Some dog owners are blessed with naturally obedient animals. You might not be one of them, but that’s no reason to sit still and put up with a willful dog who acts aggressive, behaves improperly in the house, or refuses to obey simple commands. Use the following tips to help make your dog happy and well-behaved.
Make sure you establish feeding routines and times for your dog. Teaching your dog to realize that when you place its food bowl down, it will be removed within 10-15 minutes, will help it understand that there is a feeding schedule to stick to. Before long, your dog will complete its meal before the time comes for you to take the dish away.
When you start puppy training, come up with a verbal cue that will tell your pet they’ve followed your command. Even a simple monosyllabic spoken ‘yes’ can help the dog to connect the desired behavior with the imminent reward.
You can train a pooch to roll over fairly quickly if you have some treats to hand out. Start by getting the dog to lay down. The next step is to palm the treat and hold your hand beside your dog’s head. Slowly raise the treat over your dog’s head to the opposite side. Ideally, your dog will use his nose to follow the treat, rolling his whole body in the process. Say the command, “roll over” when he rolls over. Be persistent and do not give up; it might take a while but will be worth it once they learn it.
You should pick a phrase to say to your puppy while he is being house trained. Each time you let your dog out to relieve himself, use a phrase such as “go potty” so that he associates going outside with going to the bathroom.
Set small, easy goals when you start training your dog. You will both get instant gratification and establish a good foundation which you and your dog can build on. Using this method as you train produces better results.
To reduce your dog’s barking, try to understand what is causing it. First, determine what it is that causes your dog to bark- a knock on the door, someone walking by the car, or other cause. Once used to these things, your pet will know that barking is not necessary.
You need to be very consistent when training your dog. If more than one family member is taking part in training the pet, be sure that each person utilizes the same commands as well as a similar discipline and reward system. If everyone involved uses the same commands, your dog will learn more quickly and easily.
Is your dog getting the food he needs? Some bad behavior could be attributed to an imbalanced diet. Find out what type of nutrition your dog’s breed requires and adjust his diet accordingly; doing this will help your dog maintain his energy level. Talk to your dog’s vet to make sure there aren’t any other issues.
One of the first commands your dog should learn is “down.” It can be very useful during emergencies and also serves as a great foundation for future lessons. If your dog responds promptly to the DOWN command, it will serve you well. It could save his life in potentially dangerous encounters.
Dogs will always be dogs, so expect his wild side to emerge if you do not give him proper care. Feed your dog a balanced diet, give them space to run, and provide them with activities that will burn energy.
You need to balance out the times you call your dog’s name in a positive and negative manner. The dog must realize that his own name can be something associated with positive things and that he should never fear coming to you if called.
Whenever your dog misbehaves, ensure you don’t provide the wrong signals to your dog. If your dog does something wrong and you laugh at him or pet him, then he is likely to repeat this bad behavior indefinitely in the future. This can seriously slow your training program, and cause considerable frustration for you. No matter how your pet is when he does something bad, you need to correct him right away.
If you catch your puppy chewing on something that he shouldn’t be, stop him as soon as you catch him. This will teach him what is appropriate to chew, so that he’ll be less likely to chew on your belongings when you’re not around.
Learn to incorporate positive reinforcement when training, in place of treat based rewards. Treats do work for teaching a new behavior. That said, you likely don’t always have treats on hand during the times that are not spent formally training your dog. Verbal praise and physical affection, such as hugs and petting, can be just as effective as treats to reinforce any desired behavior when training your dog.
In order to train a dog to have good behavior, it should not be walked on a tight leash. This will cause your dog to pull on impulse. This is not something you want from the dog. You always have to ensure the leash is comfortable with sufficient slack to be useful.
Consistency is key during your training sessions. Pick a single word or gesture for each command, action or behavior and use it exclusively. This causes a strong association between a word and an action in your dog’s mind. Consistency is very important. If you strive for this, you and your pet will get more out of the training.
If your dog seems that they will never listen, do not be afraid of trying. You can train most dogs as long as you know what to do and exercise patience. Implement the advice you’ve read here, and your dog will be well-behaved in no time.