From all the popular dog training methods, it’s difficult to find out which one is best suited to your dog’s personality. Some popular training methods manipulate dog’s psyche smartly and ease the job of the owner.

There is a great deal of disagreement among various dog owners regarding the best training techniques available out there that can completely satisfy the owners.

The top five favorite dog training methods out there are as follows:

Positive reinforcement is the top most popular training method. It’s a modern training approach that was introduced by Dawn Sylvia-Stasiewicz, who was the trainer of Obama’s dog.

The underlying philosophy of positive reinforcement is that dogs will repeat the behavior that’s rewarded, and avoid the practices that go unrewarded. With a toddler’s mind, your pooch loves to be the apple of your eye, so he immediately picks up the actions you praise and reward. Instead of physical punishment, the reward is withheld to make the dog realize his mistake.

Scientific training includes all the training tricks and techniques that are being developed based on authentic research. The research are based on understanding the dog’s nature, behavior conditioning ability, and effects of rewards and punishment on dog’s psychology. The primary scientific training method is operant conditioning that includes positive reinforcement.

When the desired behavior is meant to be promoted, rewards are given. When an unwanted behavior needs to be discouraged, rewards are withheld, and the pooch is ignored. 

You can use the operant conditioning to distract the dog from negative behavior and shift his attention towards a rewarding behavior. With repetition, the pooch will stop repeating the old behavior.

Clicker training is based on the models of operant conditioning and positive reinforcement. Clicker is a quick, loud sound of a whistle, clicker, etc. that’s used to signal the dog that the desired behavior is accomplished. It is mostly grouped with positive reinforcement, and the clicker is a quick signal to the dog that the desired behavior is achieved.

There can be delays in rewarding the desired behavior in positive reinforcement. The clicker is an immediate signal for the furball to understand which behavior is being rewarded. 

Clickers are also used for teaching new tricks and behaviors to dogs and young pups. The dog is conditioned by the sound of the clicker that a reward is coming. Clicker training is not used to indicate punishments.

Mirror training, also known as ‘model-rival training,’ is based on the theory that dogs learn through observation. We should understand that dogs follow our action more than words as a child does.

If the dog owner or trainer has a child who can perform some good behaviors and get rewarded, and act out few bad behaviors and get reprimanded; the dog will learn via observation the correct responses. In another way, the child can be asked to compete with the dog to perform the desired behavior and get rewarded. It will create an urge in the dog to pick up the task quickly and achieve it whenever he is commanded.

The dog trainer himself can act as model in terms of his behavior and attitude towards the dog. The owner will have to practice what he preaches.

Electronic training method is used effectively by professional dog trainers in which a mild shock is given to dogs for not following the command. It is used to train the dog from a distance when the dog is off-leash. Shock collars and citronella sprays are used for invisible fence training of the dog.

Use the best dog shock collars to provide them mild shocks and hurt them the least in case of performing an unwanted action. It will prevent the dogs from performing unwanted actions. But, to avoid putting the dog under stress, you should hire a professional dog trainer. It’s an effective technique for dominating or confident dogs.