Let me tell you about my dog Charlie. He's the sweetest, most stubborn dog I've ever met. When I first got him, I thought training would be easy. I mean, how hard can it be, right? Wrong. So very wrong.
I tried everything. I watched YouTube videos, read books, even asked my neighbor who has a perfectly behaved golden retriever. Nothing worked. Charlie would look at me when I said "sit," tilt his head like he was considering it, and then just... walk away. It was infuriating.
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Then I learned about something called positive reinforcement. I know, it sounds fancy and technical, but it's actually pretty simple. The idea is to reward your dog when they do something right, instead of punishing them when they do something wrong. It's like giving them a high-five instead of a lecture.
Here's the thing I was doing wrong: I was trying to give Charlie treats AFTER he did what I wanted. But by the time I got the treat out of my pocket, he'd already moved on to something else. He had no idea why he was getting a treat. I was basically rewarding him for being a dog, which he's already pretty good at.
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The game-changer was having treats ready BEFORE I asked him to do something. I'd hold a treat in my hand, say "sit," and the moment his butt touched the ground, I'd give it to him. Not two seconds later. Not after I found the treat in my pocket. Right away. Like, immediately.
At first, Charlie was confused. He'd sit, get a treat, stand up, and look at me like "Wait, what just happened?" But after a few tries, he started to get it. The lightbulb moment was when he sat down on his own, looked at me, and then looked at my hand. He was connecting the dots!
Now, here's something I learned the hard way: not all dogs are motivated by food. Charlie is, thank goodness, but I know some dogs who couldn't care less about treats. For those dogs, you might need to use praise, or playtime, or their favorite toy. The key is finding what makes YOUR dog excited.
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Another thing I learned: the treats need to be small. Like, really small. I was giving Charlie these big treats at first, and he'd take forever to eat them. By the time he was done, he'd forgotten what he did to earn it. Now I use tiny pieces, about the size of a pea. He can eat them in one bite, and we can move on to the next thing.
One mistake I made early on was only using treats. I'd give him a treat, but I wouldn't say anything. The vet told me I should praise him BEFORE giving the treat, so he learns to associate the praise with the reward. That way, eventually, he'll work for praise alone. I'm not there yet, but we're working on it.
The best part? This method actually works for everything. I used it to teach Charlie to come when called, to stay, even to stop jumping on people. The key is timing – you have to reward them the instant they do what you want. Not a second later.
Now, Charlie isn't perfect. He still has his moments. But he's come so far, and I'm so proud of him. And honestly, I'm proud of myself too. Training a dog is hard work, and it takes patience. A lot of patience. But seeing that moment when they finally understand what you're asking? That's worth every frustrating day.
If you're struggling with training your dog, try the treat method. Have treats ready, reward immediately, and be patient. It might take time, but it works. And trust me, if I can train Charlie, you can train your dog too.
Source: This article is based on information from DogTime