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I am often asked what methods I use to teach my students to train their dogs. I am a firm believer of early socialization and positive training, however I do not tolerate unacceptable behavior such as a dog lunging at humans and other dogs for no reason. While it is important to establish a good working relationship with your dog. It is equally important to teach the dog house manners and rules. Just like children, you need to teach your dog to take a responsibility on each task as he grows older.
  "PLAY with that dog!" "..but my dog does not want to play with toys. He rather works for food treats." There are many toys with a food pouch. You can find one at Clean Run store. You may want to start feeding his meal out of the pouch rather than an ordinary food bowl. Let him dig in and eat out of it. By doing so you are increasing the value of the pouch and time you spend with him. Soon you will see he gets very (I mean crazy!) excited whenever YOU pull out the special pouch. He will enjoy this new game with you rather than eating out of the ordinary food bowl all to himself. Convince your dog that it is fun to play with YOU than anything else. Don't give up! "Motivator (payroll)" Helps dogs optimize their training experience. They learn quickly and with enthusiasm if you train with what they want and not what YOU think they want. Motivator can be any thing from a broom stick to a piece of cloth that makes the particular dog want to play/work. Here is a list of motivator with one of my own dogs. ( Low to high motivator ) Dry dog food Dry dog treats Soft stinky dog treats Natural Balance rolled up soft dog food Cheese Hot dogs Boiled Chicken Prime Ribs "Hold that food treats!!" I use food treats to put an initial behavior. But withhold the treats right away after the initial behavior is taught. Then the treats will be given randomly to keep Fido focused and happy, but it will be never predictable!  "Keep each session short" Most dogs do better at a short session that ends with a good note. With my young puppy I spend about 10 minutes per training session including a warm up, lots of stress relief play in between, then cool down.  "Thinking dog" I like to use a clicker training to help Fido optimize his brain capacity. I want Fido to offer me a few behaviors as soon as I pull out what he wants. Instead of Fido sits like a statue in front of me with a hope of getting what he wants. I am impressed with so many good trainers on youtube that have taught really neat behaviors to the dogs using a clicker. You can learn a lot from them!  Before you say "No work, no pay!"... Should Fido ignore more than twice of what you ask him to do. The chances are you have not taught Fido throughly of the particular behavior. Not fair!! to punish (holding onto his payroll) the confused Fido. Instead holding onto the payroll, ask Fido to do something he is good at and pay him a little (since it is an easy task). Then revisit the behavior Fido failed and make it easy (break up into small steps) for him. For instance if Fido failed to come when called from a 20 ft distance. Shorten the distance till you know for sure he will come. Then start increasing the distance gradually. Keep it positive and fun. The more success sessions Fido has the more confident and happy dog he will be. "Consistency, consistency and consistency!!!" Plan training session, stick with your criteria and have fun! I have found this combination of training methods to be very successful and have been thrilled to see my students dogs increase their respect, trust and confidence in their handlers. - Noriko  |
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Noriko is the coordinator and an agility training counselor for overseas students of Kanku Pet Dog Training School in Osaka, Japan www.pet-school |
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