Below are some of the basic training principles you should follow as you begin to train your dog.

PRAISE AND CORRECTION

Your dog will not know whether he is doing something right or wrong unless you tell him. Teach him early that training is about praise and correction. You should always praise your dog when he does something right and do it immediately. If you wait longer than three seconds to praise him, he will most likely forget what he is being rewarded for!

A reward is anything that your dog gets excited about, such as treats, petting, praising words, playtime, food, a walk, a car ride, etc. Positive behavior is praised and wrong behavior is corrected or ignored. Each time a behavior is rewarded, he will most likely repeat that same behavior.

DISCOURAGING NEGATIVE BEHAVIOR

Even if you practice hours upon hours of training with your dog, he will still behave inappropriately on occasion. Therefore, you need to make him aware when he is behaving badly.

Here are TWO OF THE FOUR BEST WAYS to discourage negative behavior:

This is when you stop a bad behavior and replace it with a correct behavior.

Let's say you are walking your dog on a leash and you approach another dog. Your dog tries to jump, so you correct him immediately by saying "no" while simultaneously tugging lightly on the leash. Then you say "heel."

After he heels, praise him. This exercise let's the dog know what he did wrong and what he should do instead. Verbal reprimand. Choose a word that you can say that will indicate to your dog that he should stop whatever it is he is doing. It could be "no," "hey", "eh-eh,""enough," etc.

When you use a verbal reprimand, don't yell it or say it in an angry tone. Instead, just say it in a short and sharp tone that will capture his attention. When you see your dog doing something he shouldn't such as chewing on a plant, say your verbal reprimand word and redirect his behavior to another activity.

Once your dog gets used to this command, he will automatically redirect himself to another activity. Teaching your dog new commands and activities can be an overwhelming experience at first, but your dog will learn soon enough what is right and wrong with certain aspects of his behavior. Always make sure you correct the wrong behavior with the right.