Dog Training

Dog-and-Teacher Relationship
Your Student
The Classroom
Who’s to Do the Training?
Training Equipment
Giving Commands
Praise and Reprimand

Your Classroom Deportment
The Basic Commands
Turning
Heeling Without the Leash
Teaching the Puppy Etiquette
Training Hints

Up until now, your puppy’s training has consisted of a series of corrections when he erred. You’ve been pointing out his mistakes after he’s committed them. When he jumps on the furniture, you push him off and tell him “No!” If he misses his newspapers and stains your rug, you reprimand him with a stern “No!” and rush him, belatedly, over to the newspapers. He’s lived and grown in a world of “do’s” and “don’ts” and it’s all been very bewildering for the young pup. But the time has come when the pup needs to be taught simple commands that will permit you to guide his actions. These simple commands are what we will call the pup’s formal training.

Basically, the formal training is a command and response program; you issue the commands with the proper voice inflections, gestures and demonstrations, the pup learns to respond and perform the commands. He repeats and repeats the action of the command until he learns to associate the command with the proper action. It is the old “trial-and-error” routine. Eventually, the pup learns the commands well enough to make them part of his regular behavior pattern.

How well he learns his lessons depends a great deal on what and how you teach him. Make no mistake about it, teaching your dog the basic obedience commands calls for plenty of perseverance and patience. But you have a very important factor working in your favor. You are the pup’s idol and he’ll do everything he can to please you. He wants your approval and upon this factor you will base your formal training program. The pup will not spare himself in his efforts to win your good graces. But you will have to help him by making it clear just what you want him to do. You cannot expect the pup to make good marks in his schooling unless he knows what you want and has the ability to do it.