Five Principles of Dog Training

4. DIRECTION

Direction is any hand placement, body movement, verbal signal, body posture, reward placement, etc. that a trainer or owner uses to help clarify the desired behavior to their dog. For example, when teaching a dog to sit, some of the directional components include holding a treat up over the dog’s head, pushing down on the dog’s rear end, lifting up on the dog’s collar, etc. Clear directional dog training dramatically decreases a dog’s learning period as well as dramatically reducing confusion and stress. You should never mistake confusion in a dog with stubbornness. When your dog is having problems learning, it is likely that more direction is needed during training.