Reward Your Dog

When Obedience

Training

Rewarding your dog is the best motivator when

training. It is well known that using rewards and

other positive reinforcement when obedience

training a dog is the most effective method and

achieves the best results.

You can make obedience training fun for the dog –

and yourself too – by making a game of it. This

makes both your dog and you, as the trainer,

more willing andmotivated to give it your all.

Incorporate a period of play at the start and the end

of each training session to ensure that the session

ends positively. Teaching your dog to heel is the

most basic of all the obedience commands. This

refers to having the dog walk along with you on a

loose lead. Heeling is generally the first obedience

behavior taught to a dog, and it is easy to teach this

using reward training.

Begin the training by getting your dog a good

training collar and lead. Make sure the collar is

strong and fits the dog properly. If you don’t know

how to fit the collar, ask a dog trainer or the pet

store manager when you buy your training

equipment. As you start to walk with the dog, be

aware of the dog’s position in relation to your own. If

the dog begins to get ahead of you, pull gently on

the leash. This will engage the collar and provide the

dog with a gentle indication that he should slow

down.

You may have to apply more pressure in the

beginning until your dog learns to accept the

discipline. If the dog falls behind, slow down and

encourage the dog to come forward. Use a lure or

the dog’s favorite toy to teach him to walk by your

side. If you keep the lure at the position you’d like

the dog to be, he will learn quickly to walk in the

correct position.

Always give your dog lots of praise, treats, toys, and

other rewards when he or she does what is

expected. Dogs learn best when desired behavior

is rewarded in a positive manner. Positive

reinforcement means that when a dog does what the

trainer wants, the dog receives a reward. This can be

a pat on the head or a treat or toy of some kind. If

the dog shows even the slightest attempt to please

you, especially at the beginning of training, you

should lavish positive reinforcement on him or her.

It is much less effective to attempt to train a dog

through reprimands and punishment. Dogs become

discouraged and confused by too much punishment.

You may have to reprimand the dog sometimes to

correct a potentially dangerous behavior. For

example, chasing cars or biting must be punished,

but the reprimands must be direct, short and

directly linked to the bad behavior. After the

immediate danger is over, training should go on,

based on the reward method as before.

Dogs must learn to associate rewards with good

behaviors and reprimands with undesirable

behaviors. It is difficult to change any negative

associations once they have taken hold. It’s easier to

train the dog properly in the first place than to try

and retrain him later. You should teach your dog to

associate behaviors like coming when called,

heeling, and sitting on command, with the happy

and fun times you shared during training.

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