Educate your dog with positive reinforcement

There are many ways to educate your dog, and it is very important to find the method that suits your dog the best. Today discover the positive reinforcement method. The goal during these training sessions is to create positive situations to reward the dog.

Dogs trained with positive reinforcement like to obey because they know that they can gain something pleasant. You and your dog will both have fun during these training sessions and it will create a trusting bond between your dog and you. Moreover, these techniques will be less stressful for your furry friend.

During training:

There must be as many words as there are orders. By combining one word to one single order, you ensure proper assimilation for your dog.

The choice of the word is actually not the most important. Dogs are very sensitive to intonation and rhythm of the voice. Try to speak differently according to the feeling you want to communicate. A brief and dry tone to reprimand ("NO!") And a long, soft tone  to congratulate ("goood dog! / Well doone! / Bravooo!").

You should never yell or lose your temper. It is important to be master of yourself before being master of your dog. In addition, a dark and firm look is more than enough to make them understand your feelings. You can even announce orders whispering, and the dog will hear you very well.

Sometimes dogs are more sensitive to sounds such as the sound of a clicker or a snap of a finger, a hiss or a whistle. If your pet understands easier that way, do not hesitate to associate one of these sounds to the order. It can also be useful to associate a gesture in order to communicate with your dog without speaking. Children also can better reproduce a gesture than an intonation.

The positive reinforcement method uses treats to encourage the animal to obey and reward them once the order is accomplished,  at the same time praise them. Choose low-calorie treats to keep your dog healthy, as they are specially designed for training. Then, you will remove the treats and the dog will obey the simple announcement of the order.

Orders that are advisable to teach your pet at an early age are: sit, lay down, wait, come and walk.

After training:

When you scold or praise your dog, it must be done immediately after the action. So if you catch your dog doing something wrong, announce the sound associated with your dissatisfaction (eg "NO!") within 2 seconds, and always in a firm tone, but calmly. Then encourage your dog to perform a positive action such as sit or lie down and praise them.

To avoid conflicts, do your best to not let your dog do anything stupid! This may seem silly to say, but if you do not want your dog playing with your slipper simply put them out of reach. A dog is a dog and if they are not perfectly trained it will be difficult for them to resist this kind of temptation.