The time and effort you put into pet training can yield many benefits. You may want to establish household rules, curb unwanted behavior, or keep your animal from danger. Or you may simply want to teach an intelligent animal to perform amusing tricks. Whatever your motivation, training will provide your pet with attention, encouragement and stimulating mental exercise. The most enjoyable and effective form of training makes use of positive reinforcement.
Training with positive reinforcement involves rewarding pets when they perform the right action, rather than punishing them for doing something wrong. Rewards are typically in the form of small food treats combined with praise. Once animals learn to associate certain actions with positive consequences, they become eager to repeat them.
At some point you may have unintentionally trained your pet with positive reinforcement. If your dog or cat claws at a door to a room and you open it, they will associate their action with the reward of being let out of a confined space. The next time they want a door to open, they will repeat the clawing behavior in anticipation of the same reward.
To train pets to do what you want them to do, you’ll need to get them to perform actions in response to commands. Decide on a specific desired behavior and think of a cue word to prompt it. Single syllable commands such as ‘down’ or ‘shake’ are easier for animals to understand than two word phrases like ‘lie down’ or ‘shake hands’.
Each time your pet displays the desired behavior in response the cue word, you should praise him and immediately feed him a treat. Speed and consistency of reward are important to learning. If you are teaching a dog to lie down, reward him while he is still on the floor in the right position. If you wait until he is sitting up to give him his treat, he won’t know which action to associate with the cue word ‘down’.
To teach an animal to get off the bed or sofa, chose a simple command like ‘off’. When you find your pet sitting on the furniture, get a food treat and hide it in your hand. Stand over the animal, loudly and clearly say ‘off’ and gently push her to the floor. Immediately praise her and hold the treat to her mouth. Do this every time you catch her sitting where she’s not allowed. Eventually, she will jump off the furniture in response to your command, without the accompanying push.
When an animal has learned to reliably respond to the cue word, you can gradually stop rewarding her with treats. But do persist in offering praise and affection in return for good behavior. Dogs are eager to please their owners and generally require no other motivation. Depending on their individual personalities, and the extent to which they have bonded with their owners, some cats and birds will also continue to obey commands once the food incentive is withdrawn.
Pet training requires patience on the part of both the teacher and the pupil. There will be good days and bad days. Do not continue with a dog training Kelowna session if your pet seems tired or distracted. Never resort to scolding or punishment for bad performance. This will cause your animal to associate the cue word with negative consequences. Training should be an enjoyable experience that both you and your pet will be keen to repeat.
Training a puppy can be frustrating, dog training requires discipline and consistancy. When experiencing problems, consult a professional. Bark Busters offer a reliable and affordable service for house puppy training.
