Training your dog can be a very long and very rewarding process. When you can teach your dog to obey you, you’re increasing the quality of life for both you and your dog. As it often is with any healthy relationship, both parties need to develop an understanding of who is the boss, and what their expectations are.
It would be great to able to take your dog out for a walk without being jerked around on a leash. When telling your dog to ’stay’ and knowing that you won’t need to keep a leash ready. When letting your dog play with the kids it would be assuring to know that no one will need a band aid or disinfectant later.
When used in dog training, psychology can be simple. Good behavior is to be rewarded, while bad behavior needs to be corrected. When you reward your dog’s good behavior, he will learn to enjoy obeying your commands, and also to associate good feelings with good behavior. Similarly, your dog will learn to avoid bad behavior, and all the headaches that could cause you, and, indirectly, your dog.
That’s all there is to it.
Rewards are also simple. You can reward your dog by heaping praise on him, giving a thorough petting, or giving a treat. You should be careful about overdoing it. Rewards are rewards, not bribes, and if you start to use rewards as bribes, your dog may learn to never do your bidding, unless you have some kind of tasty treat or a toy of some kind on hand.
If you you are worried about over-feeding your dog, you can use a technique called ‘clicker training’. You can use a child’s toy that gives out a loud clicking sound. The idea behind clicker training is that it is necessary to feed your dog some treats, however every time he gets a treat, give a loud ‘click’. This way your dog should eventually start associating the sound of the click with getting a treat, and then be able to associate a click with good feelings.
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