If you’re a beginner at training a dog, you’re more than likely wanting some advice on what will work to get your dog to behave. The tips below can help you begin training your dog.
Small steps, gentle ways and patience are all a part of getting your puppy used to their crate. When they are comfy with the open door, try closing it and feeding them treats via the wires. Start off with small periods, for example 10 seconds or so, and gradually increase crate time. If they start to fuss, you are going too fast.
Training Sessions
When you are going to be training your dog, it is important that you limit the length of the training sessions. Start out training for just a few minutes each day and work up to half an hour or so over time. You will see how long your training sessions should be before you lose your dog’s attention.
You must repeat all new commands. You may need to repeat the same command lesson from 25 to 30 times before your dog learns it. Firmly and steadily repeat the command. Remain patient and eventually the command will be learned.
Make sure that your dog’s crate is the right size for him if you are going to use it to train him. Puppies will get bigger. Choose a crate that your puppy can grow in, but won’t grow out of. At full size your dog should be able to move around without feeling too constricted.
Avoid reinforcing negative behavior. Thus, you must not reward the dog if it does something you are working to stop. This includes things like petting them when they jump on you at the door.
When giving commands to your body, your tone and volume level should remain the same. This helps your dog to understand when you are in training mode. This also assists the dog in understanding what the difference is between a tone for a command and the tone for discipline.
One of the very first commands you should teach a new puppy is the “leave it” command, which tells them to drop an item and step back from it. “Leave it” can prevent furniture chewing, save valuable objects from being destroyed and save your dog from consuming dangerous and/or poisonous substances.
Each and every thing you and your dog do together is forming his behavior and personality. Realize that you could very well sabotage your own training efforts with innocent activities such as rough-housing. You want to really mold your pet by working towards a desired behavior.
When it comes to training your dog, never give up. You will need to give your dog continuous reinforcement, or he or she will go back to how they were before being trained. Keep in mind that training your dog is an on-going process, and just as important as providing him with food and shelter.
Does you dog eat an appropriate diet? Dogs who eat crummy, low quality food will show hyperactivity, distraction and disobedience. Consider changing your dog’s diet to something more species-appropriate, and he’ll have long-lasting, consistent energy all day. Ask the vet about additional nutritional requirements the dog may have.
Training your dog can be simple, effective and even fun, when you have the right advice on hand. After you begin using what you have learned, you will find your dog responding to you more positively.