There is a lot to unpack and train in this book: both for the dog and for the handler. Once you’ve mastered the skills in this book, you’ll have the foundation you need to move on towards training your dog to be a Canine Good Citizen, a therapy dog, a service dog, or a competitive obedience dog. We hope to have a sequel out to this book that will take you on towards more advanced work. Whatever venue you pursue, make sure to remember the following:
- Practice makes perfect.
- Move forward at a pace that keeps the dog successful.
- Don’t let your training get stagnant.
- If your dog does what many would consider a refusal, consider why he’s not complying. More than likely, your dog is either confused, lacks necessary skills to perform the behavior, or possibly lacks sufficient motivation.
- Fix confusion with clarity. Simplify the task. Reinforce smaller pieces of the behavior.
- Fix lack of skill with training.
- Fix lack of motivation with a higher reinforcement rate and by making the training game more fun.
- Most importantly, remember that training should be fun! Don’t get so serious with training that fun gets left behind!
