Something that I find kind of funny is how many people forget that these dogs don’t speak english. So many people go out and say words to their dog as though there should be some level of comprehension. Take saying “get out” as an example. People whisper it like sweet nothings in a dogs ear and get surprised when it’s not understood. The words aren’t important, they only have meaning to us. It’s the tone and intent that determines everything. Now I’m not saying go out there and growl the whole time you’re working a dog. I’m actually saying the opposite. I’m saying that you need to have intent behind what you say. A correction should have tones of “I will literally kill you if you don’t listen right now” without screaming and sounding like a desperate plea. A basic command should have the tone of a totally reasonable boss to their respected employee. Or like you’re ordering a drive through with an old ordering system. Be clear and concise but don’t sound like a jerk and don’t sound like you are pleading. If you’re always yelling and barking every command, you run out of room to increase the intensity when the dog screws up. Pretty soon, the yelling isn’t enough and all you’re left with is physical violence towards your dog. But beating a dog is much like beating your kid. You earn fear but you don’t earn respect. You create a peon rather than a partner. Ask every dictator ever how well that works. You should also almost never say something twice. This is only true after your dog is halfway trained. You can hardly expect obedience to something they don’t understand. But as soon as they prove they know what you mean when you say a command, have zero patience for disobedience. If you are flatly ignored, do whatever you do to correct them immediately. Repeating commands just teaches them that the first time you say anything doesn’t mean anything. Now don’t expect obedience if you are telling them something that is dead wrong. For example, don’t say lie down and expect that to work when a angry momma cow is actively trying to kill him. There are exceptions to every rule and always ask yourself, “was that the dogs fault or mine”. You are the master and obedience is vital and you should never beg for it.