In this introduction to my dog training guide I want to explain the basic principles behind all dog training practices and some of the pitfalls that need to be overcome.

Dogs live for the present. Their memories are based upon association; they have very little recall memory. Dogs are not able to reason as we do. They think in concrete terms, it is very much action = consequence for them. Dog behaviours that are rewarded are usually repeated while behaviors that are discouraged are typically avoided and in this way bad behavior is corrected. This is the main principle behind any kind of dog training. This is how to train dogs. In this way your puppy or dog learns good behavior from bad. It is called positive reinforcement dog training and it will bring out the best in your dog.

To take a simple example, if your dog sits and you promptly provide a treat or give verbal praise then he will begin to sit on his own in order to receive another reward. This is positive reinforcement. On the other hand, you should completely ignore your dog if he jumps up for attention, this is negative reinforcement and your dog will be disinclined to repeat it in future.

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 what is it that makes adult dog training so problematic?

To make a successful association the time between action and reward cannot be more than about 2 seconds this can be a problem. This means that it is easily possible for the inexperienced owner to make an unintended association. As an example suppose you are teaching your dog to sit but you are a bit slow in praising him and by that time he is standing up again, then what you have done is reinforced 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 there is another problem in that a dog can have too many trainers using different training methods and producing conflicting associations which will confuse the dog. A dog should only have one master and one trainer.

In this dog training guide I have explained the fundamentals behind adult dog training. They are very simple but as the saying goes, easier said than done. However, a knowledge of the fundamental principles will always be of help with any particular dog training method.

Puppy dog training is one of the most rewarding things that I have ever done. In this post I want to highlight the main differences between dog training and puppy training techniques.

The first thing to be aware of is that you should start training immediately you get your puppy home. You should collect him in the morning and stay with him all day. Consistency is very important to avoid having a very confused puppy so only one person should be doing the training using the same commands for the same actions.

If you intend to use a crate or kennel now is the time to introduce it to your puppy. Remember that it should be seen by him as a refuge to get away from the bustle of life outside it. He should be encouraged, not forced, to go into his kennel. Most importantly, the kennel should be just large enough for him to stand up, turn round and lie down. Anything larger and he might decide to poop in the corner. Please see my post on ‘Dog Crate Training’ for more information.

Patience is the keyword with any puppy dog training regime. Never get annoyed or show annoyance to your puppy. All your puppy wants to do is please his pack leader (that’s you!) so if he doesn’t do what you want him to do it is not his fault. In fact his main motivation is to make you happy

Training sessions should not last more than 5 minutes which is about your pup’s attention span. It is best not to have a training session just after your puppy has eaten because he is probably tired and just wants a nap.

Concentrate first on the six basic commands: Heel, Come, Sit, Stand, Stay and down. Go at your puppy’s pace not your own. Anything that he does right should be immediately praised with a treat, a pat or verbally. Treats should be easy to eat and irresistible tasty to your puppy. Dog biscuits take too long to chew so bits of cheese or sausage are good.

Toilet training is one of the most important things to cover in your puppy dog training regime. You should take your puppy outside every couple of hours and walk around with him until he obliges. Then you should go over the top in praising him so he is left in no doubt that you are pleased with what he has done. If you find that he has had a little ‘accident’ indoors do not chastise him but perhaps let him see you take it outside. If you catch him in the act or about to poop indoors then just calmly take him outside. Some owners like to lay a newspaper on the floor indoors and encourage their puppy to poop on it and then they gradually move it to the door and outside.

Dog training equipment has many variations both in quality and style. Before you start training your dog there are certain basic pieces of dog training equipment that you will need.

Collar

A collar and lead will be the first things that you need. There are several kinds of collar used for different training purposes but initially you will just need an ordinary flat buckle collar or clip collar. It should not have any tightening action such as a choke or half-check chain.

As I have mentioned in other posts there are special high tech collars for particular purposes. These are ultrasonic, spray and electric collars which are training aids rather than for every day use.

