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Author: paul nelson Article source: http://www.articlealley.com/. Used with author's permission.
Repetition and rewards in puppy training
Training a puppy to be well socialized adult dog needs your time and energy. Puppies need concepts repeated so that the behaviour can become memorized. When teaching your puppy any activity repeat the action during several short sessions during the day so each time you have their concentration. Rewards can be in the form of treats as well as verbal praise. It depends on the individual puppy or dog whether a treat will be a good motivator, in the case of a fussy eater or a dog with a small apetite they will be less motivated by food. In this case it might be better to use the daily food ration in place of treats.
Dogs which are very excited by food means the treat can be used as way to gain there interest and concentration. Don't wave the treat around as the dog will think you are teasing it, just give it in the case that the dog has done the correct activity. Very soon the dog will learn that correct behavior results in a treat from their owner and words of praise. Treats can also work to help your dog get over fearful situations, like their first ride in the car or a trip to the vet. Giving a treat to help sweeten a situation for the pup can help them learn to associate the situation with positive things like treats and praise.
Praise is a powerful motivator and dogs can tell from the tone of your voice that you are pleased with there behaviour, they learn to enjoy the praise they receive for some correct behavior. Happy banter and praise words help to build the bond between the owner and puppy and motivate the puppy to please the owner. Similarly they learn that a louder sterner word is like an angry growl from there mother or another dominant dog and they learn that it is associated with bad behavior. Lowering the tone of your voice and barking a stern "no" will become linked with negative behavior and a negative response from its owner.
It is also important to use the same key words or phrases over and over, so that "go for a walk", or "sit", "stay" become apart of your dogs vocabulary. After much repetition your dog upon hearing the key word will automatically go into position with or without a treat.
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