Ways to Encourage Positive Behavior in Your Dog

The most rewarding part of dog ownership is when you successfully train them. Training is the best way to bond with your dog and build a perfect relationship. Positive techniques to discipline a dog will never scare them.

These techniques will serve to discourage his bad behavior and redirect them to positive ones. When you combine with positive reinforcements, your Dog will automatically learn to behave in ways that please you.

Whether old or young, all dogs benefit from basic training that involves basic commands. This article will help learn and implement the best basic training methods for your Dog.

What are the Benefits of training your Dog?

It is important to teach your dog basic commands like sit, in, out or sleep as it gives them the freedom to do the things they love. For example, you will feel safe and in control when you walk with a well-trained dog to meet friends or family.

Naturally, dogs are intelligent and love to learn new things, so a great way to help them from being bored.

How do Dogs Learn?

You should always reward your dogs when training them. This works well when you give them something they like, such as food, a favorite toy, or just mare praise.

It is essential to find out what your Dog likes and also their favorite things. You can give them small pieces of meat or cheese when awarding them. The more you reward your Dog, the more they will enjoy their training.

How to Reward the Positive

When you start to teach your Dog, you need to lavish him with lots of treats. Food is the best motivator for your Dog and makes your Dog to mark the behavior you want them to do and repeat in future.

Positive behavior is also known as constructive discipline works the same way as negative behaviors so that your Dog learns how to duplicate them. Unlike the traditional methods that involved physical and vocal punishment, constructive discipline does not include instilling fear to your pet. Fear only provides temporary results and only gives short-term results, and only serves to frighten and traumatize the Dog.

Here are ways you can teach your Dog positive behavior without instilling fear.

Dominance Training

A dog’s pack mentality is key in this type of training. It is used to forge a relationship built on both dominance and submission. The theory suggests that in this case, your Dog interprets its family as her pack and follows a social hierarchy just like that of wolves in a pack if your Dog sees themselves as the alpha you need to train her to instead submit to you as the alpha.

When you understand your Dog’s body language, you must respond accordingly. Exude confidence and authority. When exiting or entering a room, always take the lead. This should also be the case when walking your dog on a leash. You should always walk ahead of your Dog.

With alpha training, your Dog learns that she cannot go on the seat, bed, or any other furniture in your home. Getting down to the same eye level as your Dog is also shunned upon in alpha training because it signifies equal standing in your relationship. Your dog needs to understand that you are in charge and are the alpha in the relationship.

Relationship-Based Training

This is a training technique that combines a variety of different training methods while simultaneously providing a more personalized approach for both you and your Dog.

The main driving force in relationship-based training is as the name suggests; a relationship between you and your Dog. The method aims at strengthening the bond and fostering communication between you and your dog, making it a mutually beneficial relationship.

As the dog owner, you learn to your Dog’s body language and give her motivating rewards. All this is geared towards positively reinforcing and encouraging good behavior.

The trick here is to successfully train your dog how to sit, for example, in a room before gradually getting her to obey that command in a public setting. If your dog doesn’t follow instructions, its best to discover why. Jumping to a conclusion and punishing her only follows if you are sure her hearing, for example, is ok. Do not punish your dog unless you are certain that she is ignoring your commands or intentionally refusing to obey you.

A deep, meaningful bond builds from relationship-based training, but this doesn’t happen overnight. You need to master a lot of patience and know that it takes time and effort.

Mirror Training

As the name suggests, the mirror training technique provides your Dog with a model of a well-behaved dog or person. It could also be a dog with whom to compete for resources with. Your dog will quickly learn what it should do from this model and mimic her behavior.

If you and your Dog have a strong bond and spend many hours together, this could be the perfect training method for you to use. Your Dog will spend this time observing you, and this could be a more comfortable training technique for you both as opposed to regular training sessions.

Clicker Training

A clicker is a device that makes a sharp, quick noise. When your Dog accomplishes a task, the clicker is used to signal her.

Clicker training is a positive reinforcement type of training technique because it heavily relies on the very same principles.

A click signifies a reward for your Dog, and this is the first thing your Dog learns during this training technique. The biggest advantage of clicker training is that at the exact moment your Dog executes a command; she is signaled using the clicker. What follows is her reward. This way, your Dog associates good behavior with a click and knows that what follows is a reward.

A trainer can complement the use of a clicker with some verbal commands. These should be simple enough commands that your Dog can learn without too much difficulty.

Using the clicker training method as well as other methods can effectively ensure that your dog is well-behaved and trained.

There are many more dog training techniques out there. What matters most is that you pick a technique that works best for both you and your Dog.

Whichever technique you settle on, your end game should be to create a cohesive living environment for both you and your Dog.