Alternative collars are available for dogs with particular problems. A head collar as its name implies, controls the head of the animal. They are extremely useful with dogs that pull or tend to jump up or are more difficult to control. They serve no teaching function; they simply make it easier for you to control your dog when you are teaching him.

A harness is favoured by some people when they are walking their dog because it does not hurt his neck when he pulls. Of course many people would argue that your dog should not be pulling in the first place and that a harness positively encourages your dog to drag you along rather like a husky pulling a sledge. Nowadays a special kind of harness is available which is designed to discourage dogs from pulling by putting pressure on your dog in a different place when he pulls.

Lead

A lead 4 to 6 feet long is ideal. Any shorter and you may find that your dog will start pulling, any longer and you may find greater difficulty controlling him. Leads come in a few different materials nylon, leather and canvas being some of them. Chains are also available but these can be heavy and uncomfortable. Whatever your lead is made of it is important to check it regularly for wear and tear and chewing with puppies. The last thing you want is for your dog to get off his lead in a busy town centre.

Extending leads can be very useful in situations where you want to give your dog more freedom but at the same time keep control over him. These are usually extendible to about 20 feet and have a brake control and a locking mechanism.

Clicker

As dog training equipment goes the clicker is at the top of the list after collar and lead. It is simply a box with a switch on it which emits a click when the switch is pressed. It is used to give instant positive feedback to your dog when he does something right. As a training aid this is most important and very effective.

Crate or Kennel

A crate is a fabulous piece of dog training equipment especially if introduced early in the life of your dog. It provides a safe, reliable refuge for your dog and peace of mind for you. Many dog owners try these wonderful aids and give up because they think that they are cruel. However if used correctly and introduced in the right way they are invaluable. Please read my post about crate training.

Poop scoop and poop bags

Essential if you want to be a conscientious citizen. When walking your dog you just need to take a few small plastic bags with you, turn them inside out over your hand when picking up the poop. A poop scoop is handy in the garden when you are cleaning up your dog’s toilet area.

Treats

Last but not least a bag of treats is very important dog training equipment. Dogs just love them and beg for more! Dog biscuits are ok but they can take too long to chew particularly for puppies so I favour Small pieces of cheese or sausage. Remember the important rule – only give them when he does something right!

In this dog leash training article I’ll be taking a more detailed look at dog lead training specifically walking your dog on a leash without any pulling. This is probably one of the most important things that your dog will learn in dog training.

Walking well on a leash is something that takes some practice with your dog. Pulling is a common problem and unless it is corrected early, it will get harder to correct the older the dog becomes.

When your dog pulls without any correction, he will think that it is ok to pull and while you carry on walking, he will think that he is being rewarded for pulling. This is obviously not the message you want to send him.

When your dog pulls and you pull him back, he will probably just continue to pull harder. This will be good fun for him! so you need to train him to walk properly. Dog leash training is all about encouraging the right behaviour.

Before you start walking, stand still, hold the leash with both hands and have several treats ready. Keep your hands close to your body. Every time your dog looks up at you or he is just sitting or standing still, tell him what a good boy he is and give him a treat. You want him to let him know that this is good. He will soon notice that paying attention to you is rewarded.

If he starts to lean or walk forward, bend your body backwards or take a few steps backwards, but don’t pull. Put your hands against your body and stand still. There may be tension on the leash, but just wait. Eventually he will slacken his pull or look up to you. As soon as he does this give him verbal praise and move your arm down to your side and give him a treat.

Continue praising your dog until he moves forward toward the end of the leash. If he pulls again it is best not to say anything but when he releases the tension you should praise him again.

When your dog stands next to you, you should start walking. Best of all, say your dog’s name and the command “let’s go” or “let’s walk”. It is important to be consistent with this, the command should be spoken just before the dog moves forward.

If he continues to walk properly without pulling forward then carry on walking, rewarding him occasionally with verbal praise and treats.

