the things s/he really enjoys!
The first step is to find the appropriate play and chew toys for your puppy. Some examples are:
Kong or Rhino toys
Nylabones
Hard rubber balls large enough so they don’t get stuck in your dog’s throat
Soft flying disks
Interactive play toys like Buster cube (a square box where you can put food in)
Some examples of unacceptable toys are:
Tennis balls and stuffed toys
Ropes and similar, as such toys can lead some dogs to become aggressive
Rubber toys that can be chewed into little pieces, as these can be threatening to your dog’s health
In order to make the desired toys attractive to your dog, they must become a main source of interaction between you and your dog. Play with your dog and his/her toys. If you also appraise the dog when playing with the toys, you will make him/her seek them out on their own. When s/he seeks them out you should praise this behavior.
A great game to play with your dog is fetch using a toy that you are holding. You throw the toy and give the “fetch” order to your dog. The desired reaction would be for the dog to bring back the toy and either leaves it in front of your feet or in your hands. This can happen either on its own or after you giving the command. In case the dog doesn’t bring back the toy, s/he runs off, refuses to give it back or just stops playing, then you should stop playing for 10-15 minutes.
Another good idea is to combine training and playing.
Example: If you take your dog for a walk in open space, like a park, the mountain, a beach etc, and your dog starts walking away from you. Then a good thing to do is not to call him/her back, you can turn and start walking to the opposite direction. As soon as your dog understands that you are not close s/he will come back to you. As soon as s/he does that you can praise and pet him/her. This is a very good exercise in order to make your dog follow you when s/he is unleashed and also a great way to show him/her who the leader is in a very nice and effective way.
Examples of unacceptable ways of playing with your dog include: Teasing, slapping, wrestling, chasing, allowing him/her to bark at you. You should not allow your dog to demand that you play with him/her. Also you should not use your hands as a toy, allowing him to nip, and tug-of-war.
