This may sound like an absolute given thing, and rather simple, but it is surprising how many people fail at it when trying to train or retrain their animal.Consistency
Being consistent allows the animal to predict what you want, and reduces confusion as to what is expected of them. Knowing this then means you get a better, more accurate and repeatable outcome to the same command.
This also means keeping commands, hand signals, timing, etc consistent across all members of the family. No point everyone trying to limit begging at the dinner table only to have dad sneaking food off to the dog - are you listening dads? This even means not treating during special meal times such as Christmas.
Sure I am no hardcore trainer, and my pets are not perfect; they sometimes annoy me with their poor behaviour (I probably annoy them with some of my behaviour too!), but consistency is a grand and appropriate goal to set. I would even be bold enough to say that the more consistent you and your family is, the more consistent your pet's behaviour is also.
As much as I would love to think that my dog is the smartest animal in the world and understands every sentence I mutter, he just doesn't, and neither does yours. You need to keep things simple, repetitive and understandable.
Consistency also means setting and sticking to boundaries you set. Boundaries are there to be tested, make sure you are comfortable with the ones you set, and STICK TO IT!
Many of the behaviour problems we see at this hospital are helped considerably with some simple advice, we often find that talking to clients about straight forward things such as being consistent, boundary setting, dominance retraining can make all the difference, yet in the end seemed incredibly simple and obvious.
If you are after a good training tool, tip for the day - investigate clicker training.....
(and what point does the koala have on this blog, none really, just a nice photo out my back window)
Good luck
Steve
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