Training your dog should be an enriching and rewarding experience for both of you. You gain right away by having a well-behaved dog but the bond that you have by conducting training sessions together is a bond that will last a lifetime. Your dog gains through your approval, he truly wishes to please you and give you his unconditional love. Training needs to be consistent amongst all members of the household so if it’s possible to have the entire family participate in training sessions and practice together, you’ll achieve the results you desire. Consistency is key, both in holding practice sessions and in the commands you use. It’s important for everyone to agree upon the words you wish to use for recall, for him to go to his place or to simply stay.  What skills can you teach your best friend? The possibilities are endless, the key is to make your training sessions fun and something you both look forward to, nothing’s worse than “having” to do training but if you “get” to it’ll be a great time for all.

Positivity is important. A positive mental attitude as you enter a session will lead to a better session. Always reward your pup for the great things he’s doing, we all notice the times your dog steals something from the counter or jumps on an arriving guest, but do you take notice of the times he lays calmly by the table as we prepare dinner or when he walks with us ever so nicely in the “heel” position. My guess is those times go unnoticed and unrewarded, lately, we’ve spent much more time concentrating on these quiet, good moments, and rewarding them with a “good puppy” or some positive reinforcer means so much to him. He truly needs these clues to help make sense of our random human rules regarding his canine behavior. Think about how much less stressful it is for both of you when he receives a tiny treat or a small pat on the head for laying quietly near the table he learns “wow things are good when I just do this, I think I’ll do this some more.”

Spend a week being very mindful of all the good things you catch your pup doing, that calm restful time he spends waiting to go for his walk, the nice sit he does as you enter the house with an armload of groceries. The nice sit he does at the corner as you walk or the calm demeanor he displays as he ignores another dog on the other side of the street. Keep tiny treats with you and reward him or offer him an “attaboy”, or give him an extra special ear rub, it’s the small things he does and that you notice that will reinforce his good behavior and mold him into a better behaving dog on a regular basis. Keeping things upbeat and positive will lead to a lifetime of good behavior and an amazing bond between you and your dog.