One of the best ways to create a great bond with our best friends is to give them things to do throughout the day. By doing this we are challenging their innate drive to accomplish something and will boost their confidence levels, both of which will help your dog to be balanced, stable and happy.

There are many ways we can do this, but in general we must clearly communicate to them something that we want them to fulfill, and dogs being dogs will naturally want to follow our instruction and accomplish the task, before being be paid for their work, just like we do.

First of all we must understand How and When to pay our dog, because if we get this wrong we can potentially reward unwanted behaviour and that itself can become a huge problem, but if we get it right both us and our dog will be rewarded, and that’s the beauty of it.

How: that depends on what your dog is really motivated by, but it is usually a combination of the following – food, praise, affection and play time.

When: this is the really important bit and we can divide it into formal and informal training times. Formal training times can be loose lead walking. Putting your dog in a sit or down and them holding the position. Recalling your dog when off lead. Sending them to their cushion. Getting them to hold eye contact with you. Training them to drop and leave objects, to name as few basic tasks. Informal training times are occasions in the day that occur whether training is applied or not but can be utilised for training, such as training your dog wait for their food, to wait at an open door before going on walks, to sit and stay before jumping on the sofa with you, to sit on their cushion whilst you are eating dinner, to wait in the car before jumping out, to wait at the car before jumping in. To wait outside of the front door before running in, for example.

The timing of payment is important so your dog can associate their reward with the behaviour. That way they will become more obedient and pay more attention to you. However we must be very vigilant and understand that our dogs are dogs after all and have no problem in using their intelligence to manipulate and train us so they receive payment on their terms. Pawing us, barking at us, sitting up, looking at us, offering sits and downs when not asked are all ways that they attempt to do this and when they do try it on, and they generally do at some point, we must return their antics with a firm NO and then ignoring them. Any other engagement is potentially rewarding so must be avoided at all costs if you want a happy dog. Remember a dog who sees itself as a leader becomes insecure and problematic!

If you feel you are unsure how to communicate to your dog effectively then it is advised that you get some professional help to learn the skill and from then on it will be plane sailing. Many of these fundamental skills and commands are covered in my Basic and Premium Dog Obedience packages.

To find out more, please get in touch on 07926 911825 or via my Online Contact Form.