#1 Always work with a loose leash.
There is an old saying:"Train don't restrain." Restraining the dog teaches
him nothing and often leads to more problems in the long run. Most dogs have a medium to strong opposition reflex. Restraining them away from something–like a distraction–usually causes them to pull even harder towards the desired object. In the dog's mind,
he has committed to reaching his goal and restraining him does not change the behavior. It's better to correct and demand that
he practice self-control. Remember, too, that corrections do not work from a tight leash. To correct effectively, you must start and end with a loose leash.
#2 Give one command only.
This one applies only after the dog knows and understands the command. Once he does know a command, repeating it takes away his responsibility to remember what he is supposed to be doing and to stay focused. He doesn't have to remember because he know you will tell him again.
Take the "stay" command for example. How many of us take it back to position with another command to "stay?" All you have done is to start the command over, never actually fixing the one that was broken. The dog soon learns that if he breaks a stay, he gets to just start over. The same goes for the implied stay in the positional commands. It's better to correct for the break and put the dog back without another repetition of the command. This way, he learns that he must stay until released to avoid the consequence of the correction. Always give the command, and then either reward for compliance or correct for non-compliance immediately–without giving the dog another chance by telling him again.
#3 Make your first correction count.
When you issue a correction, the first correction should be enough to fix the problem. We do not want to "nag" our dogs with lots of ineffective corrections. Giving ineffective corrections only toughens your dog to the point where you must correct harder and harder. The goal with using correction is to eliminate a behavior and therefore eliminate the need for correction. To do that, you must give a correction that is at the right level for your dog.
Be aware, the level of correction needed can change depending on the circumstance. For example, if you rated the strength of your correction on a scale of 1 to 10, in a quiet room your dog might need only a level 1 to change his behavior. Now bring 5 dogs running around playing into that same room. Your dog becomes much more aroused and now needs a level 6 correction to get her attention. She doesn't perceive the correction as a level 6, she perceives it as you correcting her just as before. It was enough to change her behavior. If you issue a correction and it does not change the behavior, immediately issue another correction, escalating in strength to the proper level for that individual dog. Do not give the same ineffective correction twice.
#4 Always use appropriate praise.
You must praise your dog at the level that is right for him at any given moment in your training session. Too much hands-on praise may cause a wiggly dog to break command. Or say you are working a dog that is easily over-stimulated and you give lots of happy, effusive verbal praise. Again, the dog will probably break command. Now you must correct the dog for the break–even though you probably caused it! Conversely, if the dog is tired, has shut down, or perhaps you just gave a correction that was too much for the dog, and the dog is reluctant to work, goes into avoidance, you will need to give much more praise to bring the dog back into a receptive mental state and be happy working again.
#5 Never give a command you cannot enforce.
If you give a command, you are obligated to enforce it. If you are unwilling or unable to enforce it, don't give the command. A good example of this is someone stopping to talk to a friend. You tell the dog to sit and continue on with your conversation. Pretty soon, the dog gets up but you are so involved in your conversation that you don't notice. The dog has just learned that she can blow off the sit command when greeting friends.
Another example might be the "here" command. The dog is out running around the backyard and you go to call him in. You have no way to enforce your "here" command because the dog is off leash and far away from you. This is a good way to teach the dog that he doesn't have to come when called.
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