Be Positive

Positive Reinforcement

Positive reinforcement training means reinforcing your dog’s behavior by rewarding your dog (with praise, treats, attention, or a favorite toy) immediately after she does something you want her to do. Dogs are creatures of opportunity – they do what works for them. Your dog is likely to repeat behaviors that have worked to yield nice rewards, and less likely to repeat behaviors that have been ignored/not worked for them in the past. Be sure that the rewards come from YOU, for the things you want your new dog to do!

The Problem With Punishment

The main problem with punishment is that while it may teach your dog what you don’t want her to do, it doesn’t teach your dog what you do want her to do. Punishment (especially physical punishment like swatting with a newspaper or flicking a dog’s nose) will scare your new dog. In general, your dog just isn’t capable of linking the punishment to the behavior you don’t like.

Training

Structured training classes are a great way to bond with your new dog, teach her some basic obedience, and learn how to communicate effectively with your new family member. The entire family is welcome toshould attend and participate! Because you and your new dog can both benefit greatly from obedience classes, we highly recommend (and in some cases, require!) signing up for classes right away. 

Practicing Good Leadership

Fetch believes that leadership is about teaching your dog to be a well-mannered member of the family. To your new dog, whoever controls the resources is a leader. Teaching your dog to “sit”, “watch”, or some other small behavior before you give her something good (put her food bowl down, release her from her crate, play a game of fetch, put her leash on for a walk) will help teach her to behave better, trust you, and earn her rewards.

This simple program (sometimes called “Nothing in Life is Free” or “No Such Thing as a Free Lunch”) will help reinforce the bond between you and your new dog, and give her opportunities to practice important behaviors in different situations. It also has added benefits for shy or anxious dogs, who will build confidence by learning a method of “communication” they can use to help control what happens to them. For pushy dogs who always seem to be desperate for attention, it allows you to use that attention as an opportunity to get them to calm down and wait for attention.

Leadership, Not “Dominance”

A lot of attention has been given to “dominance theory” - an outdated and disproved theory based on studies of wolf packs in captivity. Wolf pack hierarchy is not relevant to domestic dogs and their relationships with humans. Behavior issues are usually the result of poor training and management, and not the result of a dog trying to assert dominance. Techniques used to “assert dominance” over dogs (such as pinning dogs to the ground, neck pinching, “alpha rolling,” “hissing,” or using physical force to push a dog to do something they are unwilling or afraid to do) will only cause dogs to become anxious and fearful of their owner.

By actively reinforcing good behavior and providing consistent, positive leadership, you will begin to develop a healthy, trusting relationship with your new dog.