If the rules change from day to day, the dog becomes confused. He needs to know how to consistently earn reward and avoid punishment or he will give up responding. The good trainer is consistent and always uses the same command for the same behavior.

Most dog owners teach the dog that the command “down” means to be in a prone position. Unfortunately, many dog owners use the same command to mean, lie down, remove thyself from the couch or bed, or stop jumping on people. When a command has many different meanings, the word ceases to have an important message.

Give each behavior its own command. The command “off” can be used to mean paws on the floor, and “down” may remain to define the prone position. After you decide on consistent commands, the next step is to be persistent in using them. Dogs are naturally good at persistent behavior, and even better if rewarded for it.

Many a dog owner has given up trying to correct the dog that barks all day or jumps on people. Dog owners drop out of obedience classes all the time because they are worn down by their dogs’ seemingly persistent behaviors, and they give up trying to teach their dogs new behaviors.

The key is that the owners gave up, and the dogs learned that persistence pays off. When an owner gives in, the dog’s persistent behavior is strengthened and reinforced. Any determined dog owner can wear the dog down. Therefore, it is extremely important that you be more persistent than the dog about continuing the training process until the dog performs the desired behavior.

The dog must learn that the energy he spends engaging in undesirable behavior is not worth the effort, because you will persist. If you correct him for jumping up the first four times and don’t correct him for the fifth jump up you simply teach him to jump up five times for the payoff.

Similarly, if you correct the dog for barking at the moon sometimes and not at other times, you teach him that sometimes barking is acceptable and sometimes it is not. The dog will continue to bark to determine when barking is acceptable and when it is not acceptable.

Consequently, correcting barking sometimes actually encourages even more barking. If you don’t correct the dog for barking in the backyard because you are not at home, he will learn that barking is acceptable when you’re away.

If you sneak out of the house so as not to cue him that it is acceptable to bark, he only needs to bark twice with no correction to figure out that you are not at home. A behavior will be extinguished or changed only if you persist in correcting the dog every time he misbehaves.

Before choosing a particular training method, carefully examine the technique to ensure that it will communicate proper associations. Certain methods may not communicate what you intend.

A dog-aggressive Akita was enrolled in a training program that his owner thought was reputable. The trainer convinced the owner that the only way to break the Akita of aggression toward other dogs was to let a more dominant dog put him in his place.

The trainer’s dog displayed dominance toward other dogs, so she placed him in a room with the Akita and left the two dogs to work things out. When the trainer heard a window crashing, she opened the door to find that her dog was injured, and the Akita had been richly rewarded for his aggressive behavior with a nice victory under his collar.

If this method does not make sense to you, it probably won’t make sense to the dog, either. One trainer sent around a flyer giving free advice to the general public on how to stop dogs from digging.

The trainer suggested filling the newly dug hole with water and taking the dog over to the hole by the scruff of the neck to dunk his head in the water filled-hole. The next sentence on this flyer cautioned the owner that the dunking probably would not stop the dog from digging; instead, forcing the dog down to the water by the scruff of the neck was a demonstration of dominance, a root cure-all for problem behavior.

The trainer thought through the method far enough to figure out that the water would have no effect on future digging. Unfortunately, he did not explain that the dog would learn to mistrust his owner for trying to drown him. Shortly after this flyer was distributed, another trainer was indicted for animal abuse for employing this very correction technique.

Occasionally, even thinking through a method does not result in a clear understanding of how it works. One day a fellow drove up to class in a pickup with his dog in the back. The dog trainer explained to him that it was very dangerous to have the dog in the back of an open pickup.

He went through the normal lecture on how the dog’s nose and eyes could be damaged from debris in the air, the danger of the dog being thrown out of the truck in an accident, etc. The fellow proudly said, “I fixed the dog from jumping out of the truck. He was jumping out and I would throw him back in.

We did this for five or six times when I finally got really mad and threw him in the truck for the seventh time and stuffed a piece of horse manure in his mouth for good measure. After that the dog never jumped out again, and the next time he does something bad, I am going to use that manure trick again.”

It was really hard to determine if the dog stopped jumping out of the truck because he got tired of being thrown back in, or if he was grateful for the gourmet horse manure treat. If you are not sure about exactly how or why a method works, it is probably best to avoid the technique altogether.

Even the most popular methods use techniques that may not be suited for every breed or temperament of dog. A trainer who evaluates each method based on the efficacy of the associations and motivators will be better equipped to match the appropriate obedience method with the dog’s individual temperament.

Toy dogs, also called lap dogs, are increasingly popular pets, characterized by breeders and kennel clubs as toy dogs due to their small stature. Some toy dogs are selectively bred small forms of larger breeds, and others are naturally small.

Some of the breeds of small dogs are Chihuahua, Pekingese, pug, Shih Tzu, Silky terrier, Toy poodle, Pomeranian, Italian Greyhound, Japanese Spaniel, Affenpinscher, Miniature Pinscher, Papillon, Brussels Griffon, English toy spaniel, Maltese, Manchester terrier and Yorkshire terrier.

Today they are mostly known for their companionship. Toy dogs are usually characterized as friendly, sweet and cute. They have sociable personalities and love attention. They generally do not require a lot of exercise, though some types enjoy taking long walks with you.

This is not to say that all small dogs are considered toy dogs and that all small dogs are friendly, sweet and cute. Small dogs come from all types of breeding patterns and not all of them fall nicely into the category of toy dogs.

Whether you find a toy dog or otherwise small dog to love, they are excellent pets for people who want a dog but live in small spaces like an apartment or small home.

You can see people with small dogs just about everywhere you go. You might find them peeking out of someone’s backpack, grocery cart, or stroller. Because they are so small, they are highly portable which is an attractive benefit to small dog owners who like to take their dog with them wherever they go.

When you are choosing a dog, keep in mind the characteristics of the breed, the temperament of the dog, and the training the dog has received and your ability to train the dog. If you do not know this information, do some research before you choose your pet.

Owning a dog is not a short-term commitment, nor is it an easy emotional or financial commitment. You will need to have as much information about the type of dog you are going to have before bringing him home. If you are looking at buying a purebred puppy, you can pay anywhere from $500 to $2, 500.

If you are serious about spending this amount of money, it is also wise to go to a couple dog shows and observe the dogs yourself. You can look at the different types of toy dogs that are out there, as well as meet people who own them.

If you are not able to talk to the owners before or after the show, you can buy a program that will list names of dog breeders and handlers that can be a good resource for you.

You should watch out for dogs advertised as “teacup” dogs. While the dogs may be extra small and cute, often they are sickly and high-strung as adults.

Once you buy your dog, you should take him to the veterinarian as soon as possible to make sure it is healthy and does not have problems that you cannot visibly see.