Training Quick Tips
Training Time
Daily training sessions should be limited to 15-20 minutes to ensure your dog does not lose focus on learning new skills.
You can extend your training sessions to 1 hour by mixing play between commands.
Start Training
The “Yes!” Command
How to train the ‘Yes’ command:
- Look at your dog
- Wait for them to make eye contact
- Excitedly say ‘Yes!’
- Reward your dog (treats or affection)
- Repeat
The ‘Yes’ command will help your dog learn that good things happen when they are focused on you.
Clicker Training
How to introduce the clicker to your dog:
A clicker can be a very useful tool when training your dog. It provides them with instant feedback to indicate a reward is coming.
- Click the clicker
- Reward your dog (treats or affection)
- Repeat
Do this until your dog readily looks to you for a reward upon hearing the click. Once they associate the click with a reward, start adding commands before clicking (‘Yes’ command).
Vibe Check
Dogs don’t know what you’re thinking but know what you are feeling. Dogs can smell slight changes in our moods and energy.
It’s important to make sure that when you’re training your dog, walking your dog, or asking them to do something new, you are in the right mindset.
https://nypost.com/2022/09/29/dogs-can-smell-when-youre-stressed-and-feeling-down-study/
Chow Time
Low Energy Training (sit, stay, down, paw):
Before a meal, you can use part of your dog’s regular meal as a reward for training of basic commands.
Heavy Exercise Before/After Eating*:
To prevent health problems, you should not feed your dog for a minimum of 1 hour after heavy exercise. You should also not exercise your dog for a minimum of 1 hour after they’ve eaten.
*These are guidelines for your consideration. Always ask your veterinarian regarding medical and health advice.
Pawsitive Steps Training 