To be a good teacher for your dog

Help! My dog won't learn! 

You have to teach your dog how to learn. This probably sounds crazy but hear me out. For the dog, learning from a human is like trying to learn from someone who does not speak your language. We can do sounds with the mouth and we can wave our arms and point our fingers but it all actually just looks very silly. 

By teaching your dog how to learn your dog will learn your language and thereby learn from you faster and faster the more you work together. 

Training techniques:

There are several training techniques to use. There is the harsh, dominant, punishing way that will just create a scared insecure dog. Imagine being a kid in school again and for each wrong answer you get pinched in the ear or whipped. 

Now, imagine instead being that same kid, and when you answer wrong the teacher tells you "No, not quite but great that you are trying! Here's a cookie." What will happen with this child? He or she will work harder and harder on trying. Now, imagine that the kid gets a chocolate cupcake for the right answer? Boy, will that child be motivated to work hard on the homework! 

The same thing is with the dog. The dog is working FOR you, and therefor will work better if you have a good salary. Basically, the more confident and independent dog, the higher salary needed. Will to please dogs are workoholics who most of the time are happy just to work but they still need a salary, encouragement and rewards to stay motivated. 

Positive reinforcement:

Positive reinforcement training is growing more and more just because it is so very successful. If you tell an independent dog "Do this for me" he will ask "What's in it for me?" If you then go "You will get a piece of treat if you do" and the treat is yummy, the dog will answer "Sure!" but if it is a low value treat it will go "Eeh. No. Do it yourself you lazy human." 

Common mistakes:

Many people nag their dogs. Sit. Sit. Sit. Rover, SIT. Sit. Sit. Siiiiiit. SIT! and lose their patience. The dog will learn fast that you will eventually blow up and give up, or yell at the dog and hopefully not hurt the dog. This is not a happy dog ownership and teamwork. The dog does not know the word, your "salary" is not good enough, or you have an environment that is too distractive and advanced too fast. Think about your tone of voice. The dog listens to you by sound, not by word. Would you listen to a parent that were angry and naggy, or one that asked you kindly and rewarded good behavior?

How to progress in the right speed for your dog and how to stay interesting will be brought up in the Clickertraining post next time I have time to spare. I will also bring up "How to find your dogs currency" later on.