Once the teaching phase is almost complete and your dog is well into the training phase the dog will have a basic understanding of what’s expected from it when a command is given. Depending on the response, I reward with A,B,C type of merit.
We will take for example the auto sit at the end of a heel.
If your dog instantly does what you expect, eg: Auto sit, then this is an “A”, this requires a big payout of your dogs greatest motivator: food treats, toy or affection. Be careful not to over stimulate.
Then, for example, your dog needs to be told to sit when you come to a halt but does so, this is a “B”, it’s important to acknowledge he has done the right thing, tell him he is a good dog and scratch his ears or throat.
When, (after basic training) it’s necessary to actually physically encourage a dog into position using leash or hand, this is a “C”, I acknowledge the dog being in the required position with “yes” or “good” but don’t offer any other reward.
Or if, for some reason, your dog actually resist your correct application of pressure, this is a “D” and should be followed by a correction
The praise, affection, toy play, or treats we reward our dogs with, are a valuable training tool for rewarding ’wanted’ behaviours, but they also need to be used in conjunction with corrections to stop ‘unwanted’ behaviour. It isn’t possible to extinguish an ‘unwanted’ behaviour without applying a negative consequence associated to that behaviour.
The big pay out comes when our dogs excel, and a correction will follow disobedience, this should be understood by our dogs.
It is important for us to remember the reasons for noncompliance by our dogs come from not understanding the command, not enough motivation or being beyond it’s ability.
