Ask Lemmy

• Train your dog with a wait command before going through doors, big dogs that try to barge their way past you out of excitement to get out the door are sort of cute but also incredibly annoying it can honestly hurt someone who is frail.

• If it is a young dog you trust and you are raising them, touch their paws lots. Pick their paws up and shake em like a hand, don’t be rough but just handle their paws so they become comfortable with humans handling them as dogs can be really nervous about this and it makes it extremely hard to inspect your dogs paws for a cut that is making them limp or something.

• similarly if you are raising a dog and it is too small to hurt you, when you feed your dog hang out next to their dish, put your face near theirs (ONLY with a dog you trust), give them pets, make your dog used to the fact that humans might come near their food but that humans won’t take away their food so they don’t need to be defensive.

• the more dog time you give your dog (where you do dog stuff with your dog) the more human time your dog will give you (where you both do human stuff and behave according to human norms). Going on walks, throwing the ball, rough housing, all of these things give your dog the mental stimulation they need to relax and behave

• a good dog park where your dog can socialize with lots of different dogs and learn their doggy language is not only a fantastic way to get your dog exercise it gives your dog the opportunity to practice interacting with other dogs.

• periodically (gently) surprise your dog by nabbing their tail and giving a tiny tug, or poking them a bit on their rump when they aren’t looking. BE GENTLE and always transition to pets and praise after the initial surprise moment for your dog. If you have a large dog and some kid gets loose and runs up behind it and yanks your dogs tail for no reason and entirely takes your dog off guard, your dog will be used to this kind of bullshit and simply be surprised it is a tiny human annoying them rather than a full grown one. This can be a really dangerous moment if you have a huge dog like a german shepherd, because even if the dog isn't normally aggressive towards kids, if the dog isn't already well used to its owner frequently low leveling annoying it with boops, it might react in fear and self defense. If you extract enjoyment out of mildly annoying your dog for the goofs sometimes, you know tease them in a loving way...., they just aren't going to react in fear and self defense when they are surprised by a human coming out of nowhere and abruptly surprising them.

• if you are raising a dog and you can figure out a way for your dog to meet cats, it can be helpful so that they don’t meet one in a situation you need them to behave and they go “WAIT WHAT IS THAT”. Same thing with human kids and babies.

• going away for the weekend and leaving your dog with a friend or someone else’s care is actually a really good thing for dogs that tend to get super attached to their owners (german shepherds are a classic example) as it stretches their mind a little bit encouraging them not to see their owners as the only thing in the universe, it gives them experience trying to relax without needing their One Human.

• get a collar that helps with walking better than a normal collar that just chokes out dogs when they pull, if you get the right collar/harness it will feel like you are walking an entirely different dog

• big dogs can absolutely learn how to “be mouthy” while also being incredibly gentle even though they have a mouth full of knives that can crunch through bone. Remember, dogs will carry puppies by their scruff. Dogs like humans have to learn the language of play, and they have to learn when they are being too rough with their mouth when they play with you. Many people train their big dogs to NEVER be mouthy which is understandable but if you know what you are doing your dog can absolutely learn how to play wrestle with you on the ground with their big scary mouth “chomping” (extremely gently) on your arm and both of you going at it having fun and being careful not to hurt each other. A dog can also be easily trained to get the signal for “ok playtime is over now, let’s wind down this energy” or “this is not the correct social situation to go nuts and want to play”. I tend to use the loose command "gentle" with my dogs, and I say it with a calming intonation. I have found practicing playing with a dog and then giving the command/signal that playtime is over is extremely effective over time at getting dogs to learn to become aware when they can be crazy tornadoes of chaos and when they need to chill the fuck out. If you do this right, your dog won't ever play too rough with anybody because they aren't going to be getting the right body language signals from those people that now is supposed to be playtime and they are invited to play,

• all dogs love it when you scratch just above their tail on their rump, it is like a cheat code for making a dog stop worrying about who you are as a stranger

• have friends over to normalize humans coming in your house, if you don’t your dog can easily fall into the habit of barking like a maniac every time friends come over and it can be scary and disorienting for guests

• the way you keep your dog from barking way too much (and jumping up on people) is literally just making the commitment to be more patient than your dog in making sure to always give feedback to your dog when they do those things (whatever your training style is).

• take your dog for dumb trips in the car to the store and back sometimes, definitely try to make it fun for them (and definitely don’t leave them in your car in the sun when it is hot for really any amount of time) but your dog will likely enjoy the stimulation of all the sights even if it is just a boring car trip and assuming you don’t have to go in wherever you are going for too long they will see it as a fun adventure. This helps train your dog to be chill about car rights and not loose their damn mind every time you are actually going on an adventure with them.

