Teaching Your Dog – Fantastic Step By Step Guide

Want to teach your dog but need a simple step by step guide on how best to do it? Follow these great step by step exercises to teach your dog how you would like him to behave. It is important to follow this sequence to achieve the best results for both you and your dog.

1. Be certain of what it is that you want to teach.

2. Begin in a relatively quiet environment, free from distractions.

3. Show your dog a piece of really interesting food.

4. Use this as a lure to show your dog what you want. Be patient and avoid pulling or pushing him around. Instead, find ways to encourage him to do it himself.

5. Immediately your dog does as you want, reward him with the food and a fuss.

6. At this stage, do not give your dog any words of command.

7. Repeat several times, until your dog is performing the action reliably, then begin to say your word as the dog is doing the action.

8. Show the dog the treat and say your word. Lure him if necessary. Reward him.

9. Progress so that you can say the word and the dog will repeat the action without needing to follow your hand.

10. Start varying the rewards. Use a different or less interesting reward sometimes, or have the treat in your hand but only give him a fuss and praise as reward. At other times, do not have the treat in your hand, but suddenly produce one from the other hand as soon as he does what you ask.

11. Rewards should now come on a random basis. Gradually vary and decrease the rewards given. This means that your dog does not know when he will be rewarded, or with what type of reward — he needs to do as you ask to find out what he will get.

12. Repeat this sequence in different places, with an increasing number of distractions, for example in different rooms in the house, in the garden, on a lead on the pavement, in a field with no one around. Progress to a field with other dogs and people around, and your house when visitors are there.

Using words

Dogs do not understand English and will only understand what we teach them. Therefore, the accuracy of your dog’s response will depend on how effectively you teach him. We need to make life as easy as possible for him. He is now learning our language.

One word must equal one action. We know that one word can have a variety of meanings, but how can our dog understand this? What does ‘down’ mean? Lie down, get down, come down, sit down? You decide for your dog. Everyone in the family must be consistent and use the same words. It is no good if one person says ‘down’ to mean lie down and someone else says ‘down’ to mean don’t jump up.

Take a blank piece of paper — this will be your dog’s dictionary. Write down each word you teach your dog, along with the meaning, and pin it somewhere obvious, where everyone will be reminded by it. Add to the list as you progress and teach more words.