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Dog training can be a powerfully motivating activity or it can be your worst nightmare. If you make mistakes or if you have never trained a dog before, you could make the process of dog training last far longer than it would have otherwise. The best thing that you can do before embarking upon a dog training expedition is to get as educated as possible. Read books, talk to professional dog trainers, consult with other dog owners and get prepared. While this isn't a matter of life or death, you want your first few months of dog ownership to be a positive experience. To help you out, here are five things to avoid during dog training.

Avoid Expecting Overnight Results
When you see a well-behaveddogat your friend's house, it's easyto believe that the dogwas born that way. He sits quietly in his corner, chewing on a rawhide bone, never jumping on the couch or begging for food. Believe me when I say, however, that your friend probably spent hours traininghis or her dogto behave that way, and your dogwill require the same. Before you expect your dogto exhibit overnight results from your dog trainingefforts, realize that it can be a slow process and you'll get there when your dogis ready.

Avoid Yelling and Hitting
There is nothing more counter-productive in dog trainingthan yelling or hitting. A scared dog won't be able to perform well or follow your commands, and the angrier you get, the less likely you are to reward good behavior when it finally surfaces. Rather than yelling or hitting when your dogmisbehaves, stop and assess the situation. Is there anything more you could be doing to correct the behaviors? Are you paying attention to the reasons for your dog's misbehavior? There are almost always reasons, so learn to watch for changes in your pet's mood or personality during dogtraining.

Avoid Letting Your Dog Set the Rules
Some owners are more likely to yell and hit, while others are the passive ones. If you allow your dog to feel as though he is the "Alpha" dog -- the one in charge -- then you're damaging your dog training efforts just as much as if you were to yell at him. Your dog shouldn't be afraid of you, but he should recognize you as the one in charge. Dogs will take advantage of a situation in which they think they are the master, which can result in aggressive or apathetic behavior and will slowly (if not quickly) escalate over the years. Take a firm but gentle approach in your dog training efforts.

Avoid Giving Up
Although you and your dog might become frustrated during dog training, don't make the mistake of thinking that your dog doesn't want to learn. He does. Dogs enjoy the challenge of learning new behaviors and even if they sometimes seem as though they'd rather be chewing up your newest pair of shoes, they want to please you. So rather than under-challenging your dog, work toward teaching new behaviors and tricks. Reward your dog when he does something right and keep working on things that seem beyond his grasp.

Avoid Changing the Routine
Dogs -- like many humans -- become reliant on the routine you establish from Day One. If you always let your dog outside to toilet when you wake up in the morning, followed by a wake-up biscuit, don't change that routine on him. This is purely detrimental to your dog training regimen and will cause your dog to lose faith in you, which can be a disaster. Instead, focus on consistency and routine and allow your dog to know what to expect.


By Steve Thompson