Sometimes teaching your dog a new skill can be a frustrating experience, for both you and your canine friend. The tips below will help to set your dog up for success and make the experience more pleasurable for all:
1. Always praise appropriate behavior. This motivates your dog to repeat the desired behavior in order to please you.
2. Work on obedience skills for about 10 - 15 minutes each day (even less for a puppy). During each session, I advise clients to train their dogs in the shape of a “Bell Curve”. Start with a skill that your dog has thoroughly mastered - raise the bar- end with a skill or activity that your dog can perform with success.
3. With all new skills, start in an area that your dog is comfortable and relatively free of distractions. As your dog gets more familiar with a skill and is responding consistently, slowly begin to “raise the bar” by increasing environmental distractions.
4. Once your dogs understands a skill in one environment, offer opportunities to generalize this skill in other locations.
5. If you find yourself getting frustrated with your dog’s performance, TAKE A BREAK and try again at a later time.
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