My neighbor couldn't believe it. I'd just brought this beautiful 9 month-old German Shepherd dog home, only two weeks ago, and already she was responding reliably to off-leash commands. (Or more specifically, coming immediately when I call and responding instantaneously to the word, "No!" from a distance...without yelling or screaming).
"How is it possible, Adam? We've had our dog for over three years, and he never listens to us! You've had your dog for less than two weeks and she's already responding to your commands, off-leash... and you only whisper your commands, once? I'm jealous."
"Look," I replied, "It's all in the book."
[To read more about this book I referred to, please see: http://www.dogproblems.com/newvideos.htm ]
"Okay, okay... I need to go back and read the book," he responded. "But at least give me a tip as to how you got such fast results with this dog?"
I replied, "Well, it's definitely easier if you know what you're doing, from Day 1. I never gave this dog an opportunity with me where she could learn that she can run away, or not respond to commands... without there being a negative association with disobedience. And that's the secret. Once you teach the dog to understand what commands mean, the next big step is to let the dog choose to do correct or incorrect behavior... BUT: Be sure that you're always in a position to reinforce the desired outcome."
"She learned quickly that it was okay if she wanted to try to run off, like she did with her previous owner, but if I called her then every time, she's going to have the opportunity to make a choice: Do it my way and get lots of love and praise. Or do it any other way and get a correction, and then the chance to make the choice again," I instructed.
"You need to let the dog know that every time she does a behavior, she's going to get the exact same outcome. And that 'outcome' is going to have a meaningful reaction, be it positive or negative," I explained. "Once you've done this, then the dog very quickly learns that it's best to respond to ALL COMMANDS quickly because she's going to avoid a negative association and obtain a positive association, that much quicker."
In this sense, dogs are a lot like humans: We go through life trying to minimize negative experiences and maximize positive experiences. If your dog understands how to do this... because you've used my "Three Keys To Behavior Modification" (also in the book, on page 21)... then you will be astounded as to how lightening fast you will achieve results with your dog.
