These helpful simple rules will avoid many mistakes if followed.
DISCLAIMER: This is Old School stuff. Not for puppies or submissive dogs, where marking desired behaviors with praise and/or clicks and treats will get you farther, faster, with less piddle on the floor. Please understand there is no place for anger in any dog training, they mix like oil and water, and do not make a solution!!
But this works well with dominant older dogs, and though behaviorists today will tell you it's archaic, Cesar would agree, so would the Monks.
As taught at a OB class to me years ago...
THREE DOG TRAINING RULES
1. Be consistent and persistent.
2. Never give a command you can’t enforce.
3. Enforce every command you give.
3 REASONS WE ‘HEEL’ OUR DOG
1. To relieve stress on the dog.
2. To gain control of the dog.
3. For exercise and take the dog for a walk.
4 GENERAL HEEL RULES
1. Step off on left foot. 2. Stop on right foot.
3. When we tell our dog to "HEEL" we are telling him a "position".
4. Where is the "heel" position? The left side, dogs ears at the middle
of your leg.
3 DOG LOGICS
1. Dogs read your body language.
2. Dogs live in detail.
3. Dogs respond to the last command that you give them.
Things dog handlers should and should not do
Never correct on or never correct with a command.
Commands are always happy in tone!
Never adjust to your dog, your dog always adjusts to you.
Always give a command only once; and, enforce the last command you gave.
Give your dog lots of praise once he obeys your command. (Give your command, if your dog doesn’t respond, correct your dog. Then give the command again and give your dog lots of praise for following your command.) COMMAND, CORRECTION, COMMAND, PRAISE. (Do not give a harsh correction unless you know your dog really knows the command you have given him.)
pOAScript: I think you should not correct (enforce) any command not known, teach it! first thru markers, reward with praise...know it is known first before corrections are employed. And harsh corrections don't mean MEAN, that simply means effective, not nagging and useless.