Whether human beings or animals, every one likes to be praised rather than punished. So too with your dog. In fact, this is the basis of the theory behind positive reinforcement. Positive reinforcement refers to giving your pet something nice or rewarding immediately after he does something you wanted him to. Your praise or reward encourages him to repeat that behavior in future, whether on demand or not—and it usually results in being a powerful shaping tool of your dog’s behavior.

1. Time it well: The timing of handing out positive reinforcement is critical. Your reward must occur immediately—within seconds—or your dog will fail to associate it with the proper action. For example, if you ask your dog to “sit” but reward him after he’s stood up again, he will understand that he is being rewarded for standing up.

2. Be consistent: This is as important as timing. Everyone should react in the same way to his actions and give out the same commands. It also refers to rewarding the same good behavior that the whole family considers good and never rewarding the same bad behavior that the whole family shuns.

3. Using Positive Reinforcement: To your pet, positive reinforcement means food treats, praise, petting or a favorite toy or game, but of them all, food treats give the best results. Your pet should find any food treat enticing and irresistible—perhaps a small, soft piece of food that he can down immediately and look inquiringly for more. But if you give him something hard that he has to chew or that breaks into bits, his attention will be as scattered and fragmented as the crumbs on the floor.

Once he learns the behavior, move on to intermittent reinforcement. First, reward him with a treat three out of four times that he performs well. Then, slowly reduce it by one until you stop rewarding her. However, continue to praise her each time. Keep varying the reinforcement so that he doesn’t get used to it. He will soon learn to keep responding in the hope that he will get your praise and a treat.

All about punishment: This can either be verbal, postural or physical. What you do is to give your pet something unpleasant after he does something wrong so he doesn’t repeat it. For best results, give it when you catch him in the act. If you’re late in doing it, he loses the point completely.

If you punish him, he will learn not to trust you. So, it should ideally not come from you directly. However, if you’ve tried punishment and it hasn’t worked, stop punishing him and use only positive reinforcement instead. Never use physical punishment that involves pain, or this may make him bite you in self-defense. Instead, give him a few shakes of the head or even alpha rolls.