Many people still think the way to train a dog or change their behavior is to smack them on the nose and yell no. This is simply not the case.

It’s widely accepted among the vast majority of dog training experts that the most effective and humane way to train your dog is through a process called: Positive Reinforcement Training.

This method is in direct contrast to some of the now-outdated but once-popular techniques for dog training, some of which were frankly abhorrent: physical pain and intimidation (such as hanging an aggressive dog up by her collar), or inhumane methods of aversion therapy (such as shock collars for barking).

Positive reinforcement works with your dog. Her natural instinct is to please you – the theory of positive reinforcement recognizes that lessons are more meaningful for dogs, and tend to "stick" more, when a dog is able to figure out what you’re asking under her own steam (as opposed to, say, learning "down" by being forced repeatedly into a prone position, while the word "down" is repeated at intervals).


Before you begin training or altering your dogs behavior, you must establish yourself as the boss. I will be writing another article here shortly on how to do this properly.