11 rules for dog training
1. Persistence
You want the dog not to beg. You NORMALLY do not give your dog pieces of the table, but SOMETIMES you can. The result - the dog will patiently wait for that long-awaited moment when you finally give him the coveted piece. Thus, you give her hope, and they know how to wait! In training, this is called variable reinforcement, which is characterized by the fact that the reward is not given every time, but in random order. Variable reinforcement is much more effective than constant reinforcement. Moreover, the longer the intervals between reinforcements in the variable mode, the more it stimulates behavior. Therefore, if you want your dog NOT to do something, then DO NOT allow it to EVER, stick to consistency in your requirements.
2. reward your dog
If you have given any command to the dog, be sure to get it done. Remember to reward your dog with praise and treats after doing it.
3. Do not demand from the dog what was not taught.
If, when training a dog, you do not monitor the accuracy and correctness of the action, then do not demand further from the dog the normative fulfillment of the command. For example, when teaching the command "Sit", you made an uneven landing, the dog fell to the side. Then you suddenly decided that it was so wrong and began to demand from the dog a correct, even landing, but the dog had already been taught that it didn’t matter how to sit, the main thing was to sit because it didn’t care exactly how to sit. This is your assumption. The dog will simply have to be corrected a little, to show what you want from it, or to leave it as it is if it does not bother you.
4. Be understandable to the dog
Your actions should be understandable to the dog, appropriate for him, consistent, and predictable. The clarity in your actions and movements is also important. And, of course, knowledge of dog body language and signals of reconciliation.
5. Don't be fooled
For example, you need to give your dog an injection that it fears. The dog is huddled under the sofa, and you are trying to lure him out of there. She loves to walk and knows this word. You take advantage of this and say: "Let's go for a walk", although in fact, you are not going to do it. The dog happily runs out to you, wagging its tail - that's when you grab it. By doing so, you have deceived the dog and undermined its confidence. Now your dog will first think 100 times before fulfilling your requirements, therefore, contact and trust between you are broken.
6. A dog's mistake indicates your mistakes
If the dog does something wrong, then you taught it wrong. That is, the whole point is in the clarity of your actions, in the timeliness of reinforcement, i.e. in rewarding exactly the action that you want your dog to repeat in the future.
7. Meet your needs
If a dog is uncomfortable, if it hurts, if it is under stress, if it lacks physical and intellectual activity, if you do not satisfy its species-typical needs, learning ability falls. Before teaching or expecting obedience, the basic needs of the animal must be met. After all, when we feel bad and uncomfortable, we learn knowledge poorly, and, for example, in fear, we will not be able to learn anything at all - also a dog.
8. Confidence
You must be calm, self-confident, decisive, be able to make the right decision without fuss. And if you broadcast all this to the dog, he will feel a wise teacher in you and will follow you.
9. From simple to complex
Break each skill into many, many steps and small steps. Go from simple to complex gradually. Go to the next stage only after fixing the previous one. If something stops working, go back a step.
10. Encouraged = reinforced
Watch what you are encouraging. If your dog does something you don't like, ignore it. But when she does what you want, reward generously. What you don't reinforce fades over time. What you reinforce is reinforced and repeated.
11. A dog is a living being You think your dog is perfectly trained.
It works great for you in case of distractions, fulfills commands without question. Walking with her along the highway, you do not take her on a leash, since she walks perfectly alongside. BUT - a dog is a living being! Think about something on the other side of the road that might seem to her, for example, a familiar person. Either she sees a familiar dog she loves to play with, or a cat, or maybe a bitch in heat - there are many options! With the most ideal obedience, once she can break off the team and, it can cost her her life.