Basic Dog Training

Dog training is all about consistency. If a dog should not be doing something one day then they should not be doing it the next day whereas if it is ok for them to do something to day you should try to recreate that acceptance tomorrow as well. Without this consistency your dog will never know what is correct behavior and what is incorrect or undesirable behavior.

One common mistake when training a dog is to reprimand them after the event. Imagine you have come home after a day at work to find that your puppy has soiled the floor. Shouting at them when you walk in the door will not help to beat the toileting problem and doing it regularly will make your dog associate you coming home with being reprimanded. If you do come home and find your puppy has soiled the floor, calmly put the leash on your puppy and walk him near the poo. Then reprimand the poo, pick it up in a tissue and take it out to the desired area. Then congratulate the poo on doing well. You might want to make sure your neighbors aren’t watching but the puppy will notice what is happening and next time will think twice for fear of getting reprimanded like that.

You should try to learn why a dog is doing something before you simply stop them. For instance, licking your hand is a sign that they love you and is actually very submissive. This submission is a good thing and shows that you are in control. Reprimanding them or pushing them away regularly can make a dog believe it is wrong to be submissive. In extreme circumstances this will lead to a reversal of power where your dog believes they are in charge and you should be submissive.

However, it isn’t always pleasant to have your dog licking your hand but you should try to avoid reprimanding them sometimes and not other times. Teach them to lick your hand on request and not to lick your hand using two specific commands that are different. ‘Lick’ and ‘No Lick’ will suffice. Alternatively pepper sauce on your hand will quite quickly stop your dog from licking your hand but wash it off quite soon and try not to lick your own hands in the meantime. This will stop your dog from licking your hand without them feeling like they have done wrong in being submissive to you.