Basic Dog Psychology
(Part One )

When its come to basic dog training the dog psychology is a relatively simple format good behavior deserves acknowledging and rewarding & bad behavior needs to be corrected .

Once your dog starts to associate good feelings with good behavior he will want to avoid any actions that get a negative response .

Rewards can be different things to different dogs , some work well for food treats some for fuss and some work well for a particular toy and some may work best
if you alternate between the three types of rewards , using all three types of reward system can often put variety and more fun into the training sessions .

Corrections are a little more limited but most dogs will respond well to a harsh sounding voice or a quick tug of a lead attached to a half check collar , for more
serious offenders of behavior like constant barking or mild aggression towards other dogs a washing up liquid bottle filled with water can be a simple but affective
training aid a quick squirt in the face with it may often help to resolve senseless and unnecessary barking and growling and can often help discourage un wanted
behavior .

The trick to most successful training is timing , your timing is so important to your dogs understanding you need to reward or correct almost instantly , if you see
your dog doing something good or correct praise and treat him immediately within that same second , same if you see your dog doing something wrong discipline and correct him immediately .

Consistency is another key word to successful training , say for instance your dog keeps getting on the sofa or your bed if you don't tell your dog OFF or NO
every single time he climbs on your furniture then he is not getting a clear message that this behavior is un acceptable to you correction must occur every single
time not some of the time or most of the time or half of the time , every times means exactly that every time , else your in consistency is telling your dog OFF or
NO actually means not this time but maybe next time dogs are opportunists, so he will keep trying his luck , if you want your dog to sit at the road side before
you cross , then your dog should be made to sit every single time he comes to a road side , not sit for some and go straight on at others simply because the
road is clear or a quite one , so what ever the command it should be the same every single solitary time , dogs like children need consistency in their lives .
If you don't have consistency in your dogs training then how can you expect your training to work effectively .

Just like our children , dogs have to learn to fit and behave according to our society just as we would educate our children so to do we need to educate our dogs .

In effect our dogs our like us landing on another planet we would not know the rules laws or customs or what behavior was deemed acceptable or offensive
to the native peoples .

So we would just assume we were acting in accordance and appropriately to there planets requirements.

What im getting at is that dogs were not evolved to live in our homes as pets and sometimes dogs act in a way that though in appropriate to us , it is perfectly
normal to them .

Tearing up the mail , cocking up things or even people , humping other dogs or people rolling in /or eating poo , defending what they perceive to be their territory ,
disliking other dogs, stealing or begging food is all normal behavior in the world of dog.

When cats do something like killing a bird or a mouse , though most don't like it its amazing how most would simple say well that's what cats do its in the nature
but let your dog chase a cat or another animal most act horrified the dogs owners often feel embarrassed and apologize when the dog is only acting in response
to his natural prey /hunt drive he to is only acting in a manner that is in fact natural and in his nature.

That is not to say that dogs don't have the ability to learn a more acceptable behavior pattern , it does however mean that we as owners have a responsibility to
understand the simple fundamentals and basic psychology of our dogs and teach them to fit in and act in a behavior acceptable to our society.

90% of un exceptable behavior can be changed using appropriate training techniques and some simple understanding of the way your dogs mind works , how
well you view and understand your dog will have a fundamental impact on how well your dog views behaves and understands you and your world .