If you’re a new dog owner, or if you’re training your dog for the first time, you’ll discover that rewards and repetition work in good dog training. Why?
Like us humans, dogs are creatures of habit. As children, we start learning most of our skills by doing one thing again and again until we commit it to memory. After this, memory becomes behavior, and repeated behavior becomes habit.
We also unconsciously respond better to positive reinforcement. This makes the learning process easier for us. We are more willing to form new habits if we’re rewarded for it.
The very same principle works with dogs.
If you want to instill good dog habits in your pet, it requires repeated training. From here, you need to make sure that it also repeats the desired behavior accordingly. And to motivate your pooch to do so, you must promptly offer it its preferred dog rewards.
Repetition in dog training can be compared to flexing a muscle group. The more you flex that muscle regularly, constantly, and in the correct method, the sooner you’ll see gains. Likewise, repeated training for your pooch enables it to assimilate a new skill much more quickly.
Rewarding your dog for good behavior sweetens the deal.
Let’s say your pet has been barking loudly for the past several minutes. You want it to stop and be quiet.
Which of these approaches will work better – yelling at your dog, “Shut up and be quiet,” shushing your pet in the hopes that it will stop barking, or calmly telling it to be quiet and giving it a treat once the barking stops?
Clearly, the last option works the best.
Why? Because instead of aggravating the situation, you demonstrated calm behavior. And when your pet started to model that behavior, you rewarded it immedately.
Dog rewards are essential in encouraging your pooch to respond favorably to your commands. They help reinforce good dog behavior.
Edible treats are often used in rewarding your dog. Make sure they’re small and something that your pet truly likes.
You can also use a clicker for positive reinforcement in training your dog. A clicker is a small plastic toy that makes a clicking sound in lieu of a verbal response. Dogs understand clicking sounds more quickly and easily, which works with their short-term memory.
When your pet performs a desired behavior, just press the clicker to signal approval, immediately followed by rewarding your dog with a small treat.
In the event that your pet doesn’t comply with your dog training exercises, should you punish it? The answer is a resounding NO.
If your pooch hasn’t been able to process your commands the first few times, be patient. Hold off from rewarding your dog first, and continue to repeat your commands until you see the desired the behavior.
If your dog training session isn’t as successful as expected, don’t prolong it beyond your original schedule. Dogs can only retain so much new information, a maximum of 15 minutes per session is enough. Simply try again the next day, and so on, until your pet starts to demonstrate the good dog behavior that you’re aiming for.
The combination of promptly rewarding your dog and repetition in dog training makes for efficient formation of good dog habits.
During dog training, usually it’s you who issues the commands. But let’s say your pet exhibits good dog behavior, even when unasked for. What do you do?
Don’t ignore it!
As soon as you see your pooch behaving well, give it one of your dog rewards as motivation to behave the same way in the same situation next time. This is the start of repeated training, which in turn helps you form good dog habits in your pet.
In this case, all you need is repeated rewards to transform accidental good dog behavior into full-blown good dog-habits.
Another key element in effective repeated training is listening. That’s right – listen to your pet’s cues.
The moment you spot if they’re uncomfortable with a certain task, step back and adjust your technique. Good dog training only works when your pet is receptive. Any discomfort will derail your efforts.
Your pooch must be in a relaxed frame of mind to learn new skills. Make sure you listen enough to ensure this, so you can progress further with your dog training program.
When training your dog for specific commands, use the exact same wording. If you’ve started out with “Sit” instead of “Sit down,” then your repeated training commands should be “Sit” all throughout the dog training program.
The dog rewards that you give out should also be equally consistent, from the clicker to the treats. This is necessary to ensure retention in your pet’s memory.
If you’re training your dog for other new skills, you can also take it to a local dog training center. Or you can hire a professional trainer to work with you. This helps refresh your pet’s mind, keeping it constantly primed for learning.
Even if you’re working with another trainer in another environment, you can still implement repeated training + dog rewards into your dog’s exercises. Again, as soon as you identify good dog behavior while training, give your pet the dog rewards it deserves.
Just make sure that the new dog training program is scheduled often enough so your pet can turn the new skill into good dog habits.
Practice makes perfect.
One thing to remember, though: Even if your pooch learns well with repeated training and the same dog rewards, it can still get bored with an old dog training routine. So when you create a long-term plan for training your dog, make sure you switch up your activities every so often. This will help your dog stay alert and ready to learn new skills.
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