When you first get a puppy or even if you adopt an older dog you will want to teach your new resident the house rules. It is important not only for you and your home but also for the dog that these ground rules are set early and adhered to all the time. A dog will quickly become confused if you change the rules or move the boundaries and a confused dog is an unhappy dog. There are no hard and fast rules you should implement and the rules you do set will be determined by your own requirements as much as anything else.



Basic dog obedience training is essential because not only does it allow you to set the ground rules but also it teaches your dog that you are in control and any orders you give must be followed. The best dog training tip you can be given is to always be consistent. Whether this is regarding the ground rules you set or the training method you use, you should always use consistency. The best way to do this is to use both positive and negative reinforcement or reprimand and reward.

The basic principle is that when your dog behaves you should reward him. Initially you should do this verbally, by petting him and you may also give him a treat. You can't always reward with a treat, however, otherwise your dog will soon become overweight but you should always reward in some way or another. This will reinforce any good behavior and encourage your puppy to repeat that good behavior in the future.

Negative reinforcement means the verbal reprimand of your dog when he misbehaves. You should never use a physical reprimand because this will scare your dog instead of teach him and scared dogs very easily and very quickly become aggressive dogs. A stern ?NO? or ?STOP? should be enough. When your puppy does something you are not happy with then use this reprimand and show the dog what he should be doing. When he does it right then follow up with the positive reinforcement. By showing your dog the correct way to do something in this manner and quickly following a negative with a positive reinforcement he will be able to associate that doing something one way is good but another way is bad.

Dogs love to be rewarded, whether that reward is affection and petting, or small bits of food. This is why positive reinforcement works so well. Most dogs are intelligent enough to pick this up very quickly as long as you stick to the same rules and the same method of training consistently.