How to Train your Dog

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Learning New Words

Before you can teach your dog any word of command you must show him exactly what that word means. This is where word association may have been useful with the young pup. When you put his food down you say, 'Spot, dinner,' or 'Spot, food,' or any word after his name which you are going to consistently use for food, be it breakfast, lunch or tea, and your puppy will come running at the sound, and he will know why he he is coming. He is going to get food.

The same thing applies to his sleeping quarters, 'bed', or going out to relieve himself, 'out', or for a walk, 'collar'.

The words themselves are not important, but what does matter is that you always use the same words for the same action, and always make these words short, preferably of one syllable only.

'Your dinner is on your plate' is a useless waste of words when 'dinner' is clearly understood by the dog, and in using too many words in a command you may lose the operative word 'dinner' amongst all the other sounds.

The sound of the words should be emphasized by the tone.

When teaching something use an encouraging tone whilst for stopping something that is forbidden a sharp, even severe, tone should be employed.

Scolding or severe tone does not mean shouting. Shouting at a dog to do something is as much help as shouting at a foreigner who can't understand what you are saying. It serves no useful purpose, and once the dog has found, as he soon will, that it does not effect his actions he will ignore it. The dog which has learned to obey more evenly given commands, using tone rather than loudness, may receive something of the urgency of your command on the odd occasion where a shout could stop a serious accident. The loud 'no' as the dog runs through a gate accidentally left open onto the road could well work if the dog is not accustomed to being shouted at by his owner.

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