Training Methods for Dog Owners

There is a continuum of training methods for dog owners. At one end, the owners are trained to give a dog/puppy treats (food rewards) for every 'good doggie' scenario. At the other end, the owners are trained to correct the behavior of a dog/puppy by a more or less forceful repositioning of the said dog/puppy. In between, there is the 'lavish praise' reinforcement. The owner is trained to say 'Good Doggie', pat the dog on the head and continue. There is no real physical position adjustment, nor any treats doled out.

Ok - that is a simplification. The methods that I will reference overlap. Some methods use forceful repositioning along with praise or treats along with praise.

Lavish praise and praise are different things.

Lavish praise is something like 'Oh good doggie. You are the best. Good doggie. Good boy'. Praise is a pat on the head and 'Good dog'. Lavish praise tends to put a dog into a play state. Praise thanks a dog for doing what you want, but still maintains that 'we are still training here' state.

The big question is 'How do YOU want to be trained to train your dog?'

You can choose from the following:

• I want to just walk around with the dog on a retractable leash and he can do what ever he wants.
• I want to give puppy/dog a treat every time he does something right.
• I want to pat puppy/dog and lavishly praise him every time he does something right.
• I want puppy/dog to watch me and respond to my verbal or non-verbal commands.

As I mentioned before, this is a generalization and the methods overlap. So it may pay to read the all the sections to see the differences and similarities.