How to Master Your Dogs & Basic Commands : Part 2

Make Sure That You Are Being Consistent
Consistency can come in several different ways. Make sure that your whole family (and your friends) are using the same words as commands. You don’t want to confuse your dog.
You may also want to consider posting a list of your most common commands on the refrigerator or by your dog’s leash. This way, your whole family can remember and become familiar with these words.
This also means that you should always reward the good behavior and not the unruly behavior. Remember that positive reinforcement comes in a variety of forms. Sure, it can be easy to reward your dog with a treat or a piece of kibble but that’s not the only way that you can reward your dog.
Praise is a wonderful addition that you should always use to encourage your dog to form good habits. Also, you can use a toy, a game, a ride, or just some snuggle time. You can even use “going outside in the backyard for a few minutes” as a reward.
A friend of mine has a Great Dane named Brenna. She’s a great dog but can be a bit of a “bull in a china shop” – as you can imagine. Because of that, my friend and his wife made sure to teach Brenna basic commands in addition to some other polite commands.
One of the tricks that they have taught her is to sit by the door before she is to go out and relieve herself or to go out and play. They taught her that by performing these specific tasks:

• They told her to sit and stay by the front door (with the door shut).
• When she did, they praised her and let her go out into the backyard. (In this case, going out and playing in the backyard is the reward in lieu of food.)
• Then they made her sit for even longer. They told her to sit and stay and then opened the door but didn’t let her out. If she got up, they closed the door and tried the process again.
• She was only allowed to go outside once she got the green light from them – which were the words, “Go out.”
• She was only allowed to go outside once she got the green light from them – which were the words, “Go out.”

They’ve also done the same training method for her to get in and out of their truck and their RV (for use when they go camping).
Most dogs are food oriented so it can be both easy and beneficial to train with pieces of their kibble or treats. However, too many treats can be bad for your dog. When you do choose to use food, make sure that it is a very small piece of soft food so that your dog will eat it quickly and want more.
Keeping a variety of food and treats can be beneficial so that your dog doesn’t get bored. Consider keeping a handful of diverse types in your pocket or in a small bag.
Since it is so easy to reward your dog with food, it is best to use treats or food when you want your dog to learn to brand new tricks. Make sure to reward your dog every time he or she does the desired behavior or action.
As soon as your dog has learned this and has this habit engrained into his routine, you’ll want to go from continuous reinforcement (giving him or her the reward every time the behavior is done) to intermittent reinforcement (which means that you always give him praise but you don’t always give him or her a treat).
As soon as your dog has learned this and has this habit engrained into his routine, you’ll want to go from continuous reinforcement (giving him or her the reward every time the behavior is done) to intermittent reinforcement (which means that you always give him praise but you don’t always give him or her a treat).
Make sure that you don’t take his or her treats away too fast or all together. This will frustrate your pup and you don’t want that. You will want to vary the schedule of reinforcement though. This will ensure that your dog will try to respond every time.
Things that you shouldn’t do when you train your dog
Punish your dog physically: hitting him with your hands/fists, with a newspaper, spankings, etc.
Confining your puppy to a small space for prolonged periods of time isn’t a clever idea. Puppies need a lot of attention so make sure that you can give him that early on. Dogs that are new to your home (no matter the age) shouldn’t be treated this way either.
Crate training a pup, if he is having accidents inside the crate, will be difficult as well.
Cleaning soiled areas with ammonia-based cleansers should be avoided. Urine has ammonia in it so putting on more ammonia could cause the puppy to want to go to the bathroom in that area again.
Instead, use a cleaner that has a chemical component that will get rid of the enzymes in their urine. This will keep the dog from wanting to go back to that area to urinate again because the smell will not be present.
Scolding your puppy will not be effective. Instead, make a noise to startle him into stopping him from what he’s doing (defecating or urinating) and then quickly take him outside and show him where you want him to go.