Any dog training session will benefit from a good structure. Positive reinforcement training is a wonderful way to teach your dog what you need from him. The best training is reward based.

It can be possible to expect too much from a dog during training sessions. To introduce structure into your dog training you will be giving your learning dog the highest probability of success.

Dog training sessions should be short. Any session of intense learning will be knackering for your dog therefore 15 to 20 minute sessions will actually be enough. It’s fine to take a short break and return to the session later .

So begin a training session with something easy. Ask your dog to do something that you know he is going to have no problem with. Reward him for this behaviour to build up his confidence for what's left of the dog training session.

Then switch between straightforward and troublesome for the rest of the dog training session. If you ask for something that your dog finds particularly tricky follow it up with a simple command. If your dog training has made your dog think intensely it could also have knocked his confidence. So it has to be followed up by a confidence boost.

Towards the end of the session introduce the most difficult exercise but ensure that you have prepared the dog for it. Build up gradually with the most difficult exercise. Once this dog training exercise is complete follow it with something very simple ensuring the dog leaves the session cheerful and assured in his ability.

Look out for displacement behavior or stress signs. Yawning, sniffing the ground or intense scratching of himself are all signs that your dog is confused, lacks confidence or doesn't understand what you need from him. When that happens, try moving to a different location.

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