What is the Best Way to Train Your Dog?

By Gaining Your Dog’s Cooperation Without
Force or Intimidation

Dogs learn, just as we do, by the consequence of their actions. And just like us, dogs seek pleasure and avoid pain.

However, since dogs are non-verbal creatures, it’s important to find a way to communicate with them in a manner they can understand.

That’s why a rewards-based system is the fastest, most effective way of letting your dog know when they've done something you like and encourage them to do it again.

Positive reinforcement training promotes good behavior with rewards and discourages bad behavior using force-free behavior management techniques.

We will never recommend force, intimidation, or aversive training equipment such as choke chains and e-collars to teach your dog how to behave since harsh treatment can affect your relationship negatively by wearing down the trust between you and your dog.

Positive reinforcement training is always a win-win for dogs and people because it promotes cooperation and provides clear direction for how a dog should behave, preserving the trust necessary to have a good relationship with your dog.

Dogs Learn They Can Earn Rewards for Good Behavior

A rewards-based approach to training builds up your dog's confidence by helping them succeed at making good behavioral choices and giving them clear, consistent, and humane consequences for inappropriate behaviors.

The delivery of a reward can be considered a vehicle of communication between you and your dog - they’ve done a good job! - and the denial of a reward means the opposite.

Using our game-based dog training system, you will learn how to apply consequences to your dog’s behavior to help them distinguish between desirable and undesirable behaviors using games of choice.

Games of choice present dogs with problems to solve during the training process and reinforce a dog’s choice to offer polite behaviors, so that a dog develops good manners and undesirable behaviors fade away naturally.

The result is a dog who has learned they can earn rewards through good behavior so they want to listen and behave.

Positive is NOT Permissive

However, a positive training system should not be mistaken for a permissive one!

To instill good habits from the get-go and prevent undesirable ones from developing, we recommend putting preventative measures in place that include the use of behavior management tools like leashes, pens, and crates, along with actively supervising your dog in situations where you want to train them to be well-behaved.

Freedom is a privilege your dog must EARN through good behavior!

What is Game-Based Dog Training?

Empower Your Dog to Make Good Choices using Games of Choice

At Dog Savvy Los Angeles, we use a choice and rewards-based dog training system called “Learning through Games of Choice” that rewards a dog for making good behavioral choices during the training process.

Also known as “gamed-based dog training,” this system teaches a dog that their choice to offer polite behavior will earn them rewards, promoting the development of good manners throughout their life with you.

Rewards can be anything your dog likes such as treats, toys, attention from their human, access to something your dog values, and even permission to do something.

Games Of Choice:
How to Train a Dog to Make Good Choices

The best part about this system of dog training is that good behavior is achieved by engaging your dog or puppy with fun and interactive training games that provide them with clear consequences, thus helping them to distinguish between appropriate and inappropriate behaviors faster—and with longer-lasting results—than with any other method.

Remarkably, the problem-solving element of these training games is also the reason for their effectiveness because they provide a dog or puppy with the much-needed mental stimulation they crave, helping them to feel happy and fulfilled.

To learn more about our game-based system of dog training, please click the button below!

Teach Your Dog Good Manners

How to Train Your Dog to Be Polite

Manners training involves conditioning your dog to perform a polite behavior they think of on their own.

We call these “default” behaviors, which means it is something they do automatically. It is not a behavior preceded by a command or cue, although it is important to teach your dog to recognize cues.

While it may take some dogs longer to learn a default behavior, they will retain this information better because they thought of it themselves instead of just being told to do something. They really don’t have to think creatively or problem solve if they are always being commanded, they just learn to be compliant (sometimes).

Solid default behaviors provide dogs with an effective and polite way to ask for something they want or need, and socially-acceptable ways to behave if they are unsure of what to do in a situation. Teaching your dog a default behavior produces a dog who is polite and more manageable in day-to-day situations.

This is just as important as a dog knowing to come when called AND has the bonus of building confidence in your dog because they are continually being reinforced for their good choices!

How Does Manners Training Differ from Dog Obedience Training?

Some Obedience Training Employs Force and Intimidation

Obedience is defined as “the state or quality of being obedient.” For some dog trainers, obedience training consists of teaching a dog to obey commands using intimidation, force, physical punishment, and aversive equipment like choke chains, prong collars, or e-collars.

These dog trainers often call themselves “balance trainers” and adopt the viewpoint that a dog must be dominated and controlled to elicit good behavior; however, considering the advancements being made in dog training, this has proven to be an outdated approach to training dogs that often causes more harm than good.

Dog Training Terminology: Command Vs. Cue

In our approach, we encourage you to view your dog as a family member, not an automaton that does your bidding as the term "obedience" often implies.

That’s why all behaviors that you ask of your dog are considered prompts, or "cues" (rather than commands), and every cue fulfills a specific purpose in your life with your dog (such as coming when called or going to a spot when the doorbell rings).

Using our choice- and rewards-based dog training methodology, a dog learns to look forward to hearing a cue because it expects something fun or good is about to happen (rather than the opposite), which makes it more likely your dog will listen and respond favorably to your requests when asked.

How to Choose A Dog Training Method

How Do You Want to Treat Your Best Friend?

What system you choose to train your dog boils down to is what kind of relationship you want to develop with your dog. So the question you have to ask yourself is:

Do you want to employ a "do it, or else!" methodology that often leads to lackluster results and a dog that is mistrusting or even afraid of their human guardian?

Or would you like to have fun with your dog, and instill trust in them that you will treat them fairly, while training them to be a good companion?

Since a dog is meant to be your best friend—the kind of friend who should be treated with fairness, respect, and love —we believe there is only one choice to make when choosing how to train a dog and that will always be a positive training method.

At Dog Savvy Los Angeles, we are committed to promoting a healthy relationship between you and your dog. We look forward to sharing the transformation benefits of our positive, game-based, dog and puppy training system with you and becoming your trusted dog trainers in Los Angeles!