Choosing A Dog Training Method

Choosing a dog training method for your new pet is dependant on many factors. These can run as follows.

  • How old the dog is.
  • If it is an older dog, where did it come from.
  • What do you want from the dog.
  • If it is to be a domestic pet, will it be around the children.
  • If the owner has had previous experience in training dogs.

Every case of training a dog has its own challenges, however there is a common denominator running through all of the various scenarios. The owner/trainer has to be capable of establishing a dialogue with their pupil, and as soon as possible.

Positive Training

The most popular method of training and probable most acceptable to public opinion is the incentive method, or positive training. This simply means that when ever the new trainee picks up a new trick, it is rewarded a prize. Firstly the dog has to be shown what to do. The first trick is usually to treat the dog to sit down, and once this milestone has been reached the rest should fall into place fairly quickly.

Easier said than done, training the dog to sit usually involves calling "sit" and holding the dog in place in a sitting position, till the message sinks into its canine brain. Every time the dog gets it right, a reward should be immediately presented, till the dog begins to register the fact that sitting brings rewards. It won't be too long before sitting becomes a common factor, and the next stages are being gradually added into the dog's repertoire, such as stay, heel, down, off and the highlight of the show, "paw".

Clicker Training

A recent variation in dog training is to bring a clicker into play. The idea of the clicker is to replace or at least provide a back up to verbal commands. Simply the trainer, using a special plastic clicker, issues a command and clicks at the same time. The dog begins to associate the clicker with commands and rewards and eventually the clicker will begin to replace the verbal commands. There are mixed reactions to using a clicker. Some trainers say that it speeds up the training process; some say it confuses the dog as well as the trainer, especially among older dogs who are going through re-training.

Distraction Training

Dogs during and after training can be very rapidly tempted from the path of straight and narrow, by something that looks more appealing at that moment, even if it is not allowed. Teaching a dog not to run off when something much more interesting enters into his path of vision or smell is the greatest challenge in dog training. Referred to as distraction training, a classic example is to teach dogs how to not to chase cars. Dogs are able to distinguish cars, some of them look appealing and friendly to them and some may be regarded as a threat.

Using a car that will be familiar to the dog, you ask a friend to drive by. If the dog begins to react to the car, then the trainer must, without restraining the dog physically, command it to sit or stay. If you succeed, the dog must be rewarded and immediately, if you fail, then the dog must be reprimanded, and the trainer's displeasure made very obvious. To have any impact, the exercise must be repeated till the dog manages to withstand the temptation of running after the car, and earning the owners displeasure, or staying in place and earning praise and something nice to eat. This training method can be very effective, and can be applied to many of the temptations that dogs face in everyday life.

Many people take on older dogs, under the assumption that they already have had some training, and this is usually, but not always, the case. Nothing can be more frustrating for the owner and the dog that trying to train an older dog that has never been trained before. This is especially true of dogs that have been rescued from the pound, as many of them carry a certain amount of emotional baggage. People taking on the task of adopting a rescue dog, are worthy of commendation, and training these dogs, if successful, is a very heart warming experience.