A well-trained canine makes a better companion. Obedience classes can help your dog learn to behave the way you want him to. He’ll be able to adapt more easily to his environment within your home as well as interact more socially with your family and friends. A well-trained dog is a pleasure to be around.
It’s impossible to overstate the value of enrolling your pooch into obedience classes that are taught by a professional trainer. Not only will that person use effective methods that yield long-term benefits, but your canine will also have a chance to interact with other pets and their owners.
That said, there’s a lot you can do at home. Below, we’ll provide three dog training basics that you can use to help your canine become a well-adjusted member of your family.
Have Fun
First, keep your sessions short – no more than 15 minutes. Otherwise, your canine may lose interest and begin responding poorly to your commands (frustrating you in the process). The key is to create a training environment that is enjoyable for both of you. If you don’t feel like participating, wait until you do. Also, to help motivate your dog for future sessions, end every session by giving him an easy command and then provide him with dog treats when he responds correctly.
Get Rid of Negative Reinforcement
Owners often react in a negative manner when their dog fails to respond to commands. For example, they might strike or yell at them. It’s important to realize that positive reinforcement methods are far more effective when you train your pooch. Remember, he wants to please you. If he responds to your commands correctly, give him a treat. If he doesn’t, withhold the dog treats. He’ll get the message loud and clear and modify his behavior accordingly.
Teach The Long Stay
Canines get antsy, especially if you’re nearby. Sitting still can be a major challenge for them. Your pooch may have no trouble sitting for 10 or 15 seconds when you command him to do so. However, most dogs will fail to sit for longer periods. It is important to teach your dog self-control.
You’ll need to train him by starting with a short period of time and gradually extending it as he succeeds. For example, start with 20 seconds and give him a treat when he succeeds. Once he’s done this. Persist with this activity until your dog can sit still with you nearby for at least 60 seconds. It might also help to teach specific words (like “easy”) that you can say to calm him down.
There are few experiences more rewarding than owning a well-trained dog. While professional training is important, you can use the above tips at home to help your pooch become a better companion.
Filed under Articles by on Mar 8th, 2010. Comment. 
Are you frustrated with dog chewing problems? Why do canines engage in destructive dog behavior like this? How can you stop destructive chewing? Learn easy ways to stop dogs from chewing by reading this article.
Why Does My Dog Chew On Everything?
Puppies who are cutting teerth are notorious for chewing on nearly anything. If you’ve ever been around a human baby who’s teething, you know how chewing on a teething ring helps soothe those sore gums. It’s like this for puppies too. They’re in the process of losing baby teeth while adult teeth are coming in.Sore gums are the result, but chewing on things helps soothe the pain.
An older dog may chew for many reasons. One of the most common is that it helps to relieve stress and anxiety. When a dog chews, endorphins are released. These are chemicals that soothe and calm your dog. You dog doesn’t know about endorphins, but he does know that chewing on things makes him feel better.
Chewing also helps to keep your dog’s teeth clean and strong. Remember, if your dog is chewing, he’s not digging holes or barking, so there is an upside to this.
So chewing isn’t all bad. But chewing becomes destructive chewing when your dog chews on things other than his toys. How do you stop dogs from chewing on your toys?
How Do I Train My Dog Not To Chew?
You may be surprised to learn that your dog doesn’t know the difference between your stuff and his. Even if he has lots of toys to chew on, he’ll still chew on a chair leg because he thinks everything in the house is a toy. It’s up to you to teach him two things; that everything is not a toy, and that he’s not allowed to chew on things that belong to you.
Start by teaching him which toys are his. Play with your dog, using one of his toys. He’ll associate the toy with having fun, both with you, and by playing with the toy. Another way to teach your dog that his toys are wonderful is to get a toy you can stuff with peanut butter or another treat. He gets an instant food reward when he licks it out while playing with it.
If your dog picks up something that belongs to you, use the “drop-it” command, or clap your hands and make a noise to startle him into dropping it.As soon as he obeys you, give him one of his toys right away. When he starts playing with it, reward him. This is how you teach him that it’s good for him to chew on his own toys, but not good when he chews on yours.
You’ll still want to dog-proof your home, and put irreplaceable items away until you know you can trust him. Or else confine him to one room in your home where he can’t destroy anything when you have to leave the house.
Shouldn’t I Punish Him For Destructive Dog Behavior?
No. If you don’t catch your dog in the act, he won’t have a clue why you’re mad at him.All you’ll succeed in doing is teaching him to wait until you’re gone to start destructive chewing.
Dogs operate on rewards. If you reward your dog with attention (good or bad) for doing something, he’ll continue to do it, even if it’s something you don’t want him to do.Reward his good behavior with lots of praise, while ignoring his bad dog behavior as much as you can. A dog won’t continue doing something if he doesn’t get a reward for doing it.
Training your dog is an ongoing process that never really ends. In conclusion, you’ll find that an investment in a good dog training course will repay itself many times over in building a great relationship with your dog, while avoiding dog chewing problems.
If you’re dealing with dog chewing problems, visit No More Bad Dogs to learn more about a dog training course that will help to solve your problem.
Filed under Articles by on Mar 25th, 2009. Comment.
Dog obedience training requires the use of some principles which differentiate effective training from training without results. Many dog training and dog behavior schools use these rules. They are the following:
Principle One: The first rule in obedience training is to be consistent. This covers the use of words, tone, and the actions that accompany the word or command. At the beginning of training you as the dog owner or trainer must make the decision as to what guidelines you will use to teach the dog. A word or a phrase, let’s say ‘come’, does not make sense to a dog. Your dog does not understand our language, nor does he understand or think, the way we do.
For the training to be understandable, the command must be used in a consistent manner so he can recognize the meaning to the word and tone. If you are using the word ‘come’ make sure everyone is. The command ‘Come’ specifically means that the dog should approach the giver of the command and use it in that sense. If your dog does not come to you instantly, do not punish him when he does. This would make him attribute the command with the punishment.
Then what would you expect?-If the command leads to punishment he will not follow it next time. Consistency also covers the use of the same command by all people. For example, if you are using the command ‘come’, other people in the household should not replace it with words like ‘here’ or ‘come here boy’.
Principle Two:The hours devoted to training and the words used as command should be kept short. Remember that the attention span of dogs is extremely short so it is almost impossible to keep them engaged in the one activity. Combining children with your puppy obedience training is an example of keeping your training sessions short as they would lose interest very quickly, so it is best to move on to the next thing.
Your dog becomes easily bored and their interest at the beginning soon fades. The same thing happens in training therefore, it should be limited only to 10 minutes to 15 minutes of regular training.
Principle Three: Do not use force and punishment to hurt your dog when training. Also, never force the dog to follow the command if he is not prepared for it or punish a dog for something he did. Don’t push the animal too hard while training.
Your dog has no understanding of your impatience for his lack of learning speed. All he knows is that you are mad. So do not use force as this does not communicate your meaning properly, instead use negative reinforcement. Do not send him mixed signals, by making him feel praised for doing something wrong, only when he obeys the command, should he feel praised.
You have to be understanding and patient, especially during your dog obedience training sessions. The outcome will be a very responsive and well trained dog.
Filed under Articles by on Mar 18th, 2009. Comment.
