Dallas Fort Worth Dogs Obedience School

The Three Phases of Dog Training

If you're going to have an action plan that really gets results with your dog, then you need a step-by-step guide that actually tells you where to go from here. Anyone who's owned a dog knows that nothing really sticks unless it's treated with repetition, consistency, and that the owner makes sure that the boundaries and rules are enforced.

With that in mind, here are three phases to dog training that will help you understand how to give your dog a new habit and a new pattern of behavior that's more conducive to living in your household and in the world at large.

1. The Communication Phase.

Communication doesn't necessarily refer to you "teaching" or "telling" your dog to do something - they won't understand you anyway. Rather, you have to think about communication from the dog's perspective. Dogs learn by association. If they produce a behavior that they discover seems to consistently win them a reward like a treat, then they're going to start associating that behavior with a reward.

This phase is crucial, and you'll have to know how to do it properly. You have to remember that you can't bribe a dog into taking a positive action - you can only produce a reward once the dog takes the action already. Don't give your dog affection when it is tense, anxious, or aggressive - it will learn that it gets rewards when it is calm and submissive.

2. The Regression Phase.

Regression in this case doesn't refer to the lack of progress, but rather how you "scale back" your rewards over time. While at the beginning, you rewarded your dog every time for a new behavior, once the behavior becomes more habitual, you hold back on the rewards. This lets the dog know that the reward won't come every single time, which gives them incentive to make sure that it performs the desired behavior correctly. The dog shouldn't know that it can half-heartedly attempt to "fool" you into giving it a reward.

3. The Consistency Phase.

After you attempt the above phases, you'll have to make sure you enforce these habits consistently. This means you keep aware of the dog's behavior and know when you're rewarding it. For example, don't give a dog affection every time he/she is calm and submissive if the dog is doing well with that behavior. If you can remain consistent, you can help your dog develop lifelong habits and adjust well to its environment.

Make sure you understand how dogs develop habits and you can help your dog life a healthy, happy life in your household.

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Here are a few Dog Traininer in the area

Gone to the Dogs Obedience School

1120 Enterprise Pl, Arlington, TX 76001 817-453-3069

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