Dog training

Dog training takes time and effort. And it needs to start the day you bring your puppy or dog home.

Dog training should be a lifelong project for you and your dog. Make it fun and mix playtime with dog training.

To be successful, use these dog training tips: Be a leader, be firm, be humane and give praise.

Be a leader
Dogs are social, pack-oriented animals who respond best to a leader figure whether dog or human. The best pack leaders are the ones who are the most consistent. Dogs react to consistency because they know they can trust the consistent leader. Consistent leaders don’t invite the dog onto the couch one day and punish him the next when he jumps on the couch without permission.

Be firm
Good leaders are firm without being harsh. A good leader tells the dog to do something. He or she doesn’t shout at the dog, plead with the dog or scream at the dog to obey. The punctuation at the end of a good leader’s command is merely a period.

Be humane
Third, a good leader is compassionate. He or she doesn’t punish the dog for mistakes that were made by the leader.

Give praise
When the dog does something praiseworthy, deliver approval immediately. The good leader does not praise behaviors that are unwanted, no matter how unintentional the recognition may be.

If the dog is showing fear, aggressiveness, or timidity, the good leader either ignores the behavior or tells the dog to knock it off. The good leader doesn’t praise, and, therefore, encourage the response, by stroking the dog, telling him it’s OK, you’re a good boy, etc., while the dog is acting out.