Training your dog is arguably one of the best things that you can do for him. Dogs, like human children, need discipline and self-control to feel like they fit into the family. Your dog will be happier after going through training, because he knows what you expect him to do and how to please you. Read on to find out some other reasons canine training is vital to the health and happiness of your dog.
Encourage your dog to be as active as possible. Just like humans, dogs can become bored easily. When dogs feel bored, they are much more stubborn when it comes to training. A happy and well-exercised dog is an easily trained dog. Walk or run your dog frequently.
You have to be consistent with the crate training of your new puppy. Always give the pup the option to go to the bathroom after leaving his crate. Doing so helps him learn when it is okay to go to the bathroom.
Monitor your own behavior to ensure you aren’t reinforcing your dog’s negative behaviors by mistake. Don’t ever reward a dog that is behaving badly. If your dog leaps on you when you return home and you wish to discourage this behavior, you must ignore him and go about your business. Even negative attention from you can cause the behavior to continue.
Before you begin training your dog, you need to establish yourself as the alpha. You must command your dog’s respect by being able to maintain discipline, or his obedience will be out of the question. In practice, this means that you should walk ahead when walking your dog, for instance, rather than allowing him or her to take the lead.
Make sure that your dog will not need to engage in any type of response when you deny him. When dog training, you’ll have to find a way to give positive reinforcement. The word ‘no’ itself is not enough to make your dog understand they need to stop what they are doing. Not only is each situation different, every breed of dog is also different. Therefore, you should adjust your training based off your dog’s breed and the specific situation at hand.
Make sure you use your dog’s name often, so that he learns to associate it with paying attention to you. You puppy will develop the association between his name being called, and him needing to pay attention to what you are telling him. Choose a shorter name that can stand out from other terms.
The best way to teach a dog good behavior is to never let poor behavior take hold. You and he will find it much easier to learn how do the right thing than unlearn the wrong. Giving your dog scraps from the table is just training the dog that begging gets results, so don’t do it!
Be patient when you are training your puppy, there is no doubt that accidents are going to happen. Clean accidents up immediately to assist in your training efforts. Carpets are known to trap the smell of urine and encourage the dog to return to that spot for further marking. There are lots of products in the market that you can use in this aspect, so be sure to check your local pet store.
Keep tabs on the number of treats you give to your dog as a reward in order to avoid making him gain weight. It is easy to forget about treats when you consider how much you are feeding your dog. This can happen especially when you are training him.
The first step in leash training a young puppy is to get him or her used to the collar during play. Leashes are important for control and identification if you lose your pet.
Never, ever give your dog a reward as a means of stopping bad behavior. That will result in the dog thinking it can do whatever it wants, whenever it wants. Do not ever reward bad beahvior.
With a little work, you can train your puppy to hold off going to the bathroom until it is safely outside. If you are home, spend time everyday with your puppy, and take him out every hour or so. When he does use the bathroom outdoors, give him lots of praise. Never react harshly to your dog going potty inside. He doesn’t know any better and yelling at him will not help him learn. Instead, give the pet every chance to succeed by taking it outside as soon as you remove it from the crate and roughly 15 minutes after it eats or drinks.
When training your dog, it is important to remember to keep the training sessions relatively short. You should use at most 15 minutes for training. Any longer and the dog will become frustrated and will not respond correctly. Always reward your dog with praise and attention after a training session.
Training should be seen as fun time to your dog. Keep in mind that your dog does not have an attention span that goes beyond fifteen minutes. When you give your dog rewards, make sure they are varied and as often as needed. Praise your dog often when he does well and show a lot of love. If you make training fun, he will enjoy listening, too.
As this article has demonstrated, training your dog is a very wise use of your time and energy. An aggressive dog can cause property damage and strain relations between family members. By following these tips and advice, you will have a happy, lovable dog who makes you proud for years to come.