Choose Desirable Rewards: Identify treats, toys, or praise that your dog loves. These will serve as positive rewards for desired behaviors.
Start Small: Begin with basic commands like "sit" or "stay." Break down the task into manageable steps to prevent overwhelming your dog.
Timing is Crucial: Instantly reward the dog when it exhibits the desired behavior. This strengthens the connection between the action and the reward.
Consistency Matters: Use the same command and reward each time to avoid confusion. Consistency helps your dog understand what's expected.
Shaping Behavior: Reward incremental progress. If teaching a complex trick, reward any steps toward the final behavior to guide your dog's learning.
Ignore Unwanted Behavior: Instead of punishing, ignore unwanted actions. This encourages your dog to focus on behaviors that lead to rewards.
Gradual Challenges: Once your dog masters a command, gradually increase distractions and difficulty. This helps the dog generalize the behavior to various situations.