Three Basic Rules of Dog Obedience Training

There are dog obedience training schools where dogs are trained to follow simple commands using three basic principles as the trainer's guide.. Most dog training and dog behavior schools use these rules. These are:

Principle One:The first rule in obedience training is to be consistent. You must be consistent in the use of words, the tone of your voice and your actions, that go with your command. At the beginning of training you as the dog owner or trainer must make the decision as to what guidelines you will use to teach the dog. Words do not make sense to a dog. He does not understand things the way we understand, and he does not understand the language we use.

For the training to be understandable, the command must be used in a consistent manner so he can recognize the meaning to the word and tone. If you are using the word 'come' make sure everyone is. If you are using this command make it a point that you would not do actions that would make the command confusing for the dog. If he does not come to you, do not force the dog to come to you and punish him for doing so. This would make him attribute the command with the punishment.

Then what would you expect?-If the command leads to punishment he will not follow it next time. The same command used, by all people, must be consistent. For example, if you use the words 'come' make sure everyone in your family uses that word also, not 'come here'.

Principle Two:The hours devoted to training and the words used as command should be kept short. Remember that the attention span of dogs is extremely short so it is almost impossible to keep them engaged in the one activity. Combining children with your puppy obedience training is an example of keeping your training sessions short as they would lose interest very quickly, so it is best to move on to the next thing.

Your dog simply does not posses the same amount of interest they had when they started the activity, they become easily bored. Training should be kept to ten to fifteen minutes and set at regular times.

Principle Three: Do not use force and punishment to hurt your dog when training. Also, never force the dog to follow the command if he is not prepared for it or punish a dog for something he did. Don’t push the animal too hard while training.

Your dog has no understanding of your impatience for his lack of learning speed. All he knows is that you are mad. So do not use force as this does not communicate your meaning properly, instead use negative reinforcement. Do not send him mixed signals, by making him feel praised for doing something wrong, only when he obeys the command, should he feel praised.

You have to be understanding and patient, especially during your dog obedience training sessions. The outcome will be a very responsive and well trained dog.