Dogs are such cute animals, until they start barking uncontrollably or start biting the leg of your dining chair. Jumping at people or digging up the garden are other habits that you have to contend with. Worse is dealing with a violent dog that can possibly hurt people. Most dog bad habits can be fixed if you start early enough. Some serious cases have to be referred to expert trainers.

Books and blogs never run out of puppy training tips. They suggest specific steps to take when confronted with puppy problems. Each problem has specific solutions. But these solutions are based on three important principles that are basic to dog training. Don’t call your dog and “punish” him by doing something that he will not enjoy, like clipping his nails or getting him to go back to his crate. Don’t ignore a dog’s bad behavior and hope that he will grow out of it. He won’t. Most important of all, don’t ever hit your dog. The lesson here is that the dog will respond more to a reward for good behavior rather than punishing him for bad behavior.