Many people love having a pet in the family, and dogs are the most popular pet. Young animals like puppies are known for being mischievous and sometimes destructive. Read on for some ideas on training your dog.
Control how much you reward your dog. Immediately after the animal acts in accordance with your command, reward him. This helps to calm the animal and reinforce your training efforts. Though you may be happy with the accomplishment, excitement on your part leads to excitement on their part and diminishes control of the situation. If you are able to maintain your calm, you can expect your dog to maintain calm too.
A dog needs a healthy diet as much as a dog owner does. Feeding your dog bad food is very bad for several different reasons. It can negatively impact a dog’s health and disposition. Simply improving their diet may have a bigger impact on how they respond to training.
Never allow your training sessions to run on for too long. Since dogs do not have a long attention span, short lessons will prevent them from getting bored. If you want to train more, make sure to include play breaks for your dog.
Primary Reinforcement
Utilize primary reinforcement when training your furry friend. With primary reinforcement, you use something that your dog loves when it needs to be rewarded for positive behavior. This may mean giving food items as treats or scratching the dog’s tummy. This helps teach your dog that he can get exactly what he wants.
The first thing you should do when training a puppy is teach him his name. Use his name on a regular basis, and teach him that the appropriate response to hearing is name is to come over to you. You should make sure your puppy learns their name and knows to respond to it. Spending lots of time will create a strong bond with your puppy, and will lead to unbreakable trust. This will help them become more receptive to harder training later.
Call your dogs name when speaking to him to keep him focused. It is especially important to do this during the first weeks of training, in order to establish that name-attention association. Choose a puppy name that sounds differently than other words your puppy may hear throughout the day.
Don’t forget to praise good behavior. Smile, offers treats and show excitement to relay to your dog that he is doing something positive. It is important that you avoid offering rewards to stop an undesirable behavior, however, as this may create an inappropriate connection in the dog’s mind.
When it comes to having a well-behaved dog, it is important to introduce him to social situations early and often. Your dog must learn how to behave when other people or dogs are present, and there is no other way to teach this skill. This is the best way to prevent sporadic behavior in these situations.
It’s important that your dog enjoy training and look forward to training sessions. Keep training to a short 10-15 minute session; much longer and your dog’s attention will wander. Give your dog rewards that vary and come often. When your dog does a good job, shower him with praise. Your dog will be more receptive if you make training time fun!
You need to work on the recall of your dog. Your dog should come back to you regardless of the environment they’re in. This behavior can be built in steps. The ability to come when called is essential for your dog’s safety. The time invested in teaching this skill is time well spent.
If you are using your dog’s name to scold him, make sure to repeat it again soon after in a warm and affectionate manner. Your dog must know that his name is something good so that he won’t be afraid to come when called.
Older Dogs
Keep in mind that older dogs have limitations. Most older dogs will be harder to train since their own personalities have already settled in. Keep in mind that when you adopt a dog that is older, it may have developed certain habits. Rather than trying to change an older dog entirely, work on their negative traits and deal with the rest of their personality.
You should not let the love of your pets get in the way of keeping a nice home. While a dog can cause quite a bit of destruction, and make a mess in your home, proper training your dog will alleviate most of these issues. Apply these canine training tips to have a dog and a presentable home.