Dog training is always a hotly debated topic, both among experts in the field and among lovers of these animals.

Good training, in fact, is essential not only to make life easier for the owner , but also and above all to make sure that the dog lives more safely .

This article does not pretend to be exhaustive but only wants to give some introductory advice and essential notions to undertake the training. The most important thing, in fact, before embarking on this beautiful and rewarding adventure, is that of know what we are doing, and have full knowledge of the facts. Otherwise we risk having more problems than beneficial in forming the behavior of our furry dog.

That said, the ideal situation, of course, would be to be able to educate your dog from a puppy. As with humans, in fact, animals learn more quickly and easily when they are young. But the fact remains that we cannot educate even an adult dog well and successfully. In this case it will be of fundamental importance to first establish a relationship of deep mutual trust. This is the key to starting to educate an adult dog and you will see that it is possible to do it even with excellent results and great satisfaction.

In any case, whether it is a puppy or already older, educating your dog will be a learning experience for both of you. You will learn to know and love each other and a relationship will be established between you stable and lasting relationship. And there is no greater reward and satisfaction than this for the time and effort dedicated, with love and patience, to your new family member!

HOW DOES COMMUNICATION BETWEEN HUMAN BEINGS AND ANIMALS WORK?

Before going into the methodologies, it is necessary to make a necessary premise: the communication between us and our dog is not unique and takes place mainly through three channels:

  1. Verbal Channel : through our words.
  2. Paraverbal Channel: the tone of the voice and its timbre. (This is why it is important not to laugh if you scold him, because we will send him into confusion by throwing two different messages).
  3. Non-verbal Channel: posture, gestures, smile, gaze. (For this reason, the animal interprets the crouching position, open arms and a serene gaze as a positive signal).

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW BEFORE STARTING TO EDUCATE YOUR DOG: FUNDAMENTAL METHODS

1- COHERENCE. It is important to always remain consistent with what is said and taught. If today we blame our dog for wrong behavior, we must not tolerate or ignore it if he repeats it the next day or after two hours.

It is also important that he receives the same teachings from every member of the family . Otherwise, if someone teaches and someone else spoils the animal, the work done is useless.

2- CHOOSE THE RIGHT PLACE. The training must be practiced in a quiet and peaceful area , away from sources of distraction such as other animals, people or noises of various kinds. The ideal could be your living room, or your garden, if the surrounding conditions allow it.

This is especially important if we are trying to educate a puppy, as he tends to get distracted much more easily than an adult dog as a child.

3- CHOOSE THE RIGHT MOMENT. It is very important to undertake the training sessions when we are well prepared for this activity, eager to start it, calm and serene . We absolutely avoid wanting to do it by force because we imposed it on ourselves in that time slot, but we are tired, nervous or irritated. The dog perceives our every mood and suffers it. And it would certainly not be a good time for anyone and the results would also be very poor.

Same thing if we are in a hurry: much better to postpone!

To educate the dog, no matter how good and intelligent, you need a good dose of patience and knowing how to respect its times, which are different for each animal!

3- SHORT BUT CONSTANT SESSIONS. When you approach training you always start with very short sessions, even just 5 minutes, but constant over time : daily.

As training progresses, the time can be increased, but never exceeding 30 minutes for a single session, so that the dog does not get tired. (Rather do multiple sessions throughout the day).

For our four-legged friend, in fact, these are moments of learning, but they must be lived as a time of leisure and fun to spend together, so that he never loses motivation , but rather awaits these moments with joy. And if this is true for an adult dog, it is especially true for a puppy, as they tend to get tired and distracted much more easily.

4- THE POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT. The most useful, effective and natural training is based on the use of positive reinforcers, much more powerful and stimulating than negative ones . This translates into rewarding our pet whenever he behaves well and responds positively to our commands. Rewards can be rewards in the form of food but also pampering and praise.

Furthermore, ending a session with an exercise that we know the dog has learned and can perform successfully will close this moment together, reinforce that behavior in the animal and transmit positive emotions associated with the training lessons.

5- REWARDS: WHAT, HOW MANY, WHEN. The reward, to be useful and functional, must be granted at the right times because it corresponds to a clear signal of approval for correct behavior. This is why, if initially with a new exercise, to strengthen the positive action, a small reward can be granted after each positive result, once you have learned and reinforced this action, a small recognition will be enough once in a while.

As we have said, among the rewards we find pampering , gestures of approval , compliments and food . For the latter, being a prize, therefore something special and out of the ordinary, it is recommended to use snacks (see our range of Life Natural, healthy and wholesome snacks here) and never the food he eats as a daily meal. But be careful not to overdo the snacks, but to make small morsels that must serve as a stimulus and incentive, not to satiate the animal. Other times, however, we could use a cuddle or the use of a particularly coveted game as a reward.

6- CORRECTION. Surely, if the animal behaves in a wrong way, it must be corrected and made to understand. But the basic rule is: never punish the dog! Neither verbally nor physically. Besides being an act of unacceptable cruelty, it is also ineffective. So these are barbaric, harmful, useless and deplorable practices.

That said, to scold your dog when he misbehaves or does some pranks just use the word “NO” said firmly and decisively.. This will be more than enough as a punishment and will serve to make the dog associate the action with the reprimand, and thus avoid repeating it in the future.

However, this mechanism only works if the “NO” is said while the animal performs the action, or immediately after . If the action had been done some time before (even just half an hour) the dog would never be able to associate it with the reproach and this practice would be useless.

Another tip: when we say a sharp and peremptory “no” to our dog, we avoid looking him straight in the eye because this behavior will be interpreted as a challenge and will to aggression towards him. While the right way to scold the furry is to say “no” by staring at the back or tail.

But let us remember that the mechanism of positive reinforcement and reward are always much more effective than reproach. So let’s limit it to indispensable situations.

In this article we wanted to give you some introductory and basic tips on how to approach your dog’s education. In the near future we will address the subject again, explaining instead what are the most important commands that a well-trained dog needs to know and how to teach them.