Five Principles of Dog Training

1. TIMING

Timing is the first principle in dog obedience training. Timing is the amount of time needed between cause and effect for a dog to connect one with the other. Timing says that any behavior a dog acts out must have a consequence within 1.3 seconds in order for the dog to associate that behavior with that consequence. Positive behaviors must have a positive consequence within 1.3 seconds, while negative behaviors must have a negative consequence within 1.3 seconds. Often pet owners reprimand a dog far after a negative event took place, something experienced trainers call punishment. The dog never has a chance to connect his negative behavior with the consequence, leaving the dog to deal with an angry owner having no idea what has made the owner upset. This leads to submissive posturing by the dog which owners will misconstrue as guilt. This, in turn, leads owners to believe that the dog, “Knew what he did wrong.”