Best Ways to Dog Train

If you want to train your dog to respect and obey you, then you need to first establish yourself as the leader of the pack. Dogs are pack animals, and will respond best to you if they consider you to be the leader. You can accomplish this by being firm and consistent with it at all times.

• Use the dog's favorite treat as a reward for completing the requested task, such as sit, stay, down or shake. Be sure that you use very small pieces so that you are not overfeeding your dog during training. Dogs are very food motivated and will respond well to training that involves a tasty treat.

• Establish your role as the leader of the pack right away when you first get your dog. The dog needs to know who is boss in order to consider you the leader. You should be firm with them and let them know when you are not happy. Use a firm tone and be consistent in your efforts.

• Use hand signals when training your dog so that they will learn both the word and hand signal that represent the command that you are teaching them. This will allow you to communicate with your dog without speaking. Be sure to use a hand signal with the verbal command every time so that the dog is able to make the connection between the word, hand signal and action.

• Never use physical forms of punishments such as hitting your dog for bad behavior. This will only cause your dog to fear you, which will be counterproductive in your training efforts. Speak to them in a stern tone to let them know who is boss.