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We are all taught in elementary math that a Negative plus a Negative will never equal a Positive.
Keep this in mind when working with dogs. If you correct, scold, punish every time a dog displays a negative behaviour, they only learn that this is what you don't want. They aren't being taught what you *do* want.

Imagine in all your relationships - your parents, your siblings, your friends, your coworkers, your boss, your spouse - if they always told you that what you are doing is wrong, you would lose motivation and self-esteem pretty quickly. You would probably stop trying to please them, since clearly there's nothing in the world that would be good enough.

Now imagine in all of these relationships that they were always encouraging you, telling you what a great job you did and giving you rewards for each little success. Then imagine when you make a mistake that they simply guide you back on track and keep moving with encouragement.

Wouldn't that feel so much better? Wouldn't you do anything to repeat each success? Wouldn't you feel good about yourself?

Now, try being a dog. For one day, wear a collar around your neck and tell your significant other to give you a quick “pop on the collar” whenever you make a mistake, try to communicate, or get distracted. I can guarantee that you're going to get pretty fed-up by noon.

Life is just so much nicer when things are kept positive, isn't it? Dogs feel the same way! Have you noticed how quickly they learn to counter-surf? It's because there's an instant positive reinforcement every time! I jump up here, grab the food, eat the food, voila! You need to become the source of instant positive reinforcement for behaviours! They'll learn much more quickly and be quite enthusiastic about it too!

How Dogs Learn
Dogs learn through trial and error: they try one thing and if they get the desired response, they continue that behaviour. If they try it and nothing happens, or something negative happens, they avoid trying it again. Not to say that you should associate something negative with an unwanted behaviour, but you could try training them with an incompatible behaviour instead.

For example, if your dog likes to jump on guests, start training before the guest arrives that when approached, he should sit and shake a paw, then get a treat (eaten off the floor, not from the hand), he will likely try that, since when he jumps on guests, they turn around and ignore him, therefore there is no reinforcement for that behaviour.