If you are reading this article, you are either living with,

or thinking of living with, an unruly dog or puppy.

You can't properly live with a dog unless you give it some

basic training. An untrained dog is a recipe for disaster.

And you can't blame the dog for its bad behavior! If you

come home, and your dog about knocks you over in its

exuberance to greet you, that's nobody's fault but your

own. If you haven't taught him to sit and stay, too bad

for you!

Lucky for you, dogs are not that difficult to train. So with

a few basic lessons from you, your dog should be listening to

you in no time!

Before you can get into teaching your dog the five basic

obedience commands such as sit, stay, heel, down and come,

you need to show your dog what actions are acceptable, and

what actions are not.

You achieve this by constantly reinforcing good behavior by

praise and correcting bad behavior in a mild and nonviolent

way.

For example, if after throwing a tennis ball, your dog happens

to return it to you without you having to chase him around and

prying it from his mouth, this is good behavior, and should be

rewarded accordingly.

Most dogs need nothing more than a simple "Good Dog!" offered

in your most supportive, warm voice. Others might appreciate a

pat on the head, or maybe a little treat. But start off with n

ice, simple vocal praise.

However, if you throw the tennis ball, and your dog thinks

it's funny to watch your chase him around the yard trying

to retrieve the ball from him, a simple "No!" in a loud,

firm tone will work. Don't sound angry, panicky, or annoyed,

this will only baffle the dog.

When your dog finally drops the tennis ball at your feet,

praise him to let him know you approve of this behavior.

Quickly, your dog will learn he will be corrected for

doing something wrong, and praised for doing something

right.

So in short, correct when wrong, praise when right.

If your dog does something wrong, like getting in the trash

while you are at work and stringing garbage all though your

kitchen, you can't correct him AFTER THE FACT! You can only

correct a dog if you catch him in the act of doing wrong. A

dog will forget the "bad" event just a few minutes after the

event has happened. So scolding him at 5:30 p.m. for something

he did at 8:30 a.m. will do no good (if the trash thing has

ever happened to you, I suggest putting your trash inside

cabinets, under sinks, and out of site!). Don't hold a grudge

against your dog, it's destructive.

Don't ever hit, or threaten to hit your dog. This means with

your hand, a stick, a rolled up newspaper, or anything else.

This will only result in a dog who is afraid of all human

hands.

So what have we learned again? If your dog does something

right, praise him. If he does something wrong, and you

catch him in the act, correct him and then praise him when

he stops the bad behavior.

If you are looking for more information on dog training, go

to our labrador dog article directory. The site is dedicated

to Labrador Retrievers, but can be utilized for any dog breed.