Look for patterns.

When you talk to your dog, it is helpful to remember that they do not understand most of what you say. They interpret your words not as language but as sounds that predict something. Dogs respond to sounds that reliably predict something meaningful and ignore those that don't. For example, your dog knows that when you say, "See you later," you always leave without them, but when you say, "Let's go," they always leave with you. They don't understand the words, but they learn the pattern.

Almost everything your dog does is part of a pattern. Training involves creating and reinforcing patterns that lead to appropriate behaviors while identifying and changing patterns that lead to unwanted ones. Once you learn to recognize these patterns from your dog's perspective, it is relatively easy to change their behavior and help them make better decisions.

When attempting to teach or change any behavior, consider what happens before and immediately after. Controlling these variables is usually more effective than focusing on the behavior directly. This concept is called the ABCs of dog training: Antecedent, Behavior, and Consequence. The antecedent is whatever occurs immediately before the behavior; the behavior is whatever your dog does; and the consequence is whatever occurs immediately after the behavior. The antecedent may be a sight, sound, smell, sensation, or situation; the consequence may be good or bad.

Dogs learn mostly by direct association, which means they assume a cause-and-effect relationship, even if one does not exist. For example, when you say "Sit" (the antecedent), your dog puts their butt on the floor (the behavior), and you give them a treat (the consequence). Your dog thinks they received the treat because they sat - they are correct. However, when a delivery person knocks on the door, your dog barks, and the delivery person leaves. Your dog thinks the person left because they barked - they are incorrect. Good luck explaining that the person had a busy route and would have gone anyway.

In the above scenario, your dog's barking is reinforced every time they do it because they are rewarded with what they want: the delivery person leaving. Unfortunately, a lot of unwanted behavior is reinforced this way. The good news is your dog is a master of pattern recognition, so if you are thoughtful and deliberate about when and how you reward them, you can teach them to do (and enjoy!) just about anything.