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Animal Life: Dog Obedience

Positive reinforcemnt is the most effective form of obedience training.
Gianna Stadelmyer/Shutterstock
Positive reinforcemnt is the most effective form of obedience training.

Click here to listen to this week's Animal Life with Ana Zorrilla.

All dogs are born cute. But

mostof them aren’t born obedient. Basic obedience training is easy and important. You don’t want your dog getting a bad reputation.The key element of the most successful obedience training is positive reinforcement,notpunishment. The idea is simple: every time your dog obeys a command during training, he gets a treat. This method is much more effective than yelling or swatting your dog with a newspaper.

Timing is crucial in positive reinforcement training. Give your dog a treat within a few seconds of him performing the desired behavior. If you wait too long, he won’t make the connection between the behavior and the reward. 

While dog treats and kibble work for some dogs, others might respond better to something like cheese or chicken. Every dog is different and every dog learns at different speeds. So be patient! You might not see results immediately, but if you stick with it, obedience trainingwillpay off.  

Copyright 2015 WWNO - New Orleans Public Radio

As a compassionate animal lover, Ana Zorrilla was drawn to the Louisiana SPCA for the opportunity to make an impact in the animal and human community of New Orleans. She joined the team in February 2006, and was selected by the Board of Directors to lead the organization as Chief Executive Officer in November 2007.