If you see that he is about to pull then stop walking and stand still. He will wonder why you stopped and will probably look back at you. When he does, verbally praise him and give him a treat as you start to walk. Contiune doing this every time your dog is about to pull forward.

Eventually he will realise that when his collar is tight, you won’t follow him, in fact the walking stops. This will encourage him to walk with a slack leash.

You should begin dog leash training in your home or garden. Your dog will then get used to walking on the leash in a controlled environment. Once you both feel at ease, you can start walking him outside.

You always want to give your dog every opportunity to be rewarded.

In dog training, barking at the doorbell is often left untreated. It happens so often doesn’t it. You call at someone’s house and as soon as you ring the bell or knock on the door all hell breaks loose and a dog hurls itself against the door barking loudly. It’s worse from the dog owner’s view point, every caller is greeted with the same response from their dog. It is not easy to stop this behaviour. Breaking this pattern involves a desensitising process. It has to be done in several easy stages and it does require that your dog obedience training has reached the stage of him obeying the SIT and HEEL commands. The aim of the whole exercise is for your dog to learn to patiently hold a SIT when callers attempt to enter your house.

Stage 1

Start by teaching your dog to SIT at some distance from the door while you walk away from him and towards the door. Walk back to your dog and praise him for remaining in a SIT. Only move on to stage 2 when your dog consistently succeeds with this.

Stage 2

The next step involves desensitising your dog to the door opening. Command your dog to SIT directly in front of the door keeping the lead in your hand so you can provide immediate feedback. Now open the door. If your dog breaks the SIT, correct with NO and re-command SIT. Praise him for success. Repeat the exercise until your dog can ignore the door opening at least three times in a row. Return your dog to a SIT in a remote location, walk to the door, and open it. If your dog gets up, give a verbal command NO. If he SITS, praise him. If he continues to walk towards you, take the lead and silently put him back on his spot, lead correct with NO, and re-command SIT. Repeat this process until your dog is desensitised to the door opening.

Stage 3

Now add a person at the other side of the door. Have your dog SIT. Walk over to the door and open it. Tell your visitor, “Wait please.” Return to your dog’s side and control the lead. Invite your visitor inside the house. Only allow the person to enter if your dog maintains a SIT (obviously the person helping you is prepared for the exercise and knows what to do). If your dog gets up, correct with NO and re-command SIT.

Stage 4

Now add a knock on the door or the doorbell as the final piece of the jigsaw. This part will stimulate your dog the most. HEEL your dog through the house. Have an assistant ring the doorbell or knock on the door. When your dog reacts to the stimulus, divert with NO and redirect with HEEL plus praise. HEEL will be easier than SIT or DOWN because HEEL requires more momentary thinking than either of the stationary commands. When your dog can ignore the doorbell in HEEL, try SIT.

Conclusion

Whether you are performing dog obedience training or actually greeting someone at the door, keep the vocal cue the same. Don’t panic and introduce sentences like “Come on now, you know how to do this,” as it will only confuse your dog and make it more difficult for him to succeed. Use crisp, clear commands exactly as you learned and practiced them. If you repeat this process every time someone comes to the door, your dog’s greeting manners will improve. Slowly decrease the distance to the door. If your dog shows signs of backsliding, move further away. Always practice the desensitisation exercises for door opening and knock/bell as part of your distraction training workout.

We do not want our dog to stop barking altogether, that would be like expecting a human being never to talk. Anyway most dog owners agree that a barking dog is a good protection and an outstanding burglar alarm.

What we as dog owners need to do is control the barking dog, training him when it’s appropriate to bark and then stop on our command. Dogs bark for many reasons, most of them are legitimate. A dog barks to communicate a message, show excitement or draw attention. There are warning barks, alarm barks, playful barks, need barks and command barks. Continuous barking is a behavioural problem

It is possible with time and patience to train a dog to bark on command and as a by product to be quiet on command but most of us do not have the time to do this so there are a few things which can provide immediate resolution to the barking dog problem, in particular electric dog training collars.

