The Most Important Dog Training Tip

There is a wide variety of advice in everything regarding dogs, specially thanks to the Internet. Positive reinforcement? Clicker training? Don't play tug with your dog? Play tug with your dog? Use a gentle leader, a collar, or a harness? Are choke chains good or bad? Sometimes it becomes hard to keep one's head clear, and it's extremely important to remember that there is no magic trick when it comes to training, despite what advertisements might make you believe.

Yet, the title of this entry seems to offer a magic trick...or does it?

The Most Important Dog Training Tip: Take one step at a time. Sure, it seems like very basic advice, but trust me, if you keep this in mind, you might find your training will become more successful and enjoyable. Don't push your dog, and let him learn at his own pace.
Do short sessions, no more than 15 minutes. If you have a pup, start with really, really short sessions, and build duration from there. Working dogs can definitely spend more than 15 minutes training, if they are enjoying themselves, but terriers get bored easily and might need even shorter sessions
Set your dog up for succes, and always end you sessions BEFORE the dogs starts to doze off, get bored or get frustrated.
You wouldn't expect someone to climb up the Everest on their first climbing lesson, and you can't expect your dog to perform complex commands in distracting environments without a lot of training.

Remember: Your dog's stronger behaviors will be those that have been heavily reinforced, constantly, and in different stages. Solid grounding will help you build high!

(and exercise your dog!)