First, when I train I must be patient and positive. I must show my dog exactly what the task is while providing positive reinforcement. Sometimes this is done through shaping which means I wait until the dog displays the behavior and then reward her. I might be waiting awhile. During that wait time I continue to smile and be positive. With humans, this means catching children or adults doing great things and then telling them so.
Next, I need to make sure I am clear about what I want. If I want a sit then I wait for it and reward. If my dog does a down I must wait for a sit. I don’t put a word to it until she offers the behavior quickly and even after a command is put to the behavior, I must not assume this means she knows it. How much slack do we allow our human companions when learning a new task?
Dedicated to dog lover's and their k9 companions. I will share words of wisdom on dog training and various dog sports.
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