1. Ultrasonic devices
These emit an ultrasonic sound when the dog barks which humans can’t hear but which distracts the dog. There are several versions of these; collars, stand alone and hand held devices. From my experience the ultrasonic collars are not terribly effective but the others work quite well. You simply place the stand alone device in your home or garden. One advantage of this device is that it can control the barking of your neighbour’s dog. With handheld ultrasonic devices you simply press the button when you want to deliver a correction. These can be useful if you are bothered by barking dogs when out walking, jogging or bike riding.

2. Spray Devices
These generally come in the form of citronella no-bark collars. They spray citronella when your dog barks and most dogs do not like it so it provides negative reinforcement every time. I have found these to be very effective.

3. Electronic devices
In professional dog training circles electronic bark collars are considered to offer a much faster and reliable method for gaining the desired result compared with the two above. Some still believe that there is something cruel or inhumane about electric dog training collars. While this may have been true several years ago they have come a long way since the early days. They work by giving the dog a mild shock. The bark triggers the first warning which is the mildest. If the dog barks again within 30 seconds the shock is intensified slightly. Repetitive barking will take the collar to the 6th and final level. There are lots of safety measures built in now, for instance, if your dog barks fifteen times during a period of 50 seconds the collar shuts off for three minutes and resets.

So there you have it. There is no need to put up with continuous dog barking. Barking dog training with one of the three methods outlined above needs no expertise to use and is usually effective immediately.

Crate training dogs is not cruel! By their very nature dogs like to live in a den like environment. Dog crate training means that you are providing your dog with a way of life which really suits him down to the ground. He feels safe and comfortable in his crate or kennel provided that you, the owner does not abuse it. By this I mean that puppies and dogs should not be shut in for hours on end, crates should never be used as a punishment. Crates and kennels should be considered as a refuge for the dog to escape the bustle of everyday life. Even though dogs seek attention they still need a quiet place to rest.

Crates come in various sizes and are made from various materials. I always recommend a wire crate because of its durability especially with puppies. The most important thing to bear in mind is that a crate for a puppy should be just big enough for the puppy to stand in, sit down, turn around and lay down. Anything larger will allow the puppy to sleep on one side and poop in the other side.

Try to associate the puppy’s kennel with good things. Put the puppy’s toy into the kennel and throw the odd treat in there when he does something good and you are rewarding him. If you ever need to separate your dog or puppy from the rest of the pack (you and your family) then you should designate a small room like a utility room or downstairs toilet. It’s fine for your dog to associate one of these rooms with punishment but never his crate.

When you introduce a puppy to dog crate training for the first time put a hot water bottle under his blanket as a substitute for the warmth of his mother and siblings. Also you can add a few stuffed toys around him to simulate the rest of the litter. For the first few nights keep the crate near your bed and raised up so that he does not feel completely isolated.

There are so many benefits of dog crate training a dog, not least is the peace of mind that you have knowing that your beloved pooch is safe and secure when he is in his kennel.

“Put plenty of newspaper down on the floor and when the dog goes on the paper praise and reward him with a treat” This is fine if you want to encourage your dog to go on newspaper inside your house for the rest of his life!

“When you discover that your puppy has gone in the wrong place, drag him back to it and rub his nose in it” This very old fashioned advice contains no ancient wisdom at all. In fact it can cause puppies deep and long term emotional stress. Dogs live for the present and they will not understand or learn from the experience because they will not be able to connect your behaviour with what they did wrong possible hours before.

Dog toilet training should be quite a simple process provided you take the trouble to get into a good routine. If you are training a puppy then you will have to build your routine around the puppy’s needs. It’s good that these are reliably predictable. Puppies need to wee immediately after waking up so it is important that you are present to take him into the garden without delay. Puppies also urinate within 15 minutes of eating and defacate within about 30 minutes of eating. So again it is important for you to be around to take youir puppy outside. Young puppies do not have good bladder control and need to wee at least every hour or two. Puppies also tend to urinate spontaneoulsy when they are excited so you should take your puppy outside frequently when he is on the move. You may find it useful to keep a daily toilet record so that you can easily predict when your puppy will want to go.

