Preventive training is a method of dog training that means that you, as the owner, prevent your dog from exhibiting unwanted behaviors. The idea behind this approach is that by not allowing your dog to exhibit inappropriate behaviors, his behavior then does not need to be modified and negative training methods will not need to be used. The key to preventive training is that you must always keep an eye on your dog or, when you can't be with him, have him in a crate or other dog-proofed area. An example of preventative training is as follows: Rather than allowing a young puppy free rein of your house, in which he's likely to chew up everything and get into a whole lot of trouble, you keep your puppy in the room you are in and with you. You would have some appropriate chew toys on hand so that when he begins to display any chewing behavior, you direct his attention to the toys and praise him for using it.