Behavior Training For Your Pet Dog

Use treats and body language to change your dog's behaviors

See also free dog training guide and dog housebreaking tips

The dog behavior training used here is largely based on learning through treat training for dogs.

What that means is that for each command that your dog successfully completes, his prize will be a treat.

Dog treat training uses positive reinforcement, so most of the methods are based on encouraging your dog to perform the desired behavior and then giving treats and praise when he complies.

Treat training has been a very effective and rewarding method for pet dog behavior training. Because the opportunity of getting treats exists, your dog does not look upon training as a chore, but as an enjoyable time that you spend together. When teaching your dog new things, the participation of a willing pupil can make a big difference. 

The best kinds of treats to use for dog behavior training are any treats that your pet has an interest in. If you’ve had your dog for a little while, you know whether he likes liver, peanut butter, cheese or other flavored treats – if your dog is like our dog, he likes them all!

To make sure you don’t treat your dog to excess, you should either buy smaller treats (often labeled as “training treats”) or cut your dogs existing treats into small pieces.

We like to use “Meaties” by Old Mother Hubbard, our dog adores them and they are the perfect size for training, but really any smaller treat will do. Smaller treats will give you the flexibility of doing multiple training exercises without spoiling your dog’s diet.

If you are concerned that feeding your dog treats will push him to be overweight, simply reduce the amount of food that you feed him on the days when you do training together. There are also many low-fat treats on the market today and those can be used for treat training.

If you do not like to give your dog treats, you can equally use clicker training or toys as a motivator for your dog. Clicker training applies the use of a “clicker” (available at most pet stores.) You will “click” before you praise your dog for a job well done. Over time, the dog associates the sound from the clicker with praise and he will perform commands with a “click” as his reward.
 

Dog Behavior Training Using Body Language

In the dog world, dogs communicate largely with body language. For example, when dogs see other dogs, they immediately begin sending signals to each other. “I want to play”, “I’m not sure if I like you”, and “Leave me alone” are all possible messages that dogs send each other through body language.

Because dogs communicate in this way, it is easier to train your dog if you use words and body language together to tell your dog what you want him to do.

Most of the techniques for the Dog Training Formula use hand signals as an extra sign for your dog to help him understand what you want him to do. Using body language will also help you in situations where your dog cannot hear you clearly.