Welcome to the Dog Pro Training Program!

Before embarking on Certification 2 and getting certified as a Dog Pro, it's crucial to grasp a fundamental principle of dog training that serves as the cornerstone for success in this field. By adopting this broader perspective, every aspect of your work seamlessly aligns with this fundamental concept—the Key to Dog Training.

The Key To Dog Training

If you want a behavior to continue, reinforce it with positive stimuli.

If you want a behavior to stop or go away, discourage it with negative stimuli.

This principle underpins the entirety of dog training. It's that simple.

Guiding principles for decision-making in training:

When tasked with training a dog, consider whether you aim to reinforce or discourage a specific behavior.

If you want to teach a behavior or have a behavior continue…

Ask yourself how you can effectively demonstrate and reinforce the behavior you desire.

If you want to teach a behavior or have a behavior stop or go away…

Ask yourself how you can convey to the dog that a certain behavior is undesirable and discourage it through appropriate measures.

This approach applies universally to all training scenarios, as all issues and goals fundamentally adhere to the same principle.

Quiz Questions

  1. What is the fundamental principle that underpins all dog training?

  2. If you want a dog to stop jumping on people, which approach aligns with the Key to Dog Training?

  3. You want a dog to come when called. What should you focus on?

  4. Which of the following is a positive stimulus?

  5. True or False: If you reinforce a behavior with something the dog likes, the behavior is more likely to continue.

  6. A dog growls when people approach its food bowl. You want to discourage this. What is the correct principle to apply?

  7. What should you ask yourself when trying to stop a behavior?

  8. Which is an example of reinforcing a desired behavior?

  9. What determines whether a training strategy is appropriate?

  10. Fill in the blank: All issues and goals in training fundamentally follow the same principle — if you want it to continue, ________ it. If you want it to stop, ________ it.