Most Popular Training Videos

Your laughter is a powerful reward for your dog, so be careful to avoid laughing when they misbehave.

Practicing “Come Here” & “Go To” is a great way to increase control for other family members.  After you give the “Go To” command, it’s important to be silent and still, so as not to distract the dog.

With slow dogs you have to walk directly away or they’re sure to start taking shortcuts.  Get them excited and keep them focused.

Leslie and Bebe have clearly spent a lot of time training together, and Bebe clearly loves being close to Leslie.  So much so, in fact, that Leslie doesn’t like to “Stay” when Leslie walks away.  This makes it all the more important to praise successful stays.

As soon as your dog understands hand signals, stop using treats to lure them.  Put the food in your pocket and only bring it out occasionally to reward a particularly good performance.  And always finish on a good note!

Make your food treats tiny, and if your commands aren’t working, try it more emphatically.  Use a stern tone, a hand signal or an exciting lure.  But if you need to use a food treat to lure them at this point, then they shouldn’t receive it as a reward.

With your pup used to following the lure in your hand they’ll be ready to learn to follow hand signals.  Make your signals clear and crisp.

When you first start asking your pup to come from a play session, it probably won’t work, so you’ll need a Plan B

You need to train your dog to slow down as they approach you, especially if you have a big dog.  Eventually, it’s a good idea to train them to sit after their recalls.

With lure-reward training you should never get frustrated.  If you’re pup doesn’t want to train, they don’t get a reward.  If you stop feeding them from a food bowl, they’ll want to train soon enough!

If you want your dog to come whenever you call, you have to practice in distracting environments.  But if they don’t come, and you have to go get them, they don’t deserve a reward.

Luring a down can take a little while, especially from a stand.  Be persistent and it will pay off eventually.

Use the power of your voice to control your dog.  If your dog ignores you, change your tone so they know you mean business.  Set yourself up for success by getting the dog’s attention before it’s released.

Dogs often behave differently with different people.  In a family, it’s very important that all members train with the dog so that everyone has a similar level of control.

Training an inattentive dog takes lots of concentration.  Use energy and short, quick command sequences to keep them interested, and reign them in before you lose their attention.

With two people it’s easy to practice lots of recalls but it takes three people to truly teach the dog “Go to.”  Otherwise they’re just learning to run back and forth.

The best way to improve sits and and recalls is with lots of short training sessions filled with many quick repetitions.  If they get stuck, try luring them from the ground.

Following your dog rewards them for walking away from you.  But if you walk or run away from them they’ll probably come after you, and then you can praise them for following you.

If your dog doesn’t listen to you, there’s only one way to improve: practice.  After a week of practice we can see the dramatic improvement in control.

Positions changes are the foundation of dog training.  Start by luring your dog with a food treat, and pretty soon they will learn to follow the movements of your hand.  Once your dog has learned the hand signal, you can teach them the word.

Training a wriggly puppy to stay is takes some concentration.  The dog must already have a firm understanding of the basic positions, as well as the “Off” command.  Build your stays a little at a time.

The first step of a recall is the hardest, so practice that first step over and over again, with a string of single step recalls.

If you want your dog to be interested in training, you have to be enthusiastic and energetic.  Children are usually very good at this, except when you put them on the spot.

You need to train your dog to slow down as they approach you, especially if you have a big dog.  Eventually, it’s a good idea to train them to sit after their recalls.

When you practice position changes, you want to vary the length of time you have the pup stay in each position, so they begin learning to “Stay.”