Do not be negative!

shutterstock.com

TRAINING TO SIT: Your dog will learn the repetition of the action being used.

NEGATIVITY is never good. Used with people or animals it can have a disastrous effect. When teaching an exercise of ‘sit’ you pull up on the check chain, hand on your dog’s rump and tell him to ‘sit.’ No reward is given. Is that good for the dog?

Yes, he will automatically sit in time when you stop walking. He has learnt the exercise with the repetition of the action being used.

This goes for all exercises you train him in, but something is lacking. He’s learnt, of course, but where is the joy and the outgoing exuberance? Remember you do have to train to the stage where just a quick ‘good dog’ is sufficient. He needs to work every time not just sometimes.

Punishment of a dog should never be used. However, correction of a dog should be done when it is necessary. I am not talking about if he makes a mistake in training. That’s usually your fault. You may not have taught him properly.

You only have about four seconds to make any correction. Sometimes if the reason for the correction is sufficient you may need to physically grab the dog either side of the neck and even lift him off the ground using a firm grip and an even firmer voice.

You would use something like this if a dog snarls at you, goes to bite you or some other action which is more than a misdemeanour. Remember you only have about four seconds after the event to make the corrections. After that it is too late. Think about two dogs mixing it up. They don’t hesitate to retaliate if challenged. They are instant creatures.

Important here is that after you have to correct the dog, whether it just be with ‘ah, ah’ or you have to handle the dog, you must give him a command he can achieve quickly like the ‘sit’, and then reward immediately. You have corrected (not punished) for the misdemeanour and you are immediately rewarding for the command of ‘sit’ which the dog has done well. It’s now all over.

My best tip is for you to enrol at your local training club.

Author badge placeholder
Written by

Euro Weekly News Media

Share your story with us by emailing newsdesk@euroweeklynews.com, by calling +34 951 38 61 61 or by messaging our Facebook page www.facebook.com/EuroWeeklyNews

Comments