This article serves as an introduction to my dog training guide by explaining the basic principles behind all dog training practices and some of the pitfalls that need to be overcome.
Dogs live in the present. Their memories are based upon association; they have very little recall memory. Dogs are not able to reason as we do. Dogs do not think in abstract terms, it is simply action = consequence for them. As far as dogs are concerned, rewarded conduct is likely to be repeated whereas discouraged ot ignored conduct is usually avoided. This is the main principle behind any kind of dog training.
For instance, if you give your dog a treat or praise him every time he sits then eventually he will sit of his own accord so that he may receive another reward. Conversely, to stop your dog from repeating an action in the future like jumping up for attention you should completely ignore him when he does it.
To create meaningful associations you should praise behaviours that you want to encourage and ignore behaviours that you want to discourage. It all sounds very simple doesn’t it? So why is dog obedience training such a contentious subject?
One of the problems is that you only have about two seconds to make the association between action and reward. The consequence of this is that wrong associations can easily be made by an owner who is new to dog training. For example, you are training your dog to sit but by the time you praise him he is already standing up again - you have mistakenly encouraged the stand up rather than the sit. Another scenario would be to find that your dog has messed on the carpet when you come home. You pull your dog back to the mess, rub his nose in it saying ‘Bad Dog’ and then push him out of the back door. All you have done is taught your dog that going to the toilet is bad.
In the home a dog can have too many masters who will completely confuse him by contradictory associations and opposing training methods. A dog should only have one master and one trainer.
The basics of dog obedience training have been explained in this dog training guide. They are simple on paper but not so easy to carry out. However, knowing the basics will always help when applying specific dog training methods.
Go to www.TrainMyOwnDog.com to see more articles on dog obedience training.
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