going to teach your dog that you only mean what you say some of the time.

This will lead to confusion on your dog’s part and frustration on yours. It’s

much easier to only issue commands that you will enforce.

24.Recognize and respect your dog’s needs. Just like people, you will find

that when a dog’s basic needs are not being met he will misbehave more

often. Be sure that you are providing quality food, plenty of water,

constructive socialization with people and other pets, adequate shelter and

safety and lots of exercise. When these needs are met, teaching your dog

the basics will be much easier.

25.Practice, practice, practice. Practice makes perfect, isn’t that what your

mom always said? Well, dog training is no exception! If you’re going to work

on training your dog, make sure that you practice consistently for several 5-10

minute intervals throughout the day. Focus on practicing one skill at a time

until your dog has mastered it and then move on to something new. Be sure

to revisit already learned tricks and behaviors regularly though so they are not

forgotten.

26.Expose your dog, slowly over time, to different situations. It is critical to

emphasize to your dog that you expect him to behave consistently regardless

of his surroundings. One of the best ways to do this is to socialize with your

dog. Introduce him to new people and other animals (dogs, cats, etc.) so that

he learns to be social. Take him into unfamiliar surroundings whenever

feasible so that he learns that regardless of where he is you are still there and

in charge. This will allow you to have more effective control, and will alleviate

anxiety caused by unfamiliar people and surroundings that can lead to

misbehavior in the future.

27.Find out what works. Not every child learns the same way, and not every

dog learns the same way. Therefore, you should attempt to use different

training techniques until your find one that you are comfortable with, and that

works with your particular dog. The general rule to remember is that if a

technique isn’t working after a week, you should try something else.

28.Remember that training should not be harsh. Harsh training will make your

dog mean – and afraid. You definitely don’t want either of these situations, so

try to always focus on the positive and to reward good work with treats and

praise. If you punish your dog for a bad behavior, he will stop doing that

behavior temporarily. But, if you replace a bad behavior with a rewarding

behavior there is a higher likelihood that you will end up with a well-behaved

dog.