How to train your dog; start with goals.

Goals:
A very important first step in dog training is to establish your own personal goals for you and your dog. What do you want the end result to be in this training? Because successful dog training is based on consistency, it is very important that you figure out your own personal goals and stick to them. I use the example of; do you let your dog on the couch or not? If deep inside you don’t really care if they are on the couch then you are more likely to allow them on the couch in the future. So, don’t even bother to “train” them to stay off the couch because it isn’t something that is so important to you that you would be consistent with it. Instead, put your energy into the things that are very important to you and you would be consistent about.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Your ideas
• A family meeting
• A family contract

1. Be Consistent
   Pick your personal goals and match them to your other household members who also live with your dog, because consistency must be within the household as well. Also, look deep inside yourself and decide if you will be able to be consistent to match that goal. For example, when you are trying to train your dog not to jump on you, you need to be not allowing the dog to jump on you ever. So if one day you feel tired and you don’t feel like training your dog in that moment and you allow them to jump on you then you will have been inconsistent. Why does that matter? Basically you just taught your dog to also be inconsistent. So all the training you did do to stop the jumping has now been discredited in your dogs mind.
   
   Have a household meeting to discuss what you want from your dog. And, when you have made the decisions make sure that everyone agrees to follow the same rules.

2. Here is a list of questions to ask yourself to help establish your own individual goals:
   
   1. What is your idea of the perfect dog?
   2. What would you want your dog to be like?
   3. What behaviors would you like to change in your dog?
   4. Are there things your dog does that frustrate you and you’d like to change?
   5. Do your household members have things they would like to change about your dog?
   6. Do you want off-leash control of your dog?
   7. Or are you happy to just have a dog that doesn’t pull on walks while on leash?
   8. What are your highest and lowest expectations of your dog?

3. The list can go on and on but these questions can get you thinking in the right direction. You can reach your goals with your dog if you are first clear about what those goals are.
   
   To summarize, pick your personal goals for what you want from your dog and stick to them.

4. 

   Julie Lokhandwala is founder of webDogTrainer, LLC. and has created the interactive Online Dog Training Guide and Consultation www.webdogtrainer.com
   
   You can ask Julie any dog training question!
   
   "Julie had an immediately calming effect on us as dog owners. She can explain the canine perspective and how we as humans can interact with our dog in a positive way, even when disciplining. Julie was super patient with all of our questions and even fielded our email questions after training ended," said Sina and Ed of Fremont, California.

Tips & Warnings

• The more consistent you are, the more consistent your dog will be.

Resources

• webDogTrainer