5 Ways To Determine Whether Your Dog Training Is Working

Stumped in dog training? Don't be discouraged. It happens. Training your dog is a process that takes a lot out of you -- a lot of time, a lot of effort, maybe even a lot of emotion. It is easy to become frustrated and discouraged while training your pet, especially when they don't seem to respond to it. Here are a few suggestions as to why your training process may have experienced a decline.

1. If you've never trained a pet, it isn't what you think. You may have gone into your training process thinking, "Hey, this is simple! I know how to do this! It's going to be a snap!" Now that you're trying it, it's not nearly as easy as you thought so doing some research on the internet, reading some books or maybe even attending a class is the way to go. Arm yourself with lots of knowledge about canine training, which, as it turns out, is kind of complicated.

2. You aren't consistent. Teach with consistency. If you give your dog a treat for the right behavior, reward her again.Proper training is built on the principal of conditioning. If you lack consistency in your training technique, you will not see results. Consistency in training will produce consistent results.

3. You aren't training with regularity. In order to be effective, you must regularly train your dog. Make it your goal to train twice daily -- once in the morning, and once in the late afternoon or evening. Soon, your dog will come to expect and enjoy these regular sessions together.

4. You aren't using reinforcement. Dogs are not purely verbal learners. To reinforce verbal commands, non-verbal inducements such as treats will give you a very handy tool to aid in the dogs' training.Treats, the primary reinforcement in training, are essential. Another handy tool is a clicker to help reinforce the conditioning process. The clicker provides an immediate feedback cue that signals to your dog that he or she has done something right at a specific moment in time.

5. Another way to instill proper behaviors is to repeat the process over and over and over. If treats are the primary reinforcement in training your dog, then repetition is a close second. Dogs don't learn obedience the first time you show them or the second and probably not the third. In order to learn, the dog must experience repeated lessons. It may be boring for you to go over the same things over again but in order for your dog to be successfully trained, that repetition will pay off.

Finally, training takes time -- a lot of it. It can seem like an endurance test and it can be tiring but don't give up. Don't give up. You're going to see success. It may just take a while. Even though your dog training may not seem to be going well at the moment but after a few months, you'll see progress along your journey. The destination is worth it.