Take It Easy

So often I see people trying to teach their pets certain things that require some restraint in the excitement department. Your dog will feed off of your energy and each dog will respond differently. In addition, using a command over and over again without success will result in that command becoming a "dead" word. A dead word is one that begs to be changed and the desired behavior taught fresh...all over. You have surely seen people yelling over and over again for their dog to "come" and they have done it for years. Consider the following for a couple of starters:

If your dog gets excited easily then it is even more important to stay calm and work slowly on basic obedience commands. Be patient and try not to over use the command. Teaching a puppy to sit or lay or stay can sometimes be frustrating until you slow down. When your dog is looking at you, use the command and/or gesture once and wait for the reaction you desire. Wait 10-30 seconds before repeating it. However, look for the spit second to use it again. For instance when teaching sit, use the command and in that spit second when you see the butt going down, say "sit" again. Immediately reward.

You can teach a behavior by choosing a new command even if the dog is on in years and never did well with the old command. Just slow down, think it through and teach a new word for the same wanted behavior. Get rid of "dead" words.