When your pet’s behavior problem calls for professional help in your home, you should seek advice from a veterinarian and an animal behavior specialist. Knowing where to turn can be confusing. 

The easiest way to start clicker training is to teach your dog to hand target. During this process your dog will learn that the click sound ALWAYS means a treat is coming, and he’ll learn that offering a specific behavior earns a click/treat. This will become the foundation for teaching all sorts of new behaviors.

Coming when called is one of the most important and useful commands you can teach your dog. In an emergency, a reliable “come” or recall can save your dog’s life, but most of the time it’s just convenient to be able to get your dog to come when called.

Down is the best, most comfortable position for your dog to stay in for any length of time. Down (and especially down-stay) is a wonderful calming maneuver and can also help teach your dog to be more independent.

“Drop it” is useful when your dog picks up something in his mouth that he shouldn’t have – your shoe, your child’s favorite toy, or a chicken bone, for example. It’s also useful for those dogs that grab the leash in their mouths when being walked and for those mouthy dogs that want to grab at your hands, arms and clothing in play.

“Leave it” is useful when you want your dog to stop doing something, whether that is sniffing at someone or something, barking or licking. The dog should immediately stop whatever she is doing and look to you for a reward.

There are many ways of teaching loose leash walking and you may want to use several of the methods listed.

Use when your dog is jumping up on you or on someone else. Rather than teach the dog to “not” do something, we will ask him to do something he knows how to do that is incompatible with jumping up on you or someone else.

“Settle” should be more relaxed than a “Down-stay” or “Sit-stay”; the dog need not maintain a specific position. You can use it in the waiting room at the veterinarian, or when you are out on a walk and stop to chat with a neighbor.

This will him learn that doing what you ask is always the best choice and the fastest way of getting what he wants. When in doubt, SIT! This stops whatever inappropriate behavior he may be engaged in.

Stays are useful when you need your dog to be still while you do something else. They can also help to teach your dog self-control and independence.

“Watch Me” is a useful behavior when you want to distract your dog’s attention from something (another dog, a squirrel, or other temptations).