This part of my dog training guide explains the fundamentals of dog training and attempts to show you some of the pitfalls.
Dogs live for the present. Their memories are based upon association; they have very little recall memory. Dogs do not work things out as we do. They think in concrete terms, it is very much action = consequence for them. As far as dogs are concerned, rewarded conduct is likely to be repeated whereas discouraged ot ignored conduct is usually avoided. This is what all dog training is based upon.
For instance, if you give your dog a treat or praise him every time he sits then eventually he will sit of his own accord so that he may receive another reward. On the other hand, you should completely ignore your dog if he jumps up for attention, this is negative reinforcement and your dog will be disinclined to repeat it in future.
In order to create recognisable associations you must positively reinforce conduct you wish to encourage and ignore what you want to repress. It all seems to be very easy doesn’t it? So what makes dog obedience training so difficult?
To make a successful association the time between action and reward cannot be more than about 2 seconds this can be a problem. This means that it is easily possible for the inexperienced owner to make an unintended association. For example, your dog sits but by the time you give him his treat and verbal praise he is standing up – you have inadvertently praised the stand up rather than the sit. Another example would be when you come home to find that your dog has messed on the carpet. Having dragged him back to the crime scene and rubbed his nose in it probably saying ‘Bad Dog’, you throw him outside. All you have succeeded in doing is teach your dog that going to the toilet is wrong.
Another problem is that in the home environment a dog can have too many masters and can end up totally confused by conflicting associations and inconsistent training methods. Your dog should not have more than one trainer and one master.
In this dog training guide I have explained the fundamentals behind dog obedience training. They are very simple but as the saying goes, easier said than done. However, knowing the basics will always help when applying specific dog training methods.
Go to www.TrainMyOwnDog.com to see more articles on dog obedience training.