Just got my dog back from 14 days of focused training at Triple Crown Dog Academy. Here is their ‘big 3’ for dogs. I also think it applies to people, but that’s for later discussion:
1. Timing – a dog has 1.3 seconds to either associate their behavior with a positive or negative outcome. Otherwise whatever you do to reinforce their behavior doesn’t make sense to them.
2. Consistency – be clear: ‘black and white’ in your training. Be 100% consistent so your dog feels safe and trusting within very well defined rules.
3. Motivation – communicate with praise and rewards when your dog is doing good. Communicate with corrections when they make mistakes or break the clearly defined rules. Both praise and correction should be motivational.