• if you have a big dog it is worth getting them used to being picked up in a bear hug occasionally as this can make dogs really nervous if they aren’t used to it and you don’t want to try to make them used to it in an emergency where they can’t walk or you need to lift them onto something. Make sure to support their rib cage (and back legs if possible) when you lift.

• Dogs are like people in that most of them want a job, they want something they can do for the pack that they are good at. Understand dog tricks from this perspective, you are giving your dog a job that they can do that gets them praise from you and other people and stimulates their brain.

Positive reinforcement of the behaviour you want to see is way way better than punishing behaviour you don't like. If you consistently redirect bad behaviours, and reward good ones, then you don't need to be around for the dog to choose the better behaviour.

Socialisation is the most important thing you'll do with a dog, even if they're an adult you need to get them used to as many things as possible so they can live a calm life.

Learn dog body language, so many people get into issues because they can't tell their dog is stressed, or in pain, This is my favourite guide, but you can also learn for free online.

If you're causing your dog pain then you're not training their minds and setting you both up for failure. Find a different way to get what you want.

Most issues people have with their dog is because they're not getting the correct physical or mental exercise.

Understand the breed you have as it will teach you how to make your dog comfortable.

According to behaviorism research, reward is a much faster path to training than punishment.

Honestly though, just doing some basic reading on the concepts of classical and operant conditioning, as well as the concept called “shaping”, is excellent for training dogs and anything else.

Recall training is so much easier if you get them started early. Once your puppy has had all his or her vaccines and are good to get off the lead at ground level you can get started.

Let them off the lead wherever you're in a safe space and won't meet any hazards like traffic, up to about 6 months old they're still in puppy mode and will never stray far from you. Every time they run back to you just repeat your recall phrase like "[name] come" and when they get to you lots of praise and a tasty treat. In no time at all they'll be bounding straight back to you as soon as you use your recall phrase and all the other dog owners in the park will be saying how well trained they are.

Consistency is honestly the only thing that really matters. You can use any key words/gestures/noise whatever. But stay consistent.

ALL household members MUST do the same commands, same time etc etc etc...

Professional puppy training is really good, especially if you have a nervous dog, as a lot of conventional dog advice doesn't always work perfectly for a nervous dog.

On a similar note, learn and respect your dog's limits. Dogs, like people, come in a huge range of personalities and so there are some things that your dog just will never be comfortable doing, ranging from tolerating children to doing agility and so on.

Oh and avoid elite dog training social media. It seems tempting because they show off all their impressive dogs, but it's full of extremely opinionated, unreasonable, judgemental people that believe their way is the only way, a select few going as far as telling people to basically put down their dogs if their method doesn't work... It's a toxic community, don't subject yourself (or your pup) to that stuff.

A friend and I did a clicker training class with our dogs. Both dogs had come from a shelter and the trainer gave a discount for rescues. We paid about $100 for five lessons. Well worth it!!

One thing I read once and applied to my last dog and my friend has done with his: use as the hand gesture for sit bringing both your hands up to your chest, like kids do when afraid. Dogs tend to respond to visual commands as much as or more than vocal. This way if someone is scared of the dog and makes that scared gesture, the dog will (in my experience in most cases) sit.

And in general, consistency is the most important thing. In the end, teach your dog whatever commands you want with whatever cues you want, but consistency is the key across the board. This includes initially how anyone interacts with your dog during the initial training phases, if possible. This helps reinforce the specific training you're doing and that not just you should be able issue commands

Puppy classes, they teach you how to train your dog with treat positive reinforcement.

Making a big effort on improving their impulse control in general

Dogs learn words. When your puppy pees, say out loud, for example pee-pee and praise the dog. Do this consistently a few times when the dog urinates. After a while they learn what it means, and you can tell them to go by using the command pee-pee. The same with pooping, of course.

This technique applies to all kinds of actions. One of the more useful ones are the directions: when on a walk and you turn to the left, say "left" and "right" when taking a right turn. The direction commands can potentially save the dog's life in case they get off leash in a high traffic area.

I do the same on walks. Other than that, using consistent positive reinforcement and avoiding punishment (ie ignoring Cesar Milan and others like that). And if the dog won’t sit, pull up on the collar instead of down on the butt to guide them. It makes them uncomfortable for a sec but usually they instinctively go to sit.

Be consistent.

beckmans dog training on YouTube. take no shit, teach the dog manners, how to walk.