SAY THE DOG’S NAME, THEN PAUSE.

CHOOSE COMMANDS THAT SOUND DIFFERENT FROM EACH OTHER.

SHOW THE DOG EXACTLY WHAT YOU WANT HIM TO DO.

SAY THE COMMAND WORD ONE TIME ONLY, JUST AS HE PERFORMS THE REQUESTED BEHAVIOR.

PRAISE THE DOG WITH “GOOD……” AND A TREAT OR TOY WHEN FIRST LEARNING, EVEN THOUGH YOU MAY HAVE HELPED HIM INTO THAT POSITION. KEEP IT FUN!

USE FOOD TREATS EVERY TIME WHEN INITIALLY TRAINING. ONCE THE DOG RESPONDS CONSISTENTLY TO A COMMAND, START GIVING FOOD TREATS EVERY THIRD OR FOURTH TIME, OR ONLY FOR THE BEST RESPONSES.

SHOW THE DOG AGAIN WHAT YOU WANT IF HE DOES NOT RESPOND IN A FEW SECONDS.

PRACTICE ANY COMMAND MULTIPLE TIMES IN SHORT, POSITIVE SESSIONS. BEGIN TRAINING IN A PLACE WITH NO DISTRACTIONS. WHEN THE DOG RESPONDS CONSISTENTLY, PRACTICE IN MANY LOCATIONS WITH DISTRACTIONS.

WORK WITH THE DOG ON LEAD FIRST. WHEN OFF LEAD, BEGIN IN A FENCED AREA. ONCE OFF LEAD, IF HE IGNORES A COMMAND, GO BACK TO ON LEAD TRAINING ONLY.

GIVE A RELEASE WORD= “OK”  = HE CAN RELAX.

TRY TO ALWAYS END TRAINING SESSIONS WITH ONE OF YOUR DOG’S BEST RESPONSES, THEN GIVE LAVISH PRAISE AND RELEASE FROM TRAINING. THIS WILL GIVE YOUR DOG A GOOD SELF IMAGE.

GIVE YOURSELF A “TIME OUT” IF YOU FIND YOURSELF BECOMING FRUSTRATED.

ALWAYS WALK YOUR DOG ON A LOOSE LEAD- A TIGHT LEASH MAKES THE DOG WANT TO PULL  IN RESPONSE, THEREFORE YOU ARE TEACHING HIM TO PULL.

BE CONSISTENT- USE THE SAME WORD FOR THE SAME BEHAVIOR EACH AND EVERY TIME. DON’T LET THE DOG GET AWAY WITH UNDESIRABLE BEHAVIOR ONCE IN A WHILE BECAUSE IT’S CUTE.

END THE TRAINING SESSION WITH A POSITIVE- SOMETHING THE DOG KNOWS HOW TO DO WELL, TO BUILD PUPPY SELF ESTEEM.

KEEP TRAINING SESSIONS SHORT: 5-10 MINUTES, THREE TIMES A DAY FOR PUPPIES UNDER 4 MONTHS, 15 MINUTES  TWICE A DAY FOR OLDER PUPPIES.

BE MORE STUBBORN THAN YOUR DOG.

PRAISE YOUR DOG AT LEAST 3 TIMES MORE THAN YOU CORRECT HIM.

USE THE PROPER TONE, INFLECTION, AND BODY LANGUAGE WHEN YOU INTERACT WITH THE DOG TO HELP HIM UNDERSTAND WHAT IT IS THAT YOU WANT.

A HUNGRY DOG IS A MOTIVATED DOG.

A TIRED PUPPY IS A WELL BEHAVED PUPPY.