Basic Training
Most dogs, no matter their eventual advanced training or intended purpose,
live with people and therefore must behave in a way that makes them pleasant to
have around and for their own safety and that of other people and pets. Dogs do
not figure out basic obedience on their own; it must be trained.
The hardest part of this process is communicating with your dog in a humane way
that he understands. Dogs generally want to make their owners happy, but they do
not natively know what their owners want. Communication is possible by praising
positive behavior while ignoring or correcting negative behavior.
"Correction" should never include harmful physical force or violence
because even if it makes the dog stop the behavior in the short term, it will
make your dog fear you rather than want to make you happy by doing what you ask.
Correction technique varies by individual and among trainers. A simple technique
is to attach a collar and "lead" (fancy term for a leash, usually short, 4' is
good); just as the negative behavior happens use a command to correct it (i.e.,
Sparky is jumping up on a guest, say "off" if he's already jumped up, or if you
see he's thinking about it say, "down"). If the command is ignored then
"correct" Sparky by "snapping" (not pulling/tugging/yanking) the lead to make
his collar rattle. Snap from the side, never from above; snapping from above can
injure your dog and will make him resist rather than just show him that you
disapprove of the behavior.
