Consistency is the Key to Dog Training

The most important things in dog obedience training are being consistent, keeping dog’s attention and making training fun for your dog. Being consistent means doing the same things and enforcing the same rules all the time. In dogs world consistency is a sign of a leader. You will make your training easier and much more effective by being a leader who the dog respects and follows. While this may seem like a simple concept, in real life it can be a bit more challenging.

For example, let’s assume your dog used to be permitted to go on the sofa whenever he wants and now you no longer want him to go on there. The way to accomplish this is by consistently getting him off the sofa. This needs to be done not most of the time or some of the time, but every single solitary time he gets on the sofa.

Ensure that every member of your family has the same rules and boundaries for your dog so that he is not receiving mixed messages. It is unfair on your dog if different family members have different rules. In fact it is your responsibility as a dog owner to ensure that this does not occur. A dog that knows the rules, and has consistency from you and your family will learn a lot quicker will be less inclined to indulge in undesirable behaviour and will be a lot more content and happier.

Being consistent holds true for every behavior you work on with your dog, whether it’s jumping, digging, barking, chewing or any other issue. Consistency is also the reason why most dogs will never do “the behavior” with their trainer after the first or second lesson. Why? Because their entire relationship with us has always been 100% consistent. Every time they jump on us they get corrected.

Being consistent also means using the same "cue" for every behavior you want your dog to do or learn. Use only "sit" when you want his butt on the ground and make sure that every one in the house uses the same cues for the same behaviors. This holds true for hand signals as well.

Your dog does not know why you want him to sit, or stay or go down. He has no idea what the word sit means, it is just a sound coming from your mouth that he hears whenever you want him to complete a certain action. Due to this we have to be consistent with our own actions so that the dog is able understand what we want of him or her, a lot sooner and with minimal confusion.

Being consistent in corrections is even more important then using one cue for a behavior. Don't use "down" for both getting off the couch and "lay down". A dog does not think the way we do and using the same cue for two entirely different actions will only confuse the dog and he won't do either action. Use "off" for the furniture and "down" for lay down. Without consistency, your dog will be confused and over time lose respect for your commands. If you fail to follow through on your expectations, the dog will determine when it suits him to respond.

To make things really simple, every correction can be summed up with just a sounds like "psssst" or "ngnaaah". Make that sound the universal "NO" for your dog. When he jumps up on the couch, make the sound and point to the floor. When he growls at Junior for pulling his ears, make the sound and stare hard at the dog until he backs away. This makes it easier not only for you as you only have one thing to remember for all corrections, it makes it easier for the dog to learn what is and is not allowed.