Training Hints

[ayoitzrimz]

When it comes to corrections - be fair and consistent. When it comes to rewards, be consistently inconsistent - I heard that one day, the person was telling me this when we were in the process of fading out the rewards in focused heeling.

[ayoitzrimz]

Another thing - the tools are just that, tools. The prong, choker, e-collar, tug, ball-on-string, liver treats, cookies, send away stick, flexi-leash, etc etc etc are just tools. Timing and managing the environment were the two things that once I improved on made the most difference in how my dog learns and behaves.

[Marnie]

Try not to run through behaviors in the same sequence or even in the same place. I caught myself the other day doing recalls, finishes and down stays in that order several times. By the forth recall, the dog simply ran thru the drill from come to down stay without waiting for commands. Mix up your behavior practice. Run thru them in the kitchen and then go outside and run thru them again.

[SamanthaBrynn]

I guess mine would be if you don't know...ask.

[GregK]

If you going to use a leash-jerk correction, don't simultaneously do it while saying your cue. I see it all the time - drives me nuts!

[KSdogowner]

Your new puppy doesn't know by default how to behave but just like a human child, needs to be taught.

[BlackthornGSD]

This is surprisingly simple, but it is the crucial principle behind almost all dog behavior:

Successful behavior is likely to be repeated.

That is, behavior that gets the dog something that he wants is going to happen again. Successful behavior is in no way correlated to desirable behavior.

Point 2:

Consistency is going to lead to the most successful training. Even consistently poor training is going to be more successful than inconsistent "good" training.

[AbbyK9]

Learn how to communicate clearly with your dog.

You can't really set them up for success if your are not communicating clearly. To me, this means that the dog needs to understand what the positive marker (clicker) means and they also need to know what a negative means (I use "ACK!" instead of "NO" for situations of "STOP THAT RIGHT NOW!" and I use "wrong" in training when I am offered an incorrect behavior).

A lot of marking (communicating) is about timing, especially with the clicker, and this is something you don't learn by reading a book or watching someone do it. This is something you learn by having an experienced trainer WATCH YOU to make sure you're getting your timing right.

Another really important part of communicating clearly is using ONE WORD for only one action. Down means lay down. It doesn't mean get off the couch, jump out of the car, don't jump on people. One word, one action. If you use one word for several actions, it no longer means anything.

Along the same lines, it's also important that the word is the same. Down means lay down. Down! Down! DOOOOWN! does not mean lay down. One command - not three. Or the dog learns that he doesn't need to do it until you've said it 10 times.

I also think that saying your dog's name should mean your dog looks at you. It isn't a substitute for a command - like, for example, come. It just means look at me, no matter what you are doing. If you want the dog to come, say come. Not "Fido!"

Definitely agree with setting your dog up to succeed - meaning, you wait or encourage (by, for example, luring) a WANTED behavior and REWARD for it, instead of waiting for an unwanted behavior and correcting for it. That's how you shape and train a behavior successfully AND get a dog who WANTS to work.

I also think it's really, really important to learn how to wind up and how to calm down your dog. It's a skill that is learned and very useful in training. You should be able to take a dog that's starting to wind down / get bored in a class and get them wound back up and excited to work. And you should be able to get your excited dog to calm down when you need them to. A lot of how to do that is about your voice changes (very happy voice for praise, "mommy" voice for commands, normal voice for calming down), how you pet and interact with your dog, and your body language.

When you train, start in a place where you have few distractions and your dog's attention. The kitchen works well for many people. Once the dog performs the command there, WORK ON IT ELSEWHERE. This is called proofing. Go from the least distracting to the most distracting scenario. The dog is only considered solid on his commands if he performs them in the most distracting environment. (I get a lot of people whose dogs are perfect at home but once they get outside, they act like they've never heard any of the commands before because they never train in other locations.)

Don't give a command you can't reinforce - especially if that command is COME.

Be someone your dog WANTS to please. Be a good "leader".

[KSdogowner]

Try not to mess or chase your puppy with the vacuum cleaner. You will end up with an adult dog that is afraid of the vacuum cleaner and could potentially make your house cleaning a noisy, stressful event for you and the dog.