Training a good dog involves leadership, principles of behaviour, structure, interaction and lots of patience. Whether you are new to dog-training or are already an expert, the first thing to keep in mind is to understand a dog’s fundamental behaviour.
Establishing solid obedience training builds a consistent behaviour for your dog or puppy. The initial stages of dog-training involve an understanding of the reward-punishment principle, and more specifically about positive reinforcement. Giving dogs treats or rewards after they complete certain tasks is the meat of this principle, but to be more effective, a trainer should be very clear about which behaviours are allowed for his dog and which are not. The use of affirmative and negative intonations greatly aid in communicating and making clarity on matters between trainer and dog. Since dogs have very sensitive and sharp hearing, this becomes a powerful reinforcement for setting rules on good and bad behaviour.
An essential matter for all trainers is Potty Dog training. Whenever your pet is showing signs that it needs to go to the toilet, a single command that is used consistently could give it an order to come with you or go by itself to a designated area. Be sure to praise or reward your dog for going appropriately to the potty area.
One simply cannot expect that his dog would be right beside him during a walk. That is why leash training would greatly help. Keeping a dog on a leash within a few weeks would already be sufficient, but of course, depending on the frequency of your training, the number of weeks when it would be able to walk alongside you would either be lessened or increased. The dog will often be distracted with what it sees on the streets. Pull the leash and say a command to tell it that you don’t want it to go elsewhere. But if the dog is not distracted and pulls because of the pressure that it feels when you pull back, release the tension in the leash and go to its direction. As your dog comes back to your side quickly, make sure to praise it and give it a treat while reacquiring the leash.
Advanced tricks such as fetching Frisbees, rolling over, and other tricks can be taught after undergoing fundamental training. With these basic principles in mind and a greater amount of patience, more difficult tricks and tasks will become more probable for a dog to learn. The more obedient a dog becomes because of a more effective fundamental training, the easier he will learn new tasks and tricks.
