What Is The Most Effective Way To Train Your Dog?

Posted by: KHTS Articles in News Articles April 13, 2021 - 11:53 am 0 409 Views

Training your dog is one of those things which is relatively straightforward, but it’s not always easy! The good news is that no matter whether you have a Goldendoodle, a German Shepherd, or a Chihuahua, the way they learn is precisely the same. So that means that there’s no need to try and be ‘the boss’ or be all heavy-handed.

With all this in mind, we’re going to look at some of the most effective ways to train your dog while also building a fantastic lifelong relationship.

1. Focus on setting up your dog to be successful

If there is one tip that will revolutionize how you train your dog, it’s this one. When you take the time to consider if your dog is really ready to be let off the lead in the park or to walk on a loose leash while other dogs are running around, you’ll make great decisions on their behalf.

This means no more fingers crossed and hope for the best. If your dog doesn’t come when called in from the yard, then they’re not going to come when tempted by all the smells and distractions in the park. Just the same, if they can’t sit when another dog is walking past calmly, then there’s no hope when they’re running around having fun.

So, some planning is needed when your focus is on helping your dog to get it right. That might mean that if you have visitors coming and you know your dog will want to jump up, make sure he’s on the leash to say hello. You can also make sure that you have some tasty treats to encourage your dog to sit and keep all four paws on the floor. Now you have a much greater chance of your dog behaving in the way that you’d like them to.

2. Don’t be stingy with the rewards!

I’m not sure about you, but if my boss stopped paying me after my first months’ paycheck, I’m not going to be working there for too long. It’s the same for your dog, pay them well, and you can be sure that there will be a super quick and enthusiastic response.

And rewards don’t always have to be about food, though that’s top of the list for most dogs. You could also use a game with their favorite toy. Fuss and praise work for a well-known behavior such as sit but mix it up with food and toys every now and then to make things a little less predictable.

3. Go steady with the difficulty

Slow and steady wins the day could be the perfect slogan for training our dogs. When we make a behavior too hard too quickly, we make it tough for our dogs to understand what’s required. It would be a little like us learning how to drive on a quiet backroad one day and then be on the freeway around Los Angeles the next!

Our dogs aren’t great at generalizing either. So that means that when they learn a behavior, it tends to be in the context of where they learned it. When you train a sit in the kitchen and then ask for it in the garden, your dog may look confused. That’s because to them, a sit means to sit in the kitchen. Now, as your dog becomes more experienced, they will learn that a behavior is the same no matter where they are, but that can take a little time.

All this means is that you need to be prepared to take a step back in the learning process when you’re somewhere new. It won’t take long for your dog to figure out what’s required.

4. When behaviors are reinforced, they happen more often

When dog trainers talk about a behavior being reinforced, they mean that your dog got something they liked after the behavior was offered. And when they got something they liked, then the behavior you want will happen more often. Now don’t forget those reinforcements or rewards don’t have to be food or toys. If your dog jumps up and you smile or laugh, for some dogs, that’s rewarding enough for the behavior to happen again.

That all means that if a behavior keeps on happening, you need to consider how your dog is getting rewarded. When you can identify what that is, you can manage the situation to ensure that your dog doesn’t get reinforced for offering a behavior that you don’t want to see again.

5. We all have off days

Just like us, your dog will have days where they find it harder to learn or where it seems that everything they know has vanished into thin air. Those are the days where it’s time to go for a long walk instead or just have a game in the yard. If you find that you have more days where you’re not making progress, then that might be the time to get a lesson with a professional dog trainer. They’ll be able to assess what’s happening and then provide advice to get you back on track.

If your dog suddenly becomes lethargic and has no interest in things that they usually enjoy, then that could be a sign of illness or of them being in pain. A quick check-up with your local veterinarian is then needed to find out what’s causing the problem.

6. At the end of the day, your dog’s performance matches your ability as a trainer

That might sound a little tough, but really all the behaviors that your dog knows are there because that’s how you taught them. So, if your dog sometimes gets up when you’ve asked him to stay, then that might be because the behavior was made too difficult too quickly. It could also happen if your dog hasn’t yet generalized the stay to different settings.

Training is a skill, and it takes time to learn and perfect its use in teaching your dog new behaviors. Taking classes with an experienced trainer can be really helpful in not only teaching your dog new behaviors but helping you develop your skills too!