Ok, picture three dog trainers sitting in a room and actually agreeing on something. For those of you that understand trainers and their different ideas of what is the correct way to train a dog, then you realize that having trainers agree on something is a rare and noteworthy event.

After attending a training seminar, myself and some other trainers agreed that these ten mistakes are probably the most common offenses we see in dog training. We made it ten mistakes because people like lists of round numbers.....Kind of like the top ten cities, or the top ten greatest movies, or...well you get the idea.

Anyway, these are mistakes that trainers see a lot. Hopefully this list will help you avoid them.

1. Giving different words for the same command.
   If you want your dog to obey your commands, you must be consistent with the words that you use. For example you may issue the command "Sit" most of the time. It is no good expecting your dog to also sit down when you say "Get down off my favorite chair"
    
2. Rubbing nose in urine
   This has no affect on training a dog. All you are doing is burning is nose. Which is probably something that you don't want to do.
    
3. Smacking, hitting and punishing the dog
   Expert dog trainers have shown that this type of human behavior has no positive effect on a dog
    
4. Shouting
   This will just confuse the dog. Remember, that the whole point of verbal commands is that you have taught the dog to learn from the sound of your voice to link it to an action that he needs to take.
    
5. Letting the dog eat at the same time as you
   This indicates to the dog that he is your equal. What you need to do is let the dog eat after you. This will teach him that you are the master and in control.
    
6. Making training session too long.
   15 minutes is just about right for a training session. This keeps it fun for young dogs that can have a short attention span.
    
7. Starting training too late in the dog’s life
   It's far easier to train a young puppy. As a dog gets older you will have to put in a lot more obedience training and may have to take the dog to a training school.
    
8. Puppy crate too big
   Puppies don't like to be a in a big crate. It makes them feel uncomfortable. You can get crates that are adjustable. So that as the dog gets bigger you can adjust the size of the crate to accommodate him.
    
9. Training the dog when you are in a bad mood
   Don't train the dog when you are in a bad mood. This means that the tone of your voice will be different and the dog will not be able to link your verbal commands to the action that he should take .Also your body language will reflect your mood. Your dog can read you like a book.
    
10. Not giving lots of praise. If your dog respects you, he works for your praise. How would you like to work for no pay?