Always go into the garden with your puppy and lead him to the same spot every time. It is also a good idea to always use the same route because your puppy will more easily learn the routine. Use cue words like “wee” and “poo” as he goes. Using different words means that later on you will be able to prompt each action as a command. Fortunately dogs are creatures of habit and they soon learn the correct routine.

Older dogs need a similar routine except thast they are able to control themselves for much longer. In this respect it makes the job of dog toilet training harder because it is less predictable. Vigilence is the important thing here.

If you catch your dog about to go in the house then you should grab his attention by crying out his name in a loud voice and immediately escort him out into the garden and then praise him when he goes out there. Accidents will happen even when you believe that the training is going well. It is a complete waste of time to scold the offender after the accident has occured.

Cleaning up after an Accident

It is important to know that most cleaning agents are not suitable for cleaning up after your dog has urinated. The urine contains uric acid and this is where the smell comes from. Standard cleaning agents contain ammonia, bleach and disinfectant, none of these will remove the uric acid, in fact they may well add to it. This will attract the dog back to the same spot since uric acid actively stimulates the dog to urinate. The product that I recommend is Urine Off this contains odour eliminators which completely remove the smell as well as the urge for your puppy to go again in the same spot.

An enormous number of activities occur in the home, things like the phone ringing, the door bell sounding, the washing machine working, shavers, showers, stereos, parties etc. When pup training, introduce him to these new experiences carefully and without frightening him. Try to look at things from his perspective. Just about everything that happens in your home will be a new experience for him. The answer is to do it slowly and calmly. Try to make everything a positive experience for him.

Fear of the vacuum cleaner is one common phobia which is easily avoided. Put your puppy in another room and then switch it on. Let him hear it from a distance, do some cleaning with it and then open the door to the room containing your puppy and carry on cleaning. This will allow him to come as close as he wants to it without being worried and he will not associate the sound of the vacuum cleaner with any fear.

Visitors

You need to take control of visitors as soon as they arrive. Most people will want to make a fuss of your new puppy, pick him up, stroke him etc. Don’t let this happen. It is important that you let your puppy approach your visitors, not the other way around. Again, look at it from your puppy’s point of view. It can be quite traumatic to have a complete stranger grabbing you and could associate all visitors with the same trauma.

Puppies and young dogs are particularly susceptible to associated fear. At this age they can be imprinted with bad associations for the rest of their lives. In any pup training regime it should be uppermost in the mind of the trainer to avoid any trauma of this kind.

Preparation

Purchase a clicker and prepare about 50 very tasty treats: cheese, dried liver, sausage. The treats should be in small pieces about 5mm cubes.

Associate a click with a treat

Click the clicker and give your dog a treat. Do not speak or praise him at this stage – you want him to concentrate on the click – treat scenario. Click and treat about ten times and watch your dog’s reaction. Is he looking for the treat after the click? If so go ahead and give it to him. Continue with the same click – treat routine for the rest of the 50 treats that you prepared and make sure that he is responding to the clicker. Now in your dog’s mind you have associated a click with a treat.

Associate a correct response with a click

It does not matter whether your dog knows any commands. The next part of the process is to positively reinforce a correct response. Take the ‘Sit’ command. Tell your dog to sit, you may have to encourage him but as soon as his bottom hits the ground click and then give him a treat. You can also praise him if you wish. Repeat this several times, puppies for no more than 5 minutes at a time, grown dogs for longer. Make sure that at the same moment he sits you click.

How it Works

The success of clicker training dog obedience is all in the timing. In your dog’s mind, the immediate click associates his behaviour with the treat that follows. He can wait for his treat but he needs to understand why he is getting it. The clicker marks a correct response from your dog. The clicker provides instant reinforcement and has the advantage that it can be heard from a distance.

A Word of Warning

It is important that once your dog is clicker trained you do not allow anyone to randomly click repeatedly around him. This may confuse your dog and set back his training.