3. Bring treat up over dogs head. He will smell food and follow it with his nose. This action will cause him to sit (or backup, but obviously we are hoping for sitting action).

4. The key to training is to present reward at exact moment dog sits, but you must also give command at that moment as well so that he associates command with action. So as dog sits, say “sit” and then immediately give him treat.

5. Give dog praise – show joy in your voice and he will really respond.

6. Repeat three to five times at each session but no more than that. Training should be fun and not a boring chore so don’t overdo it in one sitting. You may have several sessions throughout day.

When you spend time to train your dog, you get much more than just a dog that does some tricks. He loves to do things with you. He learns to listen when you say his name. He gets used to being with you and doing things on your initiative. Through good training your position as leader is strengthened. You should plan to spend a couple of minutes every day on practicing his “tricks”. This type of repetitive reinforcement will help him to remember and also create bond between you.

3. Give your dog praise. Show him you are really happy with your voice and body language.

4. At first dog will get right back up, but as time goes on you can lengthen time dog stays in down position by waiting to give him praise.

5. Repeat three to five times at each session. Repetition is important but you don’t want to do too much at one time. If you really want to drill it in, you can have several sessions spaced out throughout day.

There’s more rewards than meets eye with training your dog. For one dog gets used to listening to his name. He also will get used to doing things on your command. All in all, training strengthens your positions – you as leader and helps dog feel secure. Spend a couple of minutes each day training your dog. This will help cement your friendship.