When it comes to the best way to train your dog, the sheer wealth and breadth of conflicting advice is often bewildering. Bookstores and pet shops sell a vast array of literally hundreds of different dog books, and each one recommends different training methods—jerk the leash, don’t jerk the leash; use food, don’t use food; always do this, never do that.
Worse yet, for the longest time most people have associated dog training with choke collars and leash jerks, assuming the whole process to be a chore and a drag. Wrong, wrong, wrong! An incredible rediscovery has been made in the field of dog training: Training your dog is fun! Better yet, the more fun you and your dog have while training, the faster and more effective training becomes.
Luckily for today’s dogs, the popularity of reward-based training grew steadily through the 1980’s and 1990’s and caused a dog-friendly revolution.