Positive reinforcement is the key to success. A common mistake is to punish your dog during training or become angry. This will only cause confusion. You can try to hold your dog's attention with treats and enthusiasm, but know that it is time to end a session when your dog becomes bored or tired. Try to end sessions on a positive note. Eventually, successful training will be achieved with patience and consistency.

Puppies are capable of learning simple commands from a very young age but don’t try to give your puppy a meaningful training session if he is tired, highly excited or busy exploring. You need his full attention, otherwise you’re wasting your time. You can build up to training sessions in more distracting environments once your puppy is reliably responding to your commands at home.
Limit , Open and Championship Shows are run ‘by the Kennel Club’ and ‘Under Kennel Club Rules’. Each Show will have a ‘Closing Date’ for entries a few weeks before the actual event, which means you must pre-book your place, and pre-pay your entrance fee. Classes at these Shows are known as Pre-Beginner, Beginner, Novice, ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’, and Championship ‘C’ (in ascending order of ability / experience), and the ‘Tests’ to be performed for each of these Classes is predefined in the Kennel Club rules. In general you have to win twice in a lower class to progress on to the next level. Only winners of the Championship ‘C’ Class (which are only at Championship Shows) go on to compete at Crufts.
_{Training clubs that run the Kennel Club Good Citizen Dog Scheme - the largest dog training programme in the UK are a sensible place to begin. Here you will learn about every aspect of dog ownership from the Puppy Foundation Courses through to Bronze, Silver and Gold award levels. Go to GCDS Training Clubs in your County to find one near to you or email the GCDS Team (gcds@thekennelclub.org.uk) or call 0207 518 1011.}