Behavioral Training Techniques for Dogs

Dogs are social animals that know instinctively how to function within a group setting. Owners can therefore use the dog's natural behavior to train it without punishment or stress. Unfortunately, much conflicting advice abounds regarding dog training techniques, but by understanding dog behavior and beginning training when your pet is young, almost anyone can be successful. It is important to understand that each dog is an individual, though, and that select training techniques might have to be modified to take the animal's particular temperament into account.

  1. Inhibiting Biting

    • Under natural conditions, wolves and wild dog species, such as dingoes and dholes, learn to inhibit biting through socializing with pack members. It is natural for a dog to bite in defense, but within the social structure of a pack, puppies learn their place in the pecking order and how to inhibit the biting instinct. Puppies that are allowed to play with or grow up alongside their siblings learn to curb their biting instinct without much input from their owners. By establishing themselves as the alpha animals in the household, owners can build on the initial learning process that the puppy has experienced during play.

    Toilet Training

    • Dogs are instinctively clean animals, and it is natural for them not to soil their sleeping areas. Toilet training begins by establishing the puppy's sleeping area or bed in a single room. The puppy's bed is then moved from room to room, so that the puppy comes to understand that the entire house is out of bounds as a toilet. The puppy must receive regular meals at this point and must always be taken outdoors after it has eaten. Once outdoors, the puppy is placed in whatever area the owner has chosen as the designated toilet and, through repetition, the young dog will soon come to accept and use the toilet area.

    Obedience Training

    • Dogs that live with people need to be well-mannered and socially acceptable. Obedience training should therefore encompass more than just sitting and walking to heel. Good timing is a behavior technique that connects actions, such as praise, to the event. Owners should be able to predict the actions of their dog and correct the animal verbally before it carries out its intended action. Praising the dog immediately after it responds to the verbal correction is equally important.

    Socializing with People

    • Dogs do not possess language skills, which makes ongoing and complicated communication with them difficult. Dogs, however, are excellent at reading body language, and the more time an owner and his immediate family spend with the dog, the better. Owners can rely on the dog's natural instincts and behavior to understand when people are pleased or not with certain actions of the dog.