A native of Louisiana, SRQ Daily Columnist Gregg Flowers owns Dog's Best Friend Dog Training Services here in Sarasota, where he "teaches dogs and trains people." Gregg became fascinated by our relationship with dogs as a boy in the '60s, and by 1985 had

It's not the threat of "being in trouble" that will motivate Fluffy, and this is why using an "I mean business" tone of voice when you call her to "come" is likely to be counterproductive. Your message should be: "You're not in trouble, I just want you to do this thing. And if you do it, there will be a reward." Which of course, there always should be. Not necessarily a treat. It might just be a pat on the head or verbal praise. So using that "do this or else" tone is a weak training protocol. What motivates her is the promise of being rewarded on some level every time she complies with what you want. It's simply a conditioned response. Dogs that search for drugs or accelerants in a fire investigation after a house burns down don't do it because their handler used a mean "you better do this" tone. They do it because they're going to get to play with their favorite ball... or eat!

If you tell your dog to sit and he doesn't do it, the next word out of your mouth should be "no!", obviously using a stern tone. [Note: repeating cues over and over and over teaches Fluffy she doesn't have to do it the first time]  But your tone when you give her the sit cue should be upbeat and positive. This actually encourages her to complete the task so you can reward her. And rewarding her is how you condition her to repeat the task. 

Another huge mistake most of us make is to use our dogs' name by itself, AS a correction, i.e.: "Fluffy! Fluffy! FLUFFY!!". Her name is not a correction! It's her name. And used properly, is the best tool for getting her attention. More on this next time.

A native of Louisiana, SRQ Daily Columnist Gregg Flowers owns Dog's Best Friend Dog Training Services here in Sarasota, where he "teaches dogs and trains people." Gregg became fascinated by our relationship with dogs as a boy in the '60s, and by 1985 had

Dog's Best Friend