Rewards can be in the form of food treats, or they can be a rewarding tone of voice, or petting and showing affection to the animal. Rewards teach pets which behaviors are good or bad. Yeatman said negative disciplines are sometimes necessary, and she recommended using a quick negative sound to let an animal know it has done something displeasing to its owner. Yeatman said dogs may be confused if they hear the word in another context. It is the trainer's responsibility to minimize confusion.
Conflicting messages add to confusion for the animal and slow the learning curve.
Dogs are really smart, and most of the time they really want to please. Yeatman also reminded owners that puppies have short attention spans. Make training sessions short with a lot of play. Older dogs can learn almost as quickly as puppies, but they may require more serious training sessions. Be fair and consistent when you are training an animal.