Although my pet people are very well trained, I can't claim all of the credit for that. Petite, a golden-colored cocker spaniel, lived here for about eight years before I got here and I suspect that much of the training of Honey, Babe, Boy Child, and Girl Child was her doing.

One of the most important things to keep in mind for people training is to be patient. People have some shortcomings that their training must take into consideration. For example, their vocal construction limits their language capabilities and neither Petite nor I have been able to teach them to speak our language. Consequently, we used body language in the training routine.

Another important training component is consistency. Proper training of pets requires being extremely consistent, especially in the beginning. After your people have learned a new trick thoroughly, then you can experiment with some variations, but until they've mastered it, do it the same way every time.  That helps them learn the new behavior faster and more thoroughly.

Always let your pet people know that you appreciate their efforts. Learning something new requires a great deal of concentration and effort. If you reward your people for that, then they'll be more inclined to do it again.

Above all, make the training sessions fun. People like to play, too, and if it's an enjoyable experience for them, they'll be easier to train.

Here are a couple of examples. (Please note that I'm not bragging on how well my people are trained or on my training expertise--I'm just telling it like it is.)

Honey
Every day, when Honey comes home after "Working," he gets my dinner ready for me. Consequently, when Honey comes home, it's time to eat. It took a while, however, for him to understand that. I had to provide consistent reminders by vocalizing my expectations and preventing him from starting to play with Babe until he got my dinner for me. Honey understands my expectations now and meets them every day. Good boy, Honey!

Babe
Babe is also very well trained, especially when it comes to providing snacks for me. Babe will not give me snacks while she's eating dinner, but I make my expectations known by body language. For this trick, I put my paws on Babe's knee, rest my head on my paws, and look at her. Babe knows that this is a reminder for her to save a few good pieces of her dinner for me. As soon as she's done, she'll give those to me. It took a great deal of consistency on my part, however, to teach her this trick. I've also worked very hard to make it entertaining for her by doing things like sitting up when she's about to give me those little snacks. Good girl, Babe!