I’ve got a new article at “Motivate Your Dog“, titled “The Five Most Critical Skills to Teach Your Dog”. Here’s a sample:
1) Sit means “please.” There is an accurate saying in dog training – you get what you reinforce. When a professional trainer shows up at your house, we know right away what you have been reinforcing and very often we find your dog is really good at jumping on people to greet them. Reward an offered (as opposed to you telling the dog) sit over and over again until the dog understands that “sit” is the magic skill that gets her treats, praise, opens doors, puts the leash on her for a walk and everything else. If a dog is sitting, it can’t be jumping up to say hello, it can’t be dragging you down the street and it can’t be counter surfing. Reinforce the behavior you want from your dog.
Check out the site for more of the article!