Dogs learn through pattern recognition. If they get a reaction they like after an action they will repeat that action. Attention (eye contact) and physical touch as well as treat rewards will reinforce behavior. My pup was very very vocal and barked for all his needs when we brought him home from the shelter. We had to avoid eye contact, and not give any physical attention when he was barking to show this is not behavior that will be rewarded. After a while he'd get board of barking, and would let out a whine. When he whined we would look at him and ask what he needs/wants and try to give it to him. This taught him that barking is not what you do when you want/need something. He still barks when we play but it's no longer his main form of communication.

When leash training, be consistent with your expectations. We stop at every single curb and we give the release (saying "OK") before we allow him to step off the curb. It didn't take long before he was stopping at the curbs and waiting for the release without any input on our end.

If your dog is pulling while walking on leash hold onto the leash and come to a stop (do not yank or pull on the leash) and wait for the dog to let the pressure off by moving towards you. And stop like this every time they pull on the leash, it's annoying to the dog because they can't get to what they are pulling towards. After they release the pressure let them go smell what they were pulling towards as a reward for good behavior.

Using treats can make it easy to mark behaviors you like, but you need to adjust feeding to make sure your dog isn't getting too many calories.

I'm a big believer in positive reinforcement and mark and reward training, I suggest looking into how those work.

My recent work induction was conducted by the HR dogs. I learnt they get snippy if you point out glaring holes in their operating procedures. My tip is to smile sweetly and stay quiet.

The crate is the dog's safe space, not a punishment. If I need my dog to be in her crate, I reward her when she goes inside.

There are also hand motions to go with common commands like 'sit'. I've found this makes it easier for a dog to understand me.

What are you training it to do?

'Good' behaviour? Or some tricks/performances?

There's similarities, but differences also.

Generally; remember that the dog will never understand what you say, but will have an idea as to your intonation/how you feel when you speak to it. It may even pick up if you're feeling stressed by something unrelated to it.

Treat it as a family member, that's how it sees you. Be careful with play, some biting is natural when young as they have no hands so can laern to use their mouth similarly as you do your hands, so if young, let them try things, but teach them to stop if it gets too frequent.

Don't shout, it's like barking to them & they may interpret as support for their behaviour. Whispering close to them can be surprisingly calming!

Main tip It's about training the human (i.e. you) not the puppy

Second point: Big rewards for new behaviours you want to promote like teaching new obedience and slowly reduce rewards as time goes on/increase difficulty for same rewards

Do not punish, punishment is attention and gives its own reward when a dog is bored. Also pupuy didn't sign up for this so what right so you have to punish

Final point If a dog training class does not cover this or goes all pack leader shite, walk away.

You have to be more stubborn than the dog. You have to be fair. It takes a lot of time. You have to understand your dog if you want them to understand you. Most people have poorly trained dogs because they haven’t put the time and effort in to build a real connection, a well trained dog looks like telepathy.

First and foremost, dog training is language training.

You aren't really teaching them to do things, you're teaching them to understand the sounds and movements you make when you want them to do things.

This means that regardless of anything else, you have to be consistent in both the execution of and understanding of what language you're using.

Example: you say sit when training with a calm voice and a little lilt at the end. But in daily life, you say sit sharply and without the hand gesture you'd been using during lessons. When that's the case, you can't blame the dog for not understanding automatically that you want them to do the thing you used different words for.

Animals don't process language the same way we do, but we can still run into problems understanding what someone else wants us to do when they say it in an unusual way. Why would a dog magically understand the difference between "sit, puppy", "puppy, sit", and/or "dammit, why won't you sit?!"

Consistency is how we learn languages as humans, and we have sections of our brain dedicated to language that are very developed compared to even our closest relatives in the animal kingdom.

The flip side of that is that you have to train yourself at the same time as the dog. You have to train yourself in the commands you want them to connect with a behavior. Make sure you learn how you're saying things, and any secondary or tertiary signals are included.

Example: if you want the dog to eventually know that the word sit, a hand gesture, and a tone of voice mean you want them to sit, you have to consistently use those commands. Eventually, even the dumbest dog will figure out that any of those commands mean you want their butt on the floor, but if you aren't consistent with them, it'll take longer.

Remember, that dog hears your words and tone, sees your movements and posture, and reads your facial expressions. *All" of those are part of the command you're teaching them to respond to with a specific behavior.

That's why a lot of trainers have a process of introducing those things in a controlled and specific way.

And, if you deviate from the command you actually taught (like screaming word sit while making angry face, bent over and shaking a finger at them instead of the usual), don't be mad at them for not responding to this totally new and different signal grouping with a behavior you taught them with a different combination of signals.

Puppy training class, or if the dog is not a puppy, you may need to get individual training lessons.

Make sure your dog knows they're loved and wanted. The calmness that helps provide helps a lot when you're training.

Also please socialize your dog. Dog parks can be very scary for a puppy, so it's important to try to ease into the socializing. Maybe by other puppy meet ups or if you have friends with dogs.