Top 10 Essential Tips for Training Dogs
1. Be Patient With Your Dog
One of the most challenging things about teaching your dog is knowing what to expect. You're not looking for immediate results, and you're not expecting to be like a genius in a week. You will get what you put into training, but an impatient trainer will get bad results.
2. Be Consistent
For your dog to learn tricks/commands and behavior that they've never been taught, they must be consistent with their actions to reinforce their efforts with rewards and praise.
3. Be Attentive
When your dog is learning something, be attentive to the details. If your dog is trying to sit, and you tell him "no" because he's not sitting correctly, you will divert their attention from what they're meant to learn. If you want consistency in training, attention must be paid to the dog to be attentive to the tasks at hand.
4. Be Positive
You must make sure that any complaints about your dog are not about how he appears (i.e., how fat he is, his looks, how old he is, etc.) but rather about how he acts and what he does with his behavior. (i.e., he's fat, he's old, etc.)
5. Take Your Time
Training is not a race. You're not going to be perfect in a month, so you need to take your time and nurture the skills that your dog will eventually learn. Patience is vital when you want results!
6. Don't Believe When People Say "It's Not the Breed."
A Chihuahua won't be easier to train than an Akita, a Mastiff, or any other dog breed. The key is to figure out what makes them tick and use all of their potential.
7. Know your Dog
The keys to success when training your dog are who he is as a dog and why his behavior should be kept at bay. If you know what's bothering your dog, you can change his behavior without scolding him.
8. Tricks are not the Cornerstone of Training Your Dog
Tricks might work for some dogs or some breeds , but this is not the only way you can tell when your dog has learned something or not. Tricks might be fun to teach your dog, but you'll want to focus on training your dog for day-to-day life.
9. Train for Long-term Results
If you're trying to train your dog for a quick fix, and that's all you're looking for, then skip this tip. For those of us who are trying to teach our dogs a new behavior, we want them to learn something that will benefit them throughout their lives, not just now.
10. Know the Basics of the Task
This is probably the most crucial point when training your dog, and it has nothing to do with your dog. If you have the basics of what you're trying to teach correct, your dog will be able to learn.
Conclusion
Training your dog is all about patience, consistency, and positive reinforcement. These three things are the key to having a happy and well-trained dog that doesn't need to be scolded or punished for him to learn a new skill or command. Dogs learn in their way, so it's your job to teach them when they're ready for something new.
Training dogs is not about tricks and commands, but rather behavior, the life you live with them, and how you see them as a family member!