Pooch Pointers
- Be Consistent! Everyone in the family must agree to use the same word for each behavior, all the time. And do not use the same word to mean different things: such as, saying ”down” when you want your dog to stop jumping, and lie down, and get off the furniture. This is terribly confusing to a dog.
- When training your dog, you will need to manage his surroundings. Just as you would childproof your home, you’ll need to puppyproof your place for a while. For example: Don’t leave him alone with a trash can full of fun! Think about it, if a dog thinks a good roll in goosepoop is fun, do you really think he would pass up a romp through some rubbish?
- Your pup will sometimes offer less than a perfect performance. Don’t let this discourage you or him. We humans mess up all the time, don’t we? Just remember, if your pooch isn’t “getting it,” just back up to an easier version of whatever you were doing, reward the smaller success, then be done. Always keep training exercises short, fun, and sucessful! Sessions should last about 3-5 minutes, 2 or 3 times per day.
This is Jasper, a re-homed and rehabbed Rottie!