Basic Obedience TrainingThe single most important point.
Most training 'faults “ are caused by the handler, not the dog.
The more you are involved in training dogs for any type of activity, the more this quote is proven to be correct. If you accept the validity of this statement, you are well on the way to resolving the problem. If you do not accept it, you will probably not address the actual root cause of the problem and are unlikely to successfully resolve it.
The building blocksIt is always easier to tone down an over-exuberant dog in the long run than it is to try and re-invigorate a dog that has learnt that training is dull and boring. To this end, it is important that all training sessions be performed when both dog and handler are enthusiastic. With a dog that is really over the top you might want to wear him/her out a bit (with a walk) before you start as it is difficult for a dog that's leaping out of it's skin to pay attention for any useful amount of time.
Ensure that you are working with the dog to try to achieve a common goal, if something is not working look at it objectively to work out why. Don't just punish the dog on the presumption that it's only doing it to upset you.
Try to lean towards praising the good rather than punishing the 'bad'. This will produce a dog that is not scared (through fear of punishment) to try different ways to approach a problem. Such a dog will eventually hit upon success and be rewarded with your praise, and hence know the appropriate action next time. The attempts prior to the successful one are not 'failures', merely experiments.
Use the minimum of force to teach your dog a new task. It will learn quicker if it 'chooses' to perform a particular action than if you physically manipulate it into the same position.
Always praise your dog for the successful performance of a task, even if the performance is fleeting. Eg if you have had trouble getting the dog to sit and it finally does sit for half a second before leaping up; you must be ready to praise during the half second! There is no incentive for the dog to perform other than your praise/reward.
Voice control and training sequenceThere are three main ways to verbally communicate with your dog when training, and each has it's own tone. Always command the dog first; if it responds correctly then praise it. If it does not respond correctly (you must be sure he/she knows the exercise) then correct the dog. Always finish with praise when the exercise is performed satisfactorily.
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