Whether traveling with your dog, having friends over, or just day-to-day life, a trained dog is what we strive for. Imagine if our kids just ran wild without any form of structure and discipline (although some may say they do at times).

Many think of training your dog and get overwhelmed and stressed. Instead, tackle one thing at a time and give it time for your dog to learn it. Every dog is different. Patience and positive reinforcement is key. Meet them where they are along the journey.

  You can start with the basics, like sit, stay, and come. These are kind of the holy trinity of the dog command world. Start with one command at a time until your dog masters it to help build consistency and confidence. Whether a puppy or senior, they have an attention span just like we do so try to keep the sessions nice and short, around 5-10 minutes. When leash training, Turid Rugaas provides a great explanation with photos in her book "My Dog Pulls, What Do I Do?" Use a friendly, calm, and assertive tone. After all, you want your dog to realize this is a good thing, not a punishment. Don't lose your cool.   

Positive reinforcement can take many forms like vocal praise, back scratches, and dog treats. Reward your dog immediately when your dog follows a command. That's the key - immediately after so your dog associates the trained activity to the reward.  

Also factor in your dog's size, age, and condition when giving treats as positive reinforcement. For puppies, there are tiny treats that can be used for training. The size may even be desirable to an older dog because you also want to factor in the caloric intake to avoid potential health problems. Don't just look in an aisle. You can make healthy homemade treats at home, some of which you bake first in an oven and let them cool. Doing this also allows you to easily break them up into the small pieces you want for training.  

Don't forget to add immediate verbal praise at the same time. It will be like an instant party for your dog when he does a command. Consistency is key so repeat often, if not daily, in small bits until it is a learned behavior for your dog. Start to taper those treats when your dog learns the command so he doesn't always expect treats. You can add in and eventually swap for verbal praise and scratches, or verbal praise and then playing with your dog and his favorite toy for a few minutes.   

So keep your cool, get your tone right, bond with your dog, and give it a whirl - a consistent whirl. Training doesn't complete in one day or two days or, well, you get the point. Good luck!