Training Your Pet

Cats and dogs can be easily trained to do basic behaviors. Positive reinforcement is the best tool for building a foundation of mutual trust, respect, and an understanding that will remain throughout your years together. A heavy hand is never necessary in having a well-trained pet.

Positive Reinforcement
Positive reinforcement training uses both praise and treats to reward your pet for a job well done. Once your pet learns he or she will be rewarded for a specific action, treats and praise will make them want to do it again. Always back up a food reward with a verbal reward of encouragement. Simple words like "Yes!" or "Good dog" in a positive and upbeat tone can be as rewarding as the treat itself.

If your pet isn't motivated by treats, petting and brief play are also effective positive reinforcement rewards.

Timing and Consistency
Timing is essential to positive reinforcement. Always reward your pet immediately (within seconds) for a job well done. If you ask your pet to lie down and you don't reward the pet until he or she gets up again, your pet will think they are being rewarded for getting up.

Be consistent and keep it short. Use the same command and stick to it. Short, uncomplicated words such as "sit," "paw," and "down" will get the point across much clearer than a full sentence. To avoid
confusion with your pet, everyone in the family should be using the same commands, both verbal and visual. If you ask your dog to "paw" and your daughter says "shake" with different visual cues,
the pet may get confused and not respond. Consider posting a list of commands in your home until everyone is on the same page with those commands.

Consistency also means that you should only be rewarding good behavior and never bad behavior. Rewarding your pet for good behavior is simple. Always think ahead and try to reward before
your pet has a chance to act up. For example, having your pet sit before petting can help prevent jumping. Or make your pet sit before feeding to teach good meal-time manners.

Be careful not to reward unwanted behaviors. For example, if you let your dog outside every time your dog barks, you are reinforcing the behavior.

Shaping
It can take time to learn certain behaviors. "Shaping" is the act of reinforcing an act close to the desired behavior and then gradually requiring more from your pet before you give the treat. For example, if you are teaching your pet to "shake," you will initially reward your pet when slightly lifting their paw, then for lifting it higher, then for touching your hand, and so on.

Decreasing Treats
When your pet does something good, give them a treat. Once your pet is consistently doing the desired behavior, you may want to switch the reward to praise rather than a treat. Make sure to decrease the rewards slowly so your pet doesn't stop doing the task altogether or become frustrated by the lack of treats.

At first give your pet a treat three out of four times for the good behavior, and every time praise your pet. Once the pet has learned the behavior, reduce the number of treats that are given, but always provide the verbal praise. The pet will understand that if he or she keeps responding, it will always get praise and the occasional treat.

To find out more about pet obedience and training, click here  or call our Free Behavior Hotline at
(312) 644-8338, ext. 343.