Dog Training Basics
Though dogs and human interactions stretch over centuries, communication between the two sometimes is still out of sync. The human half of the pair is usually the smarter party, but watching the usual training sessions one can have legitimate reason to wonder.
Dogs understand and respond at roughly the mental level of a human two-year-old, but there the similarity ends. Their senses operate differently – their color vision has a different response pattern to reds and greens, for example, and obviously their noses are infinitely more sensitive – and their minds process information differently as well. Anyone training dogs has to take this into account in order to avoid human frustration and canine misbehavior.
Dogs are by nature pack animals. Descendant from wolves – where even the ‘lone wolf’ is an anomaly – they’re social and function best with active interplay and within a strict hierarchy.
So, set aside half-an-hour per day, an hour would be better, for at least the first few months of training. Start your training as young as possible. Puppy training sometimes can be started as early as four weeks old.
Elimination (’potty’) training details we leave for elsewhere, but all training follows similar guidelines.
Establish dominance early on. Dogs have a natural hiearchy- there are alpha dogs, beta dogs, and the bottom dog is the omega. For a sane household, and a well-adjusted dog, the human (whether male or female) must always be the alpha male of the pack.
Depending on the breed, this will be either more difficult or easier. Like humans, some are simply more assertive than others. The most important training aid is your attitude, followed by collars, leashes and other training aids. Never let your dog be the boss.
You do not have to enforce your dominance with physical force. Sometimes, used appropriately, that will be necessary. Usually, simply being firm and willing to wait for compliance will be enough.
For many, placing them on their backs when young and placing a firm hand in the middle of the chest until they lower their paws – a sign of submission – will be enough. With some, reinforcing this by putting your face close to theirs, emulating dominant dog behavior, can help.
Keep a short leash to restrain the dog’s natural tendency to roam. Allow plenty of time for free running behavior, essential to dog health, but that’s before or after training, not during. At least, not at first.
Start simply by choosing short, clear commands that sound distinctly different: sit, stay, down, come. Use a firm, but not too loud of a voice. You’re in charge, but not angry. Avoid double-word commands like ’sit down’ or ’stay down’. These sound too much alike and can confuse your dog.
Be consitent with each verbal command by using the same tone, look and hand gesture. Eventually these can separate, but at first it’s essential to provide the simplest, most consistent form of communication.
Just like two-year old humans, dogs have limited capacity for grasping the subtleties of language. Assist their understanding by rigid consistency. Don’t use a single command word to mean more than one thing. ‘Down’ can mean ‘don’t jump on me or anyone else’, or it can mean ‘get on your stomach’, but it has to mean one thing only.
Be clear, be patient and be committed and the result will be a dog who trusts and listens to you. And that makes it worth the effort. Find more on dog training at Luvurdog.com/dogtraining
