© 2008 For Your Dog’s Sake!

If you reward a behaviour, it is more likely to be repeated.

Make sure that your rewards are actually rewarding to your dog!  Just because we think it should be rewarding, doesn’t mean it actually is.

Timing is critical!  Make sure that your praise and rewards are timed to coincide with the desired behaviour.  A common mistake is to take too long to reward, so that we are actually rewarding stopping the behaviour!

Ignore unwanted behaviours, such as attention seeking antics when possible.  Once the dog realises he won’t get what he wants, he is less likely to continue the behaviour.  Paying attention to him, even to reprimand can inadvertently reward him.

Be patient with your dog, and stay calm.   Stressing your dog will make it difficult for him to learn.

Never be aggressive with your dog.  It will cause him to lose trust in you and can cause the dog to be aggressive in self defence.  Besides, what kind of example are you setting him?

It is important that your dog knows that he will not always gets what he wants.  Teach and reward self control.

Use toys to play with your dog, and play with control rather than rough-housing.  Play is a key element of building a great relationship and can be used to teach many skills.

Most importantly, keep training fun!  Don’t be afraid to smile, training is about spending quality time with your dog.