We all have different backgrounds and experiences in our lives. Maybe you have had dogs all your life or it’s your first time to care for a pup by yourself. Either way you might have question with “how do I make my dog understand me better? Is there something missing in our communication?” Most likely there`s nothing missing but you can always level up communication with your pup! Of course, I`m going to mention that all the basic needs of a dog should be met: regular health check, food, safe place to sleep, play time, mental stimulation toys/game and physical exercise as walking/running/fetch/hide & seek + your love (obviously). If you were like “well, I do all of that but is there something else I can do?” Yes! You can always make your bond and communication a bit better by doing the following: 1. Don’t repeat yourself. Dogs learn from patterns. Well, how many times do you have to ask your pup to “Sit” and “Stay” before he does it? If it is more than one time, I have news for you. You do not need to repeat yourself for your dog to do the cue! He or she can clearly hear you or see a hand signal (for deaf dogs), or touch signal (for blind & deaf dogs) when you do it once. Just wait a bit, give them time to think. Count till ten before you repeat a cue. Slow count till ten. Dogs are very smart creatures. They learn the pattern super quickly. If you ask once, they do it after you ask once. If you ask five times, they will wait for you to ask five times before they do the cue. It is that simple. 2. Reward for the position. What? What is that? Another way to make your dog understand you better. It means exactly how it sounds! If you work on “lay down” with your pup, only give rewards while she/he is in that exact position. If you will treat after your dog is up, guess what your dog will do more often? Yes, Get up! Instead of laying down. 3. One cue/One signal – One meaning. Last tip that will make your communication better is if you will stick to one cue = one meaning. It is crucial detail that will make dogs understand you much clearly and reliably. Pups connect meaning of your words/body language to things that happen right after.  It is important to pick the signals and words and stick to it if you want to have better communication and make it easier for your dog! Love clear communication! Thank you for reading! I hope it will help someone to build better relationships with their dog(s)! Good luck!

First, don’t panic! I repeat, don’t panic, you've got it! Maintaining your dog`s manners by yourself can be scary or uncertain at first, but trust the process! How to get ready before your sessions with a dog trainer are over: Make sure you know how to maintain it yourself, lol, easy to say, right? The truth is that during sessions, you will learn how to keep up with training yourself, so it's important to pay attention not only to what a trainer says but also to the principles of dog training and how you can better understand your pup and his/her behavior, body language, and the timing of when it's okay to "level up," slow down, and take a step back. Second, check with a trainer if you can demonstrate learned skills and the ability to maintain your dog's manners by yourself, and ask for honest feedback, and/or ask any questions you might have during the practice! Third, here’s a list of questions you can ask yourself before finishing sessions with a dog trainer: 1) Do I know how often/how long should I train my dog per day? 2) Do I know when my dog is in the right state of mind for training? 3) Do I know the right timing of rewarding and reinforcing behaviors I like and want him/her to repeat again? 4) Do I know how to continue improving  “Sit-Stay”, “Down”, “Recall” and etc ? 5) Do I know the difference between training indoors VS at the local park? 6) Do I know how to work on “duration” of any cue? 7) Do I know how to work on “distance” of any cue? 8) Do I know how to work on adding “distractions”? 9) Do I know about mental and physical enrichment necessities? 10) Do I know that dog`s are simple creatures and they do any behaviors not because they want to “dominate” or “make your jealous”, or “punish you”, but only because whatever they do brings them something they like! Obviously, I can continue this list with more questions, especially if we`re talking about some specific behavioral modification! The list above is more suitable for general or basic/advanced obedience training. Let me know if you want me to continue with more questions to ask yourself and/or your trainer before you go for your own wonderful life journey with your beautiful pup(s)! Good luck!!!