Dog training: tips and tricks

Good dog training depends on both your dog and yourself.With these tricks, dog training will be a success and a positive experience for both of you:

1. e relaxed during training and don't make it a competition.
2. Set yourself and your dog a clear goal for each training session and reward him when he reaches this goal.
3. Use not only treats as rewards, but also praise, petting and play sessions.
4. Find a quiet place for the training sessions - especially at the beginning - so that your dog is not exposed to too many distractions.
5. Allow yourself and your dog to take breaks in between and skip training for a day if one of you is not feeling well.

The following applies to dog training: To teach your dog something new or reinforce what it has already learnt, you should train it for around 15 minutes a day. Depending on your dog's age and attention span, you should break up this training session with breaks. Puppies in particular have a strong play instinct, so you can quickly overtax them with a session that is too long. 

It takes a lot of repetitions for a dog to really internalise a command. You can therefore integrate dog training into everyday life and have your dog sit during a walk, for example. Remember to reward him in these cases too when he has performed the command correctly - be it with words, cuddles or treats.

In dog training, we often talk about basic commands or signals that every dog should be able to master. These include: 

• No: To make it clear to the dog that it is not allowed to do something.
• Sit: Requests the dog to sit down, e.g. at traffic lights. 
• Place: Requests the dog to lie down, e.g. in waiting situations.
• Here: To call the dog to you. 
• Heel: Requests the dog to walk by your side. 
• Stay: Requests the dog to stay in one place, e.g. when cyclists pass by on a walk. 
• Drop it: Requests the dog to let go of something or spit it out again. 

If your dog masters these commands, it will make everyday life and interaction with other people and animals easier